The Need for Cultural Change when Adopting Agile
Peter has a great post that sums up a number of conversations with agilists around Microsoft.
I agree with everything he says. The hardest thing I had to do, in the words of Mitch Lacey, was "take my brain out, turn it around 180 degrees, put it back in, and get to work." This very good metaphor highlights the need to change how you think, not only about software, but also the changes that need to be made to an organization to fight the inertia that usually stifles change. Not only do engineering practices, project and product management practices, and management philosophy change in an organization that becomes truly agile, but so do the ways individuals interact and work with each other.