October 2004 Cutter Benchmark Review: Date Visibility

by Jim Highsmith

Early this year, several incidents have occurred that, while few in number, portend a trend that I believe can be very damaging to the agile movement. Three executives -- a VP of technology, a director of product development, and a country manager for a large consulting firm -- all told me that their staffs have uttered some version of the following: "We're agile, we can't tell you how long this project will take or how much it will cost." This statement is nonsense, and if we want to convince senior executives that the agile movement will help them, this tactic will bar the way.