Ricardo Mestre and I were discussing Mike Cohn's cornerstone book on Agile today on email - we were discussing our shared desire to tell the world about the book and its wisdom - or at least persuade our colleagues to read it.

I tried this a couple of years ago in my present company by running a presentation on "Why Planning Fails" and it was clear that some people just fail to connect with these concepts - there were many stunned silences and blank expressions around the room. I think what I realised is that it's quite an academic subject - for bright sparks like Ricardo and myself it seems like common sense or second nature - but some others find it quite a challenge to grasp or they just have a mental block that refuses to allow them to accept it. Hey - this is why Mike is writing his new book!

* The design team didn't want to plan anything whether it was agile or not - they just wanted space to be creative - what a surprise.

* The developers were nervous because it was obvious they needed to apply some initiative rather than just take instructions - what a surprise.

* The testers were nervous because they were accustomed to detailed requirements - what a surprise.

* The management loved it because they thought everything would happen quicker and cost less - what a surprise.

These days I only suggest reading the book to people who come to me and express a particular interest in the subject. This usually happens after a successful delivery using agile techniques. Rolling out the practises is making a difference without the need for evangelism.