What is disciplined agile methodology?

Disciplined Agile (DA) is not a single methodology but a hybrid and pragmatic approach to agile and lean practices. It provides a set of guiding principles and practices to help organizations make informed choices about their way of working (WoW) and tailor their agile and lean processes to fit their specific context. Disciplined Agile is often described as an "agile decision framework" because it offers a toolkit of practices that organizations can choose from based on their needs.

Key characteristics of Disciplined Agile include:

1. Flexibility: Disciplined Agile is designed to be flexible and adaptable to different contexts. It recognizes that there is no one-size-fits-all solution and provides guidance on how to tailor agile and lean practices to meet the unique needs of an organization.

2. Pragmatism: The framework is pragmatic and recognizes that organizations have existing processes, structures, and cultures. It aims to leverage and enhance what is already working well and incrementally improve areas that need attention.

3. Holistic Approach: Disciplined Agile takes a holistic approach, considering the full end-to-end delivery process. It covers aspects beyond software development, such as portfolio management, IT operations, and support processes.

4. Choice and Flexibility: The framework provides a wide range of process goals, strategies, and practices that teams and organizations can choose from based on their specific goals and constraints. This allows organizations to build a customized approach that suits their needs.

5. Roles and Responsibilities: Disciplined Agile defines a set of roles and responsibilities that cover the entire organization, from executives and portfolio managers to delivery teams and operations staff. This helps ensure that everyone is aligned and understands their roles in the agile and lean processes.

6. Continuous Improvement: The framework emphasizes the importance of continuous improvement. It encourages organizations to regularly reflect on their processes and outcomes and make adjustments to improve their ways of working over time.

Disciplined Agile is supported by the Disciplined Agile Consortium, which offers training and certifications for individuals and organizations interested in adopting the framework. Some of the key concepts within the Disciplined Agile framework include the Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD) process decision framework, the Disciplined Agile IT (DAIT) process layer, and the Disciplined Agile Enterprise (DAE) layer, which covers portfolio management and organizational agility.

It's important to note that the information provided here is based on my knowledge as of January 2022, and there may have been further developments or updates to the Disciplined Agile framework since then.