Agile Manifesto Values

Reflect on how strongly your team lives the four core values of the Agile Manifesto in everyday work.

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Measure how well your team embodies the Agile Manifesto

Grounded in the four core values of the Agile Manifesto, this assessment helps teams reflect on how strongly they live out agile principles in their day-to-day work. By weighing individuals and interactions, working software, customer collaboration, and responding to change against their traditional counterparts, teams gain a shared understanding of where their mindset truly sits. Use the results to spark honest conversations, surface hidden tensions, and align on the behaviours that make agility real rather than aspirational.

Dimensions

Agile Manifesto Values

The four foundational values from the Agile Manifesto that guide how agile teams prioritise their work and collaborate.

  • Individuals and Interactions

    Reflects whether the team prioritises people and direct communication over rigid processes and tooling.

    • We value individuals and interactions
    • We balance people and process
    • ...over process and tools.

  • Working Software

    Reflects whether the team prioritises delivering functional software over producing extensive documentation.

    • We value working software
    • We balance software and documentation
    • ...over comprehensive documentation.

  • Customer Collaboration

    Reflects whether the team prioritises ongoing collaboration with customers over fixed contract terms.

    • We value customer collaboration
    • We balance collaboration and contracts
    • ...over contract negotiation.

  • Responding to Change

    Reflects whether the team prioritises adapting to change over strictly adhering to a predefined plan.

    • We value responding to change
    • We balance change and planning
    • ...over following a plan.

When to use this health check

  • When a team wants to assess how closely its everyday behaviour aligns with the Agile Manifesto.
  • During an agile transformation to establish a baseline and track shifts in mindset over time.
  • In a retrospective to spark honest discussion about where process is winning over people.
  • When onboarding a new team to align on shared agile values and expectations.

Tips & tricks

  • Run this check periodically to see how your team's agile mindset evolves over time.
  • Encourage candid responses by reassuring the team that there are no wrong answers.
  • Focus discussion on the dimensions with the widest spread of opinion, as these reveal the most valuable tensions.
  • Pair the results with concrete experiments or actions in your next retrospective.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Agile Manifesto Values health check?
It is an assessment based on the four core values of the Agile Manifesto, helping teams reflect on how strongly they prioritise people, working software, customer collaboration, and adaptability in their everyday work.
Who should take part in this health check?
Any agile or delivery team can take part, including developers, product owners, scrum masters, and stakeholders who want a shared view of how the team lives its agile values.
How often should we run it?
Running it every quarter or at major milestones works well, allowing you to track how your team's agile mindset shifts as practices and circumstances change.
What do the rating anchors mean?
Each value pairs an agile priority against its traditional counterpart; the scale shows whether your team leans toward the agile value, balances both, or leans toward the more traditional approach.