I know what you’re thinking.
“Here comes another tortured metaphor connecting two things that have nothing to do with each other like Agile and pizza toppings.”
But hang with me. Because the more I thought about it, the more I realized: Agile and screenwriting? They’re basically siblings separated at birth.
I’m not saying every Product Owner is secretly Aaron Sorkin (though now I am imagining a standup where the Sprint Review turns into a courtroom drama). But if you’ve ever written a script (or rewritten one 47 times) you know exactly what iterative delivery, rapid feedback loops, and user-focused storytelling look like.
So let’s break it down.
1. First Drafts Are Trash. And That’s the Point.
Screenwriters know the deal: the first draft exists to suck loudly and specifically. It’s not polished. It’s not clever. It just gets the story moving.
Sound familiar?
Agile is built on the same idea. Your first version of a feature isn’t supposed to be perfect. It’s supposed to be testable, reviewable, and improvable.
We don’t ship perfect, we ship progress.
2. Your Audience Is the User
When you’re writing a movie, you’re not trying to impress your writer friends. You’re trying to make an audience feel something. Laugh. Gasp. Sit in stunned silence as the screen fades to black.
Same with Agile. You’re not building a product to check boxes, you’re solving a problem for a real human who wants to get something done without throwing their laptop out the window.
Screenwriters have test audiences. We have demos and user feedback.
Same principle. Different popcorn.
3. The Framework Matters but It’s Not the Story
The best screenplays follow structure: Three acts. Midpoints. Climaxes. But the structure doesn’t replace creativity, it just gives it shape.
Agile’s the same. Scrum, Kanban, SAFe… these are frameworks. Not religions. They help teams move, but they don’t do the work for you.
Your Agile story still needs conflict, stakes, character arcs (ahem, retros), and a satisfying resolution.
Or at least a clean release.
4. Collaboration Is Everything
A screenplay on its own is just words on a page. It takes directors, actors, designers, and editors to bring it to life.
Agile? Same energy. Cross-functional teams. Shared ownership. Continuous communication. The best stuff comes when the whole crew contributes, not just the “writer.”
Unless your “writer” insists on naming every Jira ticket something like The Feature Awakens. In which case… please stop.
5. Cut What Doesn’t Serve the Story
Great movies leave scenes on the cutting room floor. Even if they were expensive. Even if someone loved them.
That’s Agile too. Sometimes the thing we thought was brilliant ends up being… not. And we have to let it go.
The goal isn’t to finish what we started. The goal is to build what matters.
TL;DR: It’s All Storytelling
Whether you’re pitching a movie or delivering a product, you’re telling a story.
One that makes sense.
One that resonates.
One that people care about.
So if your Agile practice feels stuck? Maybe take a screenwriter’s advice:
- Write the bad version first.
- Focus on the audience.
- Iterate like your reputation depends on it.
- And never, ever end on a cliffhanger. (Unless you’re planning a sequel.)