5 Things the Agile Community Taught Me This Year - 2026

Mar 24

Gopu Shrestha | Agile Practitioner & Scrum Master

I've been reading, commenting, and reflecting on conversations from some of the best Agile minds this year. Here's what stuck with me — in plain English.

1. Running Scrum well ≠ getting results

Jennifer Benak nailed it:

"Agile maturity in 2026 means outcomes — cycle time, deployment frequency, customer value. Not process compliance."

— Jennifer Benak

I've seen teams with perfect standups still miss fraud-loss targets. The fix? Measure what flows — not what's easy to count.

2. AI exposes weak Agile, fast

Kamal Kumar and V. Lee Henson both warned us:

"AI won't replace Scrum Masters — but it will show who does real coaching vs. just running events."

— Kamal Kumar

Fuzzy backlog + vanity metrics + unclear 'done' = AI just makes your noise louder. Strong fundamentals + AI = real step-change.

3. Broken standups aren't a meeting problem

Brian Kelly and Jyoti Khurana both pointed to the same root cause: weak Definition of Done and unclear goals.

"Shortening a standup doesn't fix it. A clear sprint goal and visible blocked work does."

— Jyoti Khurana

Fix the clarity. The ceremony fixes itself.

4. Leaders need coaches, not process police

Agile Classrooms / John Miller put it simply:

"Know when to coach, teach, facilitate, or advise — especially in today's hybrid, AI-driven teams."

— Agile Classrooms

The missing piece in most orgs? Helping leaders build their team's capability — not enforce compliance. Coaching is a leadership skill, not just an Agile one.

5. 'Done' and 'flow' are everything

Mike Cohn — whose book I've read — said it best:

"Fuzzy 'done' definitions and unclear metrics are the silent culprits behind standups that feel like theater."

— Mike Cohn

Once a team truly shares what 'done' and 'flow' mean, the ceremonies take care of themselves. It's a mindset shift, not a process fix.

The bottom line:

• Outcomes > ceremonies. Measure what matters.

• AI amplifies what's already there. Make sure it's something worth amplifying.

• Clarity is the real fix. Not a new framework.

• Coaching builds teams. Process policing just slows them down.

Thanks to Jennifer Benak, Kamal Kumar, Ray Arell, Brian Kelly, Jyoti Khurana, V. Lee Henson, Dave Westgarth, Mike Cohn, and Agile Classrooms for the conversations that sparked this. 🙏

What's the Agile community teaching you this year? 👇

#Agile #ScrumMaster #AgileLeadership #FlowMetrics #ContinuousImprovement #2026

Gopu Shrestha