Meet Omar, an Agile Coach who has seen it all daily standups that feel like school attendance, retrospectives that turn into endless complaint sessions, and teams treating Agile frameworks like sacred rules. But nothing confuses Omar more than how different generations approach Agile.

One day, Omar stumbles upon a mysterious time-traveling Scrum board (because why not?). With a single click, they are transported to different teams, across different eras, all working on the same project. What could go wrong?

2010: The Age of Agile Purists

Omar lands in a brightly lit office, where a team sits around a whiteboard covered in sticky notes. A Senior Scrum Master, Ahmed, turns to Omar and proudly declares:

“We strictly follow two-week sprints. Daily standups at 9 AM sharp. Sprint planning on Monday, retros on Friday. We never change the process; Scrum is perfect!”

Omar raises an eyebrow. Never?

“Never. The rules exist for a reason.” (I personally heard this in a recent meeting)

Omar wonders: Isn’t Agile supposed to be about adapting?

Before they can ask, the board glows again…

2025: The Age of Asynchronous Rebels

Now, Omar stands in front of a remote-first team. Cameras are off, and messages flood a Slack channel labeled #async-daily-check-in.

“We don’t do daily standups,” a developer named Layla messages. “We work across time zones. Everyone just updates this thread whenever they start their day.”

“We don’t do fixed sprints either,” another adds. “We use flow-based planning, so work moves at its own pace.”

Omar is intrigued. This team is delivering value, but they’ve completely abandoned traditional Scrum ceremonies. Is that… allowed?

Before they can think too much, the board flashes again!

Same Project, Different Teams, Different Styles

Now Omar is in a meeting room with two teams from the same company one hybrid, one fully remote.

• Team A (hybrid) insists on keeping backlog refinement meetings, arguing that they help build shared understanding.
• Team B (remote) prefers just-in-time discussions and documents decisions asynchronously.

They argue about who’s more Agile. Omar sighs. Wasn’t the point of Agile to evolve based on context?

The Agile Ghost of the Past

Just as Omar starts reflecting, a ghostly voice whispers:

“You must do standups at 9 AM!”

“You must never skip sprint planning!”

“You must follow the rules exactly!”

It’s the Agile Ghost of the Past—haunting teams who blindly follow frameworks instead of adapting to their needs.

Omar has had enough. They stand up and declare:

“Agile isn’t about frameworks! It’s about delivering value in ways that work for your team. Change is the only constant. Stop treating Agile like a rulebook and start treating it like a mindset!”

The ghost vanishes. The teams stare. And slowly, one by one, they start nodding.

Are You Following Agile or Just a Rulebook?

Here’s a quick checklist:

✅ Do your Agile practices support your team’s work style, or do they feel forced?

✅ Are you adapting based on feedback, or are you sticking to the rules “just because”?

✅ Can different teams in your company work in different ways without being labeled “not Agile enough”?

✅ Do you embrace new tools and work styles (async, remote-first, AI-driven workflows) instead of forcing old methods?

If you answered no to any of these, maybe it’s time to rethink your approach. Agile isn’t a sacred text it’s a mindset designed to help teams succeed.

So next time someone says, “Scrum requires…” or “SAFe mandates…”, ask: Does it serve our team and our goals? If not inspect, adapt, and evolve.

Because if Agile doesn’t evolve, it’s not Agile anymore.