Faster Horses

"If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." - Henry Ford

Collaboration is a tricky business. On the one hand, we need to deliver what the customer wants. On the other, the customer may not know what they want until they see it.

As agile developers, we are meant to deliver value to the customer. Sometimes that's going to be by doing what they want. At other times, it's going to be anticipating it.

The lean value of seeing the whole is vital to adopt. If the development team understand the domain, it gives them the opportunity to see things the customer doesn't. That it turn leads to a higher value product.

This is why collaboration is so important. It allows early and frequent feedback on what features are being delivered. This takes away the surprise element, as well as giving the opportunity for collaboration.

Development over time involves a deep immersion in a problem space. Ideas will spring up as the problem space is explored, and a good agile team should be ready to respond when this happens.