“Agile” is an overloaded word, particularly in the domain of IT. It can refer to a broad range of software development techniques, as well as to the finished software product and even to the organisations using them.
We could take inspiration from the world of material science where there are many words for specific types of flexibility:
Ductile (typically of gold) – can be drawn into a fine wire
Malleable (typically of gold) – can be beaten into a sheet
Supple (typically of leather) – can be curled multiple times without becoming brittle
Bendable (typically of florist wire) – can be put into a shape and then stays there
Plastic, Extrudable, elastic, soft, tractable, pliant, pliable, moldable, workable, springy, stretchy, …
New terms required
Inspired by distinctions before labels, some concepts that it would be good to have distinct names for:
- Ability to reconfigure existing components to address a new business situation
- Ability to add new business functionality without disrupting existing business functionality
- Ability to update one component without need to disrupt others
- Ability to support different versions of processes within the same business
- Proportionality of cost of change to degree of business innovation (no high cost changes for trivial business impact)