Organizational Constraints & Bureaucracy
Every Agile initiative is affected by the invisible gravity of structure and policy. These principles explain why large systems resist change, how bureaucracy grows, and what happens when incentives go misaligned. By recognizing these constraints, Agile practitioners avoid naïve planning and instead operate with strategic realism and influence.
| Concept | Agile Relevance | Usage in Agile |
|---|---|---|
| Peter Principle | People in a hierarchy tend to rise to their level of incompetence. | Encourages Agile orgs to value cross-functional growth, servant leadership, and coaching over rigid promotion ladders. |
| Putt's Law | "Technology is dominated by those who understand it least, and those who understand it best are driven out." | Highlights the need for strong Agile leadership, empowering technical experts, and avoiding bureaucracy in Agile teams. |
| Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy | Organizations prioritize self-preservation over their mission. | Warns against excessive governance in Agile transformations and advocates for decentralized decision-making to sustain agility. |
| Gresham's Law | "Bad processes drive out good processes." | Warns against bureaucratic overload, micromanagement, and over-engineering in Agile, bad habits that can erode Agile culture if not addressed. |
| Moore's Law of Hiring | High-performing teams attract high-performing individuals. | Encourages Agile recruitment strategies to maintain a strong team culture and talent density. |
| Jevons Paradox | Increased efficiency can lead to greater resource consumption. | Reminds teams that optimizing Agile processes (e.g., automation, DevOps) can lead to increased demand, requiring continuous scaling strategies. |