Agile Principle 7

The seventh principle of the Agile Manifesto states, "Working product or service is the primary measure of progress."

In other words... how agile teams measure their progress.

This principle reflects the idea that the success of an agile project should be measured based on the production of something working rather than on other metrics such as the designs created or hours worked. By focusing on creating something working, agile teams can ensure they deliver value to the customer and avoid getting bogged down in unnecessary or unproductive tasks.

The primary measure of progress is to have something working & functioning. However, what we communicate here is what we mean by progress. When a working product or service is made available, as mentioned in principle 3, we only then call this progress. So progress is less about how many tasks have been achieved or how much time has been consumed. It is the difference between working versus delivering.

Therein lies the significant difference to more classical approaches, where progress is defined as how much of the original scheduled or budgeted time has been consumed. Furthermore, the agile world clearly defines what "Done" means, and it is a boolean value - a work package is either done or not. There is no "almost done" or 90% done.

Key to this principle is ensuring the creative process focuses on creating a working product or service at every stage. This means breaking down the project into smaller, more manageable increments, with frequent opportunities for review and feedback. By doing so, the team can ensure that the product or service meets the customer's needs and priorities.

One of the key tools that agile teams use to implement this principle is the concept of "iterative development." This involves breaking down the development cycle into smaller, more manageable increments, with frequent opportunities for review and feedback. By doing so, the team can ensure that the product is meeting the customer's needs and priorities and can make any necessary adjustments along the way.

One of the key benefits of this principle is that it helps to ensure that the project is moving forward in a timely and effective manner. By focusing on a working product or service, the team can work with the customer to decide when the product or service is fulfilling enough needs to stop further development. Since everything created previously is working, and the customer has been taking delivery incrementally over time.

In summary, agile teams are only really interested in actual functioning artefacts from which feedback can be gathered.