Top Ten Agile Analogies

I like analogies. Sometimes folks say I use them too much. I know that at least once I’ve come up with a really “out there” analogy. For instance, there was the one about cats riding motorcycles… Anyway, in a recent post I used two analogies and I previously posted about how Agile was like driving a car and like sales. So I was wondering what other analogies for Agile development were out there and did a search for “Agile Development is like” and “Agile is like.” Here is my top ten list. There actually weren’t many more than ten to choose from, surprisingly enough. If you know of another good one, please let me know!

10. “In many ways agile is like dieting or quitting smoking: you know it's good for you but some find it easier to fall back on old ways than to stick with the program” – Junilu Lacar

9. “Agile is just like driving a car” - various

8. “Agile is like sales” – yours truly

7. “Agile is like golf” - Joe Little (link)

6. “Agile is like religion” - various

5. “Agile is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get” - Tim Coulter (link)

4. “Agile is like Churchhill’s democracy, the worst possible solution until compared to the alternatives” – David Starr (link)

3. “Agile is like being pregnant, you either are or you aren’t.” - anon (link)

2. "The puck stops here." (Agile development is like hockey, not ballet --- Tim Lister).

1. Agile is like any other newly introduced popular concept. “…Everybody is talking about it. Very few are doing it and those who are, are doing it badly.” - James O. Coplien