Disciplined Agile

The Disciplined Agile® Mindset

Introduction to DA Figure 2

Figure 2. Universal Values for Better Outcomes

Underpinning the Disciplined Agile approach are fundamental values designed to guide decision-making and foster a culture conducive to success. Recognizing that complex frameworks of principles can be difficult to internalize and apply consistently, DA emphasizes four Universal Values for Better Outcomes. These values serve as a simple yet powerful compass for navigating choices and driving effective action across all domains and contexts:

  • Respect People & Planet: This value underscores the importance of considering the human element and environmental impact in all decisions and actions. It promotes creating sustainable, ethical, and collaborative environments where individuals can thrive and contribute their best work, while acknowledging broader responsibilities.

  • Optimize Value Delivery: This focuses attention on the primary goal – delivering meaningful value efficiently and effectively. It encourages streamlining processes, eliminating waste, prioritizing work based on impact, and ensuring that efforts are consistently aligned with producing tangible outcomes for stakeholders and customers.

  • Relentless Improvement: This value embeds the practice of continuous learning and adaptation into the way of working. It encourages constantly seeking opportunities to enhance processes, skills, and outcomes through experimentation, feedback, and reflection, fostering a dynamic and evolving organization.

  • Be Pragmatic: This emphasizes the need for realistic, context-sensitive solutions. It encourages making practical choices based on the specific situation faced, avoiding dogma, embracing flexibility, and selecting approaches that are genuinely workable and appropriate for achieving the desired results, rather than adhering rigidly to a predefined script.

These four universal values provide a foundational guide for applying the DA toolkit effectively, ensuring that process choices and improvement efforts remain grounded in principles that consistently lead to better performance and sustainable success.