The Future of Agile: Interdisciplinary Research, Principles, and Practices

Key Points

Many organizations are exhausted by Agile.

The "Agile industrial complex" is part of the problem.

Agile practitioners must return to the simple foundations of the Manifesto and its twelve principles.

Agile’s core is a basic, simple framework.

Agile practitioners need to learn from social sciences such as positive psychology, appreciative inquiry, and solution‑focused approaches.

Agile has become a buzzword, repeated to the point of meaninglessness, and in some firms it has turned into a form of command‑and‑control management.

"I was at Agile Africa in South Africa and someone told me they wanted to do software development but could no longer tolerate all the ceremonies and Agile stuff. They just wanted to write code. I was moved to tears… How could we be back to the way it was 20 years ago?" – Kent Beck (private correspondence)

Some argue that developers should abandon Agile altogether because, when practiced poorly, it can become an enemy of good software development.

"The Agile industrial complex imposes a completely distorted method on people. Even supporters of Agile would not claim it is the best approach everywhere. The team’s work determines how to proceed, and if a team does not want to work Agile, then non‑Agile may be the most effective way for them." – Martin Fowler, Agile Australia 2018

An organizational psychologist likens Agile to a virus spreading through an enterprise, provoking natural resistance.

"Agile is a virus that spreads throughout the enterprise. You shouldn’t be surprised by the growing resistance; it’s the natural immune response to an invading antigen." – Personal letter

Internal policy: Agile must explicitly or implicitly reference the four values and twelve principles of the Agile Manifesto; simplicity is essential, and teams should regularly revisit the manifesto.

External policy: As Agile expands into new domains (HR, organizational psychology), we must avoid a naïve, self‑destructive colonial mindset and instead pursue collaborative, hybrid approaches.

The Medici Effect illustrates how crossing disciplines (science, psychology, philosophy) can spark breakthrough thinking, which the author experiences by connecting Agile with positive psychology and solution‑focused therapy.

Conclusion

Interdisciplinary research, principles, and practices represent the future of Agile; we must keep our roots while avoiding the endless repetition of "Agile, Agile, Agile…".

For further discussion, the author provides links to various communities, newsletters, and social platforms (WeChat groups, QQ groups, video channels, blogs, etc.).