The organising principles of agile are based around the needs of developers. So processes and systems are broken down into units of functionality and fed to development teams along a pipeline of delivery.
I learnt to dive the PADI way, safe in the knowledge that my "buddy" would be there to help if I needed them. So if I was struggling to get my fins on they'd steady me, if I got caught in some fishing line they'd untangle me, and in the unlikely event that I ran out of air, we could breath from the same source. The "buddy system" provides a great comfort blanket and makes recreational diving that much safer.
If I lived and worked in San Fransisco, the current "death of the agency" debate may have slightly more poignancy than it does in the UK. San Francisco and the wider Bay Area is undoubtedly living through a huge tech bubble, and has been for some time. The slew of new tech businesses quickly hoovered up the local talent, before starting to ship them in from around the country and the rest of the world. This includes dozens of Brits I know who have left these shores for a better life in California.
While I think the argument for value pricing has a logical constancy, and sounds great in theory, I worry how it will end up being applied in practice. My main concern is the effect this approach will have on the practice of design and our relationship with clients, although I have a number of practical concerns as well.
I think most designers would agree that design has a huge amount to offer businesses in terms of differentiating products, solving complex problems and delivering increased value to consumers. I think most designers would also agree that this ability is often ignored or seriously undervalued by those same businesses.
Looking back, my adolescence seems like a halcyon time, devoid of mobile phones and status updates. Heading into the big city was an adventure into the unknown, and even something as mundane as meeting up with friends was fraught with uncertainty and excitement.