by Nico Schellingerhout and Jeroen Jan Elzinga

Agile.
A word that once promised transformation—now too often met with cynicism.

“Agile doesn’t work anymore.”
“SAFe isn’t real Agile.”
“We’re doing Scrum, so we must be Agile… right?”

Somewhere along the way, the essence got buried under certifications, frameworks, and rituals. We stopped asking why and started checking boxes. But maybe it’s time to pause, not to argue definitions, but to listen, reflect, and reconnect with the why that made Agile powerful in the first place.

For me, that reconnection starts with three deceptively simple questions.

1. What are we really trying to achieve?

Too often, we race toward solutions before we understand the problem.
Take a common example: “We need better portfolio management.”

Okay – but why?

Here’s an example of what that line in inquiry might reveal:

• Why better portfolio management?
  → Because we serve multiple customers and struggle to align releases.
• Why can’t we align them?
  → Customers want long-term delivery certainty.
• Why is that a challenge?
  → Deliveries are often late or incomplete.
• Why?
  → Surprises appear late in the process.
• Why so late?
  → We only test after the full scope is done.

So what sounded like a portfolio issue turns out to be a delivery issue.

A more meaningful goal emerges:
We want to release on demand, without conflicts in planning or priorities.

That’s a very different conversation, and one that brings us much closer to meaningful change.

2. What are we holding on to — and should we let it go?

Transformation isn’t just about doing something new.
It’s about letting go of the old assumptions, habits, even entire systems that no longer serve us.

In many organizations, the process still looks like this:

• Project-based, phased delivery
• Designed for predictability, control, traceability
• Assumed to be necessary for compliance

But when we look closer, things shift:

• Regulations may require traceability but not rigid phases.
• The phased approach assumes we can define everything up front – often a false assumption in dynamic environments.

This creates space for new thinking patterns that let us explore new approaches:

✅ Treat your product as a living system, not a fixed outcome.
✅ Keep traceability current, not just documented at the end.
✅ Embrace change continuously, not in large infrequent batches.

Letting go isn’t easy, but it’s often where the real progress begins.

3. What approach fits your goals — and your context?

Once you’ve clarified your goals and challenged your assumptions, then and only then, should you ask:
What approach will actually help us succeed?

Notice the word approach, not method.

Scrum, SAFe, LeSS—these are not goals. They’re tools.
The real goal is to create a system that works for you: your environment, your constraints, your ambitions.

Returning to our earlier example:

• The goal is on-demand release capability
• The constraints include traceability, governance, and compliance
• The challenge is to scale down governance not just up so, that small, frequent, traceable changes can flow through the system

A system that supports these goals, constraints and challenges doesn’t happen by accident. It takes thoughtful design.
And it takes people who are engaged, empowered, and aligned.

Moving forward: The hard (and honest) work of change

Agile still has the power to transform organizations.
But only when we stop chasing checklists and start engaging with intent.

So if you’re serious about change, here’s where to begin:

• Go back to first principles. Understand the why behind Agile, not just the what.
• Work with a guide. Not someone who delivers a packaged solution, but someone who helps you uncover the right questions.
• Invest in your people. Sustainable change is homegrown, not outsourced.
• Stay curious. Keep questioning assumptions. Agile thrives where curiosity lives.

Over to you

What’s your experience?

• Where have you uncovered hidden assumptions in your own organization?
• Which practices no longer serve you?
• What’s the “why” you still need to ask?

Let’s open the conversation.

Real change doesn’t happen in isolation – it grows when we learn and connect!