The Fifth Element

The most overlooked of the 12 agile principles described alongside the agile manifesto is perhaps the hardest to come by - building teams around motivated individuals.

Build projects around motivated individuals.
Give them the environment and support they need,
and trust them to get the job done.

There it is ... that term four words in to the first sentence ... 'motivated'.

A very subjective word. Some people are motivated by money, some people are motivated by the recognition of their peers, others by visions of climbing the corporate ladder. What this term means in the context of agile principles though is something much more specific: 'motivated' by pride in their chosen profession and the desire to learn and improve.

All too often in large traditional organizations, software development team members simply have a job. Occasionally they've simply been beaten into submission and can be resurrected by agile techniques. Very often however, the people that survive for long periods in large organizations are those that are mediocre and are valued because they don't rock the boat. These are the people who will, at best, go through the motions of implementing agile techniques while giving no thought to the principles and philosophy behind them. At worst these people will simply figure out ways to 'game the system'. Of course the ultimate responsibility for tolerating this behaviour lies with management. Either way, having a motivated cast of characters is crucial to the success of an agile project.