Is Agile actually dead, or are we just doing it wrong?

I recently sat down with Dr. Kevin Thompson (PhD in Physics from Princeton and former NASA researcher) to dig into why so many organizations struggle to bridge the gap between software agility and hardware reality.

Kevin’s journey from Lawrence Livermore labs to pioneering Scrum is a masterclass in pragmatism. We didn’t just talk theory—we got into the weeds on how to make “better ways of working” actually work when the cost of change is high.

Here are 3 big takeaways from our conversation:

1. Hardware isn’t Software (and that’s okay): You can’t "control-z" a physical prototype as easily as code. Agile in hardware requires a unique balance of early requirement stability and rapid prototyping to manage risk.
2. The "Waterfall" Trap: We’ve all seen it—the rigid plan that looks great on paper but fails the moment it hits reality. Kevin explains how Scrum provides a "reality check" that traditional project management simply can't offer.
3. Predictability over Perfection: Leaders don't need a perfect plan; they need to know when they are going to hit a wall. Agile isn't about moving fast and breaking things; it’s about visibility and communication.

If you’ve ever felt like Agile is just "process for the sake of process," this discussion is for you. Kevin shares insights from his book, Solutions for Agile Governance in the Enterprise (SAGE), and his decades of experience helping teams deliver.

#Agile #Scrum #HardwareEngineering #ProjectManagement #BetterWaysOfWorking #Innovation