Let's say you got into an elevator with a senior executive and you had 30 seconds to sell Agile to them, what would you say?
B.T.W. This is commonly referred to as an elevator pitch and here's a good intro from Business Week.
Here are some answers I got back from the LinkedIn community:
Carolyn Sanders wrote:
"I actually do get asked this one by execs. This is what I usually say: Agile delivery is about two things: you usually don't know what you want until you see something, so deliver something real as early as you can; and if you're going to fail, fail fast. Agile in general is about being fundamentally honest with each other, about money, about technical delivery and quality, about requirements andtime - that's why it's so scary for some people."
Matt Richards wrote:
"Agile software development practices will give you more control over the cost and feature set of your software than traditional methods. You are also likely to have usable software sooner."
PJ Srivastava wrote:
"Are you at all worried that your project might go over-budget, that it might run behind schedule, that the customer might not like the end result, or that someone will change the project requirements on you in the middle of it? That's where Agile comes in. Its as simple as this: the more complex, the more challenging, and the more uncertain your project, the more you have to inspect it frequently and the better you have to control your process to be successful with it. Agile is simply a more intense, but tried-and-true process for reducing risk and better controlling your results. Give me 10 minutes of your time and I'll explain why some of the most recognized companies in the world are turning to Agile..."
