Is the Agile Hype Over?
Agile hype has been around for over two decades, sweeping through industries with promises of faster delivery, empowered teams, and customer-centric value. But ask around today — from developers and product managers to executives — and you’ll hear a different tone. Burnout from endless sprints. Disillusionment with ceremonies. Frustration with rigid frameworks masquerading as flexibility.
So what happened? Was Agile just a phase, or are we witnessing its transformation?
Let’s take a step back to understand how it started, how it evolved, and what might come next.
Where Agile Started: A Manifesto, Not a Method
The term “Agile” emerged from a pivotal meeting in 2001 when 17 software practitioners gathered in Snowbird, Utah. They were frustrated with heavyweight processes that valued documentation and control over real results.
Out of that frustration came the Agile Manifesto, a short but radical declaration. Its core values emphasized:
- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
- Working software over comprehensive documentation
- Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
- Responding to change over following a plan
Agile wasn’t a framework. It was a way of thinking, a mindset aimed at helping teams navigate complexity and deliver value in rapidly changing environments.
The Rise of Agile Methods: Scrum Takes the Spotlight
Shortly after the manifesto, Agile methods began to crystallise. Scrum, originally described in the 1990s, became the poster child for Agile delivery — partly because it was relatively easy to explain, teach, and sell.
With roles (Scrum Master, Product Owner, Development Team), ceremonies (Daily Scrum, Sprint Review), and artifacts (Product Backlog, Increment), Scrum offered a lightweight structure that seemed to promise agility without chaos.
Organisations latched on. Consultants multiplied. Agile became a movement — and then a business model.
Certification Factories and the Role Inflation Problem
By the 2010s, demand for Agile knowledge skyrocketed. But rather than long-term skill development, the market turned to short-term solutions: Two-day certifications.
Suddenly, the industry was flooded with newly minted “Scrum Masters” — many of whom had never worked on a software team. A title once rooted in servant leadership and facilitation became diluted.
Organisations hired for roles, not mindset. Teams were staffed with Agile jargon speakers who knew the ceremonies but not the purpose behind them. The Agile hype grew — but so did the Agile theater: teams doing the rituals with little to show for it
Agile at Scale: Frameworks, Formulas, and Frustration
As companies sought to “scale Agile,” more frameworks appeared: SAFe, LeSS, Nexus, Spotify Model. Each promised a path to enterprise agility. But in many cases, these frameworks were adopted as dogma, not guidance.
Instead of adapting principles to context, companies implemented Agile like they had implemented ERP systems — top-down, prescriptive, and focused on compliance.
The result? More process. More roles. More disconnect.
The Disillusionment: When Agile Becomes a Burden
Today, many teams are tired. They’ve been sprinting for years, but often without purpose or improvement.
What was meant to be empowering often feels performative:
- Sprint planning without strategic vision
- Daily stand-ups without collaboration
- Retrospectives without action
Developers complain that they “just want to code.” Product managers feel stuck between stakeholders and delivery teams. And leadership wonders why they’re investing so much into “Agile” with so little visible return.
The Agile hype has hit a wall.
What Went Wrong: Losing the Why
Agile started as a rebellion against rigid, plan-driven delivery. But over time, it became its own bureaucracy. The focus shifted:
- From values to checklists
- From customer value to velocity charts
- From adaptability to compliance
When you lose the why, the how becomes hollow. That’s where many organisations find themselves now — Agile in form, but not in function.
What Comes Next: Is There a Post-Agile?
Despite the fatigue, Agile is not dead. It’s evolving — and perhaps returning to its roots.
Some signs of the future:
1. Flow over Frameworks
Teams are shifting focus from rigid sprints to continuous flow. Kanban, value stream mapping, and DevOps practices emphasize smooth delivery and systemic bottlenecks rather than rituals.
2. Outcome over Output
There’s growing recognition that velocity isn’t value. Product thinking, impact mapping, and OKRs are helping organizations focus on business outcomes, not just backlog throughput.
3. Team Autonomy, Not Role Obsession
Instead of forcing artificial roles, high-performing teams embrace flexibility and shared responsibility. The best Scrum Masters act more like facilitators and coaches — and sometimes don’t carry the title at all.
4. Hybrid, Contextual Approaches
No more one-size-fits-all. Teams combine what works for them: a bit of Scrum, a bit of XP, some Lean principles, and plenty of context-specific adaptation.
This is not a step away from Agile — it’s a maturing into agility.
Conclusion: Agile Was Never the Goal
The hype might be over. The buzzwords might fade. But the challenges Agile was meant to address — complexity, uncertainty, speed, and collaboration — remain.
Agile was never about sprints or stand-ups. It was a call to deliver value better — through people, learning, and adaptation.
That idea still matters.
So is the Agile hype over?
Yes. And that’s a good thing.
Now maybe we can finally get back to what matters.
Read further
1. The Agile Manifesto Unfolds by Maik Seyfert
This book goes beyond the surface of Agile by unpacking the original manifesto line by line. It connects principles to practice and challenges readers to think critically about how Agile is applied today — perfect for readers looking to return to the roots and rethink their approach.
2. Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time by Jeff Sutherland
A foundational read from one of Scrum’s creators. It highlights the original intent behind Scrum and contrasts sharply with how many teams practice Agile today.
3. The Age of Agile by Stephen Denning
Explores how Agile principles can reshape entire organizations — not just software teams — and points toward a future beyond ritual-driven delivery.
4. Team Topologies by Matthew Skelton & Manuel Pais
Offers a modern, systems-thinking approach to team design and flow. Ideal for readers interested in how to evolve beyond rigid frameworks and toward fast, value-driven delivery.