You can't blindly follow a plan, process, or ideal
You can. The question that you might ask is whether the plan is good or not.
You can't follow dogma
As above. Dogma actually has its uses. The trick is knowing how, where and when to use it, or someone who is dogmatic. Machiavellian, but its a tool nonetheless.
Saying we don't need a plan is to thumb our nose at thousands of years of wisdom. Sun Tzu was not stupid when he suggested choosing a path only once the objective and environment are understood. Stephen Covey puts the same concept into modern terms when he suggests beginning with the end in mind.
And that brings us to the disconnect we live in. Developing something using agile practices does not require a plan. A plan is however required at a level above the developer to steer development. As you go, you'll find yourself becoming interested in that plan more and more. It's a natural shift because the plan reflects the strategy, development is purely tactical. Understanding the strategy is motivational - it answers the why. Development is all about the how.
Real value as a developer only comes from experience. An experienced developer is successful in spite of any methodology, approach or framework, not because of it. Something else we're really good at blinding ourselves to.
Experience has no price. It amuses me to no end that we as an industry place higher value on the 20-something hacker than we do on the 50-something veteran. We're unintentionally letting culture hobble our chances of success.
You can. The question that you might ask is whether the plan is good or not.
You can't follow dogma
As above. Dogma actually has its uses. The trick is knowing how, where and when to use it, or someone who is dogmatic. Machiavellian, but its a tool nonetheless.
Saying we don't need a plan is to thumb our nose at thousands of years of wisdom. Sun Tzu was not stupid when he suggested choosing a path only once the objective and environment are understood. Stephen Covey puts the same concept into modern terms when he suggests beginning with the end in mind.
And that brings us to the disconnect we live in. Developing something using agile practices does not require a plan. A plan is however required at a level above the developer to steer development. As you go, you'll find yourself becoming interested in that plan more and more. It's a natural shift because the plan reflects the strategy, development is purely tactical. Understanding the strategy is motivational - it answers the why. Development is all about the how.
Real value as a developer only comes from experience. An experienced developer is successful in spite of any methodology, approach or framework, not because of it. Something else we're really good at blinding ourselves to.
Experience has no price. It amuses me to no end that we as an industry place higher value on the 20-something hacker than we do on the 50-something veteran. We're unintentionally letting culture hobble our chances of success.