Taoffi's blog

prisonniers du temps

Of recipes and methods – Agile and agile rituals

Let me first clarify:

Learning that the square root of 144 = 12 is a 'recipe'.

Learning how to retrieve the square root of a number is a 'method'.

Recipes represent one application of a method in a specific context.

They are efficient and straightforward, gratifying, easier to retain and easier to sell !

Still they most likely apply to a context and can hardly be useful if elements of the context change.

Methods are less easy to retain and assimilate. They also often need to be ascertained through applications in various contexts before being accepted.

The bad thing with recipes is that they are sealed, and tend sometimes to occult the openness of their originating method.

One good demonstrative example of this is the Agile principles (method) vs. the multitude of – more or less ridiculous – rituals (recipes) falsely attributed to the originating method.

Some of the rituals may have been correctly applied in specific contexts producing suitable results. But, no doubt, with different context, the same 'successful' rituals may be disastrous.

It is easier to retain rituals than to understand principles… even easier to retain those rituals that you may find attractive!