Agile Series Part 1: Furnishing your flat with Agile Project Management
An introduction to Agile philosophy and when it works best, using the metaphor of furnishing an empty flat
Context: This post is part of a retrospective series written during my transition out of Credimi, reflecting on the reality of scaling a fintech engineering organization. As we grew from a founding team to multiple squads, the primary risk shifted from technical execution to organizational alignment. We learned that the hardest question isn’t “can we build it?” but “should we build it?” This series details the specific management structures and Agile patterns we adopted to prevent chaos and ensure our processes scaled alongside our headcount.
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What is Agile?
Agile is a philosophy whose goal is to improve the value that companies, organizations, and teams create when working in conditions of uncertainty and high variability.
Two key points stand out here: Agile enhances outcomes, and it proves most valuable under specific conditions—namely uncertainty and variability.
When Agile Works
Let me use the metaphor of furnishing an empty flat. Agile suits scenarios where you lack prior experience. If you already possess expertise, traditional planning works better. However, when facing unknowns, incremental approaches help you gain knowledge for better decision-making.
Think about it: if you’ve furnished ten apartments before, you know exactly what you need. You can plan everything upfront. But if this is your first time? You’ll learn as you go—discovering that the living room needs more light, that the kitchen layout doesn’t work for your cooking style, that you actually need a home office.
The Last Responsible Moment
Decisions should occur at the optimal time—neither too early nor too late—allowing real-world feedback to inform choices.
Making decisions too early means you’re working with incomplete information. Making them too late means you’ve lost valuable options. The sweet spot is waiting until you have enough information to decide wisely, but not so long that the decision is made for you by circumstances.
Cyclical Approach
Unlike waterfall methodology’s front-loaded planning, Agile uses short planning-execution cycles, enabling frequent incorporation of feedback.
Each cycle gives you new information. Each piece of furniture you buy teaches you something about your space. Each feature you ship teaches you something about your users.
Measuring Progress
Traditional metrics emphasizing plan adherence shift toward different success indicators under Agile philosophy. Instead of asking “Are we on schedule?”, we ask “Are we delivering value?”
A Word of Caution
Short cycles risk misalignment with long-term objectives. It’s easy to optimize for the immediate while losing sight of the destination. This tension between tactical agility and strategic coherence deserves careful attention.
Questions for Reflection
- Have you experienced projects where upfront planning failed because reality diverged from expectations?
- When do you make your best decisions—with full information upfront, or incrementally as you learn?
- How do you balance short-term responsiveness with long-term vision?