Comments on: Never Try to Teach a Pig to Sing: Advice for Agile Evangelists http://www.enagility.com/advice-for-agile-evangelists/ Enterprise Agility Fri, 04 Sep 2009 21:55:05 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.5 By: Mitch http://www.enagility.com/advice-for-agile-evangelists/comment-page-1/#comment-39 Mitch Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:04:44 +0000 http://www.enagility.com/?p=119#comment-39 Insightful article, especially the bit about the 80/20 rule for communication gaps. I put myself into a situation a few years ago while volunteering for a non-profit. As a member of the organization, I had tried to be an instructor and a collaborator on their Web site strategy, when they were neither interested in collaboration nor had the capacity to understand issues of ownership, service, and maintenance. I personally invested thousands of dollars of my time to demonstrate the feasibility of using a database-driven site to manage their marketing programs, using a popular open source CMS to ensure that the system was open and could be worked on by others. Yet the CMS was discarded and a contract summarily awarded to an ISV to deliver a "Web site" based on the concepts I had introduced. The ISV was all too willing to give a fixed price while asking no difficult questions, and proceeded to construct a closed-source CMS under the pretense of Web site development. In the end, the customer's disinterest in taking ownership worked against them, and they paid several thousand dollars for a low-quality site over which they now hold little real control. The ISV is now holding them a virtual hostage for simple content changes to the site. You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make them think. Sometimes pain is the best instructor. Insightful article, especially the bit about the 80/20 rule for communication gaps. I put myself into a situation a few years ago while volunteering for a non-profit. As a member of the organization, I had tried to be an instructor and a collaborator on their Web site strategy, when they were neither interested in collaboration nor had the capacity to understand issues of ownership, service, and maintenance. I personally invested thousands of dollars of my time to demonstrate the feasibility of using a database-driven site to manage their marketing programs, using a popular open source CMS to ensure that the system was open and could be worked on by others.

Yet the CMS was discarded and a contract summarily awarded to an ISV to deliver a “Web site” based on the concepts I had introduced. The ISV was all too willing to give a fixed price while asking no difficult questions, and proceeded to construct a closed-source CMS under the pretense of Web site development. In the end, the customer’s disinterest in taking ownership worked against them, and they paid several thousand dollars for a low-quality site over which they now hold little real control. The ISV is now holding them a virtual hostage for simple content changes to the site.

You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make them think. Sometimes pain is the best instructor.

]]> By: Marina Shalmon http://www.enagility.com/advice-for-agile-evangelists/comment-page-1/#comment-12 Marina Shalmon Thu, 07 May 2009 17:01:02 +0000 http://www.enagility.com/?p=119#comment-12 Hi Bob, I liked your article very much. I had similar experiences. It's very nice of you to share. It's an important area that does not get enough attention from the Agile practitioners, and leads to failure. Hi Bob,
I liked your article very much. I had similar experiences. It’s very nice of you to share. It’s an important area that does not get enough attention from the Agile practitioners, and leads to failure.

]]> By: Mario http://www.enagility.com/advice-for-agile-evangelists/comment-page-1/#comment-9 Mario Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:35:14 +0000 http://www.enagility.com/?p=119#comment-9 Yes, I like this. I have seen Agile evangelists tell people that Agile is the only way and then start to dismiss the traditional methods the people have been using for year. This is effectively telling them they have been wrong for all this time. Agile is about culture change and you need to give people enough time to get their arms around the value added change that Agile provides. Yes, I like this. I have seen Agile evangelists tell people that Agile is the only way and then start to dismiss the traditional methods the people have been using for year. This is effectively telling them they have been wrong for all this time. Agile is about culture change and you need to give people enough time to get their arms around the value added change that Agile provides.

]]> By: Rory http://www.enagility.com/advice-for-agile-evangelists/comment-page-1/#comment-8 Rory Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:07:54 +0000 http://www.enagility.com/?p=119#comment-8 Good advice, both for Agile, and for any type of Change Management. Working as a Six Sigma Black Belt, I tried to teach a lot of pigs to sing, but have often found myself singing alone in a crowded room. Good advice, both for Agile, and for any type of Change Management. Working as a Six Sigma Black Belt, I tried to teach a lot of pigs to sing, but have often found myself singing alone in a crowded room.

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