Agile values for PMs: four Digital Superhero style anti-values

The Agile Manifesto comprises four foundational values and twelve supporting principles. They underpin the Agile approach to software development.

1. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

2. Working software over comprehensive documentation

3. Customer collaboration over contract negotiation

4. Responding to change over following a plan

It was written in February 2001. Twenty-five years ago and a lot has changed since then.

Two questions: Are the four Agile values still relevant? Are they useful for project managers?

My hot take

As PMs, we need to uphold the flip side. Yes, the opposite. Hear me out.

Your designers and devs are happily living the Agile values, even with a Cursor window open in the background. Collaborating with customers. Shipping working software. Beautiful. So who's making sure SOWs and change requests get signed off? Who's pulling signal out of the AI-generated dashboards and turning it into a story stakeholders can act on? That's the PMs job.

The Agile anti-values

You are the champion of processes and tools

The systems and software your team works in aren't meant to hold them back. They're scaffolding. Your job is making sure the scaffolding works for the team, not the other way around. Which fields are required in Jira? When does a ticket move columns? Which AI agent in your PM tool is auto-triaging requests, and is it doing it well? Which Slack channel is for what? Which decisions need a meeting and which need a thread? Done well, the team barely notices the process. Done badly, the process becomes the project.

You are the documentation curator

Let your team deliver. That's what they do best. Your job is making sure the knowledge sticks. In 2026, that doesn't mean writing every note yourself. Your team's meetings transcribe themselves now. The PM job isn't capture anymore. It's curation. Where do those notes live? Can anyone find them in three months? Is the institutional knowledge being saved, or just stored?

You are the contract negotiation superhero

Don't worry about being the one collaborating directly with customers. Your devs/ designers do that. Instead, make sure you're looking after, and protecting your designers and agency. Get rock-solid SOWs and change requests to guard their time and make sure they can deliver what the client needs, without unnecessary distractions.

You are the guardian of the plan

If you don't follow the plan, you're making up the rules as you go. Allow some flex here and there, sure, but your project needs to have fixed checkpoints and deliverables, otherwise you're all just winging it.

If the plan changes, you need to log and share those updates with everyone involved, so nobody can claim they don't know what's going on.

So what... are the four Agile values just plain wrong?

Not at all, and I agree with the spirit of them. Every part of the Agile values is important. Different people in the team will focus on different elements at different times.

Your job as PM is to pick up the slack on those 'less agile' things like process, contracts and planning, while your design and creative team members do what they do best.

My four golden rules

If I had to redefine the four Agile values for PMs in 2026, I'd say:

1. Follow Agile rituals, but actually attend them. AI can transcribe, but it really couldn't care less
2. Agree backlogs and give the team autonomy to self-organise
3. Ensure your team is customer-centric, not AI-centric. Customers care about outcomes, not which model you used
4. LOVE YOUR TEAM, not just your AI agents!