Agile Is Dead? — But That’s What Makes It Interesting


From the lens of a Program Manager, Agile Coach, and Recovering Framework Junkie

By Vincent Samuel AL Devasahayam

Let me get this out of the way: I’ve lived and breathed Agile for over 17 years. I’ve facilitated stand-ups that felt like TED Talks, survived more plannings than Marvel sequels, and coached teams across fintech, banking, education, and tech.

And yet - I find myself looking to a movement that boldly declares:

“Agile is dead.”

I’ve seen what real agility can do to teams, products, and lives. But that’s exactly why this so-called "death" of Agile is worth paying attention to.

1. It Calls Out the Theatrics

What the “Agile is Dead” movement gets absolutely right is this: somewhere along the line, Agile became a performance.

  • Teams do daily stand-ups but can’t speak up.

  • Velocity is treated like a KPI instead of a guidepost.

  • Certifications are worn like armor, but value delivery is forgotten.

I’ve seen Scrum boards that are prettier than the product roadmap, and Jira tickets that move faster than real decisions. That’s not Agile. That’s Agile cosplay.

2. It Reclaims the 'Why'

What’s interesting about the movement isn’t that it wants to burn everything down—but that it wants to reclaim the soul of agility.

Back in 2001, the Agile Manifesto wasn't created to sell training packages. It was a response to a rigid world, an attempt to center humans and adaptability in software development. That’s still relevant today-maybe even more so.

What I love about the critique is this: it asks the right question—

“Are you being Agile, or are you just doing Agile?”

It challenges me as a coach, and us as an industry, to go deeper than rituals.

3. It Shakes Us Awake

Let’s be real: too many “Agile Transformations” today are:

  • Waterfall projects with Agile labels

  • SAFe rollouts that centralize control instead of empowering teams

  • Tools-driven, not outcome-driven

The "Agile is Dead" narrative jolts us into realizing we may have become servants to frameworks instead of servants to customers.

As someone who’s led Agile programs in both startups and heavily regulated environments, I can tell you: agility is not a template. It’s a culture. A conversation. A courageous commitment to change.

4. It Opens the Door to What’s Next

This movement doesn’t leave us in nihilism. It nudges us toward post-Agile thinking:

  • Joshua Kerievsky’s Modern Agile

  • Agile 2’s emphasis on emotional intelligence and system complexity

  • Human-centered design

  • Outcome-first product thinking

It’s not about throwing out Agile—it’s about evolving beyond its commodification.

From My Lens: The Work Ahead

What’s most interesting to me about the “Agile is Dead” movement is not the death—but the resurrection it dares to provoke.

In my work, I try to:

  • Coach teams to rediscover why they exist, not just what they deliver

  • Encourage leadership to walk the floor, not just mandate “Agile culture”

  • Empower Product and Tech to speak in outcomes, not rituals

I believe agility is alive and well—but only if we keep it human, adaptive, and honest.

Final Thought

Agile isn’t dead. But something deserved to die: the blind, soulless mimicry of it.

And maybe, just maybe, that’s the best thing that could’ve happened to it.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Using Agile When There Is No Clarity: Turning Uncertainty into Progress

One of the most powerful things I’ve learned about Agile is how it thrives in situations where there is little or no clarity, when the goals are fuzzy, requirements keep changing, or the path ahead feels uncertain. When Clarity Is Missing, Agile Steps Up In many traditional work environments, lack of clarity can cause paralysis —teams wait endlessly for detailed instructions or perfect plans before moving forward. But in real life, especially in my journey from maritime operations to financial services and social programs, clarity rarely comes on a silver platter. Agile offers a different approach: start small, iterate fast, and learn as you go . The “Firefighting” Perception - And How It Changed When I first led a newly inherited financial services team, top management thought what we were doing was just firefighting  putting out small fires one by one. We were killing smaller chunks of problems quickly, while the bigger ones were “set to cool” or put aside temporarily. Y...
Read more

From Sea to Scrum: How My Journey Shaped My Agile Leadership

 I didn’t discover Agile in a boardroom—I found it in the middle of a crisis. Years ago, I worked at sea, managing crews, cargo, and crises while being away from family for 8–10 months at a time. Life onboard demanded teamwork, adaptability, and clarity under pressure —qualities I only later realized were at the core of what we now call Agile. From Deck Plates to Desk Jobs When I came ashore, I pivoted into financial services. It was a rough start-within my first month , the entire team I joined resigned. Left with just one other junior colleague, we had to deliver results fast. We didn’t have time to “plan everything.” We adapted daily, ran stand-ups before I knew what they were , and collaborated with offshore teams to stay afloat. This chaos introduced me to the spirit of Agile-- not just as a framework, but as a mindset of resilience, iteration, and teamwork . Discovering Agile on Paper (After Living It) Eventually, I formally studied Agile: Scrum, Kanban, Lean, Design Th...
Read more