Agile Infinity: When the Customer Is an Abstract Concept
In some SAFe and Scrum setups, the user is so astronomically far removed, they become a myth.
The product? Unclear.
The focus? Process.
Working software? Closing Jira tickets.
Customer feedback? A demo to a proxy of a proxy.
Customer value? A velocity chart.
Agility becomes a prescribed ritual. Agile becomes a performance, not a mindset.
Welcome to the Agile business:
- where certifications are dispensed like snacks from vending machines behind a 7/11 in a back alley of Kiyamachi,
- where framework templates are sold like magic potions,
- where Waterfall masquerades in Scrum clothing,
- where Prime One-Day delivery “out-of-the-box” rigid processes are deployed in the name of adaptability.
And yet…
- Some do scale value.
- Some focus on real outcomes.
- Some remember the customer is not a persona in a deck; but someone who actually uses the product and relies on it to succeed.
- Some do involve the customer along the way.
➔ And this is the very first principle of the Agile Manifesto.
📊 Not your typical SAFe deck.
⚠️ Viewer discretion advised: this deck may challenge conventional thinking.
🃏 Only the jester can speak truth to power.
Feel free to check out my LinkedIn post for further discussion: linkedin.com/posts/merckel_agile-infinity-when-the-customer-is-an-abstract-activity-7312733124726018051-yvvp