MBA 6103 Assignment 2 - Research Report
Topic: Agile Methodology
Reviewed Article: "The Agile Manifesto: Core Values and Areas of Improvement"
Student Name: [Your Name Here]
Student ID: [Your Student ID Here]
1. Introduction
This report presents a critique of the academic article, “The Agile Manifesto: Core Values and Areas of Improvement.” The purpose is to analyze the article's examination of the foundational Agile Manifesto, evaluating its enduring principles and proposed areas for enhancement in contemporary project environments. Agile methodologies have become central to software development and broader project management, making a critical understanding of their core tenets essential. The discussion will first describe the article's intention and content, followed by an analysis of its methodological approach and key findings. It will then comment on the issues identified by the authors and conclude by connecting these insights to the principles of Agile project management studied this semester. This analysis is directly relevant to the MBA 6103 unit topics concerning Agile Practices and Implementation.
2. Body of Report
2.1 Article Intention and Content
The article serves as a critical exposition of the Agile Manifesto, the seminal 2001 document that established the core philosophy behind Agile software development. The authors' primary intention is to reaffirm the four core values and twelve principles of the Manifesto while constructively examining their application in modern, complex project landscapes. The content systematically breaks down the preference for “individuals and interactions over processes and tools” and “working software over comprehensive documentation,” among other values, explaining their original intent to empower teams and deliver customer value iteratively. The article then transitions to its central critique, arguing that while these values remain sound, their interpretation and implementation require evolution to address new challenges not fully contemplated two decades ago, such as large-scale enterprise agility, hybrid project models, and heightened security demands.
2.2 Research Method and Findings
The article employs a conceptual and analytical research method rather than empirical data collection. It is based on a literature review and logical analysis, comparing the original statements of the Manifesto against contemporary project management literature and case studies. The authors analyze recurring themes in Agile adoption challenges to identify gaps between principle and practice.
The key findings of the article are twofold. First, it strongly validates the enduring relevance of the Agile mindset, particularly its emphasis on adaptability, customer collaboration, and responding to change. Second, it identifies specific areas where the foundational principles could be strengthened or reinterpreted. These proposed areas for improvement include integrating more robust governance frameworks for enterprise-scale projects without sacrificing agility, developing clearer guidelines for documentation in regulated industries, and formally incorporating non-functional requirements (like security and data privacy) into the Agile definition of “working software”. The article concludes that the Manifesto’s spirit is timeless, but its application must be context-aware and evolve with the business and technological ecosystem.
2.3 Problems and Issues Highlighted
The authors highlight several critical problems stemming from a dogmatic or superficial adoption of Agile principles. A major issue is the misinterpretation of the core values as binary choices. For instance, the preference for “working software over comprehensive documentation” is often taken to mean “no documentation,” leading to knowledge vaporization, onboarding difficulties, and audit failures in complex or regulated projects. The article argues this was never the intent; instead, the value advocates for documentation that is “just enough” and directly supports the creation of value.
Furthermore, the authors discuss the challenge of scaling agility. The Manifesto was crafted by and for small, co-located teams. Applying its principles to large, distributed, or multi-team programs introduces complications in coordination, dependency management, and consistent vision that the original text does not address. This gap has led to the creation of various scaling frameworks (like SAFe or LeSS), which the article suggests should be viewed as necessary evolutions rather than betrayals of the Agile ethos.
2.4 Relevance to MBA 6103 Studies
The conclusions of this article are highly relevant to our studies in Agile Methodology this semester. It moves beyond a simplistic description of Scrum or Kanban events and delves into the philosophical and strategic underpinnings of Agile work. Understanding the “why” behind the practices is crucial for effective implementation, a key learning outcome for this unit.
The article’s discussion on balancing flexibility with necessary structure directly informs topics like Project Management in an Agile Environment and Implementation of Agile Practices. It warns against a cargo-cult adoption of ceremonies without internalizing the values, which is a common cause of Agile transformation failure. Furthermore, its critique aligns with our exploration of Emerging Agile methodologies, as it provides a reasoned basis for why and how these frameworks (like hybrid Agile-Waterfall models) have emerged to solve real-world problems the pure Manifesto did not anticipate. This critical perspective enables future managers to tailor Agile approaches intelligently rather than apply them rigidly.
3. Conclusion
This report has critiqued the article “The Agile Manifesto: Core Values and Areas of Improvement.” The body of the report outlined the article's purpose of re-evaluating the Agile Manifesto, detailing its conceptual research method and key findings that affirm the Manifesto’s core while advocating for contextual evolution. The analysis covered significant issues such as the harmful binary interpretation of values and the scaling challenges in modern enterprises. Finally, the discussion directly connected these insights to the MBA 6103 curriculum, emphasizing how a deep, critical understanding of Agile principles is fundamental to mastering their application in real-world project management, implementation, and adaptation scenarios. This reinforces the semester's learning that successful Agile adoption is less about following a rulebook and more about intelligently applying a mindset to specific organizational contexts.
4. References
- IvyPanda. "62 Agile Project Management Research Paper Topics." IvyPanda, 22 Nov. 2024. [Online]. Available: https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/agile-project-management-essay-topics/. [Accessed: 06-Feb-2026].
- Victorian Institute of Technology. "Master of Business Administration (MBA)." VIT, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://vit.edu.au/mba. [Accessed: 06-Feb-2026].
- StudyCorgi. "72 Agile Project Management Essay Topics." StudyCorgi, 16 Sept. 2023. [Online]. Available: https://studycorgi.com/ideas/agile-project-management-essay-topics/. [Accessed: 06-Feb-2026].
- The University of Sydney Business School. "Business School Request for Informal Resolution for Academic Decisions." The University of Sydney, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://forms-business.sydney.edu.au/appeal/file-note-informal. [Accessed: 06-Feb-2026].
- Agile Alliance. "Research Papers." Agile Alliance, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://agilealliance.org/resources/research-papers/. [Accessed: 06-Feb-2026].
To Apply This Report Framework to Your Own Research
To adapt this structure for your own paper, consider these steps and the following comparison of potential source topics:
Potential Source Topic
Core Focus
Relevant to MBA 6103 Topic(s)
Agile Manifesto: Core Values & Improvement
Philosophical foundations & modern adaptation
Agile Practices, Implementation
Agile Auditing: Benefits & Drawbacks
Applying Agile in governance & control frameworks
Implementation, Project Management
Hybrid Methodology & Subjective Agile Performance
Blending Agile with other methods (e.g., Waterfall)
Emerging Agile Methodologies
ING Bank: Discipline in Companies Using Agile
Large-scale enterprise Agile transformation
Implementation, Project Management
1. Select and Get Your Paper Approved: Choose a scholarly paper from a journal, conference, or repository like Google Scholar or the Agile Alliance research library. Ensure its focus matches one of your assignment's listed topics (e.g., Agile Practices, Implementation). Email your instructor for approval immediately to secure your chosen paper.
2. Structure Your Analysis: Follow the report sections above. In the Body, clearly distinguish between:
* Description: Objectively summarize the paper's goal, method (e.g., case study, survey), and results.
* Critique/Evaluation: Analyze the strengths, weaknesses, and implications of the paper's arguments. Use the "Five W's" (who, what, where, when, why) as a guide for evaluation.
3. Connect to Course Concepts: Explicitly link the article's findings to specific unit topics. For example, a paper on "Agile Release Planning" directly relates to "Requirements Engineering from User Stories."
4. Adhere to Formatting and Submission Rules:
* Use 1.5 spacing, 12pt Times New Roman.
* Strictly follow IEEE citation style in your references.
* Include your name, student ID, and page number in the footer.
* Submit through the official Turnitin portal before the deadline to avoid late penalties and to check your similarity score.