• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.
• Working software over comprehensive documentation.
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation.
• Responding to change over following a plan.

(While there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.)

“The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.” Really? The most efficient and effective? My experience managing projects over the years suggests the exact opposite. I have been cautioning project managers against the negative impact of these undocumented verbal communications. Many decisions, clarifications, explanations, adjustments, and even scope changes and requirement changes happen during verbal communications that are not documented anywhere. I am all for maximum collaborations between all members of the project team, but not face-to-face and not verbal. These are all known to be main reasons for project failures. Let me make it clear: All communications between team members, agile or not, must be documented.