Agile Onion Flashcards
(23 cards)
How many layers are in the Agile Onion?
Can you name them all?
5 layers:
Mindset, Values, Principles, Practices, Processes
🧠 “My Very Practical Project Process”
What is the outermost layer of the Agile Onion?
Mindset
– It’s the deepest level of agility
– It’s about thinking, learning, and adapting
– Drives real behaviour and culture
🧠 “True agility starts in the mind”
What is the difference between Practices and Processes
Practices = visible actions (e.g. prioritisation, workshops)
📌 Practices show what teams do
Processes = structured steps and flow (e.g. sprints, reviews)
📌 Processes show how it’s organised
What is the role of Principles in the Agile Onion?
Principles explain the “why” behind practices
They guide behaviour and help teams adapt
Without principles, teams may follow routines without purpose
What do Values represent in the Agile Onion?
Values form the foundation of agile
They shift focus to people, collaboration, learning, and customer value
They enable adaptability and continuous improvement
🧠 “Values = what we believe in, not just what we do”
Why are Processes alone not enough for true agility?
Because they only provide structure.
Without mindset, values and principles, teams may look agile but aren’t truly flexible or empowered.
Which Agile Onion layers are most visible from the outside?
Practices and Processes
They show what the team does
But they don’t reflect mindset or values
Which Agile Onion layer is the most crucial for true agility?
Mindset
It shapes behaviour, enables learning, and supports a culture of agility
Without it, agile is just a method, not a mindset
Put the Agile Onion layers in correct order from outer to inner
Mindset (deepest, drives all)
Values
Principles
Practices
Processes (most visible)
Transformation
towards a learning
organization
Mindset, being Agile
How do a company change implementing Values and principles
organizational
and cultural change.
Being Agile
Practices and Processes
Can be
adopted in
command
and control.
Doing agile
Embraces change, learning, and team empowerment. It drives behaviour and makes
agility a culture, not just a method.
Mindset (outermost layer)
Drives behavior. Turns agile into a culture, not just a method.
🧠 “Agility starts in the mind.”
What we believe in – like people over processes, collaboration, and user value.
Values
Builds trust, focus, and improvement.
💛 “Values guide how we work together.”
The “why” behind what we do – they guide behavior and decisions.
Principles
Helps teams adapt and apply agile with purpose.
📜 “Principles are the reason behind our actions.”
Visible techniques and actions – like prioritization or daily standups.
Practices
Shows what agile teams do, but not why.
🧰 “Practices are tools, not mindset.”
The structured flow of work – frameworks like Scrum, timeboxes, sprints.
Processes (innermost layer)
Organizes how and when work is done – but doesn’t guarantee agility.
🔁 “Processes create order, but need mindset to matter.”
Mindset → Values → Principles → Practices → Processes
Beliefs → Behaviors → Actions → Tools → Structure
Beliefs
Mindset
Behaviors
Values
Actions
Principles
Tools
Practices
Structure
Processes
