The “Manifesto for Agile Software Development,” February 2001:
We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan
That is, while there is value in the items on the right,
we value the items on the left more.
The Beginning
Twenty-five years ago this week, from February 11-13, 2001, seventeen software practitioners met at a ski resort in Snowbird, Utah, to talk about the way they were building software and the frustrations they shared.
They did not represent a single method, company, or organization. They did not arrive with a plan to launch a movement. By the end of the weekend, they had written a short statement of values that became the “Manifesto for Agile Software Development,” or as most of us refer to it these days, simply the Agile Manifesto.
This account draws on recollections from several participants and related materials.
Who Was in the Room
The group at Snowbird was small and informal. Attendance was driven by interest and availability rather than titles or formal authority.
- Participants were associated with Extreme Programming, Scrum, DSDM, Crystal, Feature-Driven Development, Adaptive Software Development, and Pragmatic Programming.
- They represented different approaches and communities within software development.
- The gathering was not sponsored by any formal organization.
As Martin Fowler later wrote, there was “nothing particularly special about the seventeen of us who happened to be at Snowbird,” and the group did not see itself as having any special status in the movement.
What They Were Reacting Against
The meeting did not begin with a shared plan for the future. What participants shared was a dissatisfaction with the conditions many teams were working in.
- Heavyweight, documentation-driven development processes.
- Plans treated as fixed commitments rather than subject to change.
- Organizational environments that relied heavily on process and control.
- Situations where people were described as important but treated as interchangeable.
In his history of the meeting, Jim Highsmith wrote that much of the energy behind Agile was about values and culture rather than techniques, referring to what he called “the mushy stuff.”
The Whiteboard Moment
Expectations for the meeting were modest. In his recollection, Martin Fowler wrote that he mainly hoped the group would get to know each other better and improve communication.
Participants came from different methods and perspectives, and early conversations focused on explaining and comparing those approaches. Several recollections describe a shift when the discussion moved away from defending individual methods and toward identifying what the group actually had in common.
Dave Thomas recalled that recurring themes began to surface as the conversation continued. During a break, he and Fowler worked at a whiteboard to capture what they were hearing.
“So we experimented with writing down our conversation that way: we prefer X over Y,” Thomas wrote in Some Agile History.
When participants returned from their break, the discussion continued around the emerging statements laid out on the whiteboard.
In a 10th anniversary video panel at Agile2011, several authors described the moment when the values took shape. Ron Jeffries recalled, “It’s hard now to imagine just how crystallizing that moment was… that was the moment when everything twisted, when everything turned. It was the pivotal event.”
The shift was not the introduction of a new idea, but the explanation of shared priorities in language that the entire group could accept.
How the Four Values Emerged
The final form of the values came through iteration and reduction.
Dave Thomas recalled that the initial list was longer:
“I think we sat down after lunch with five bullets on the board,” he says. “By the end of the afternoon, it was down to four, plus an introduction.”
The comparative structure of the values emerged as the group worked to express priorities while still acknowledging value in the items on the right.
In his account, Martin Fowler noted that the values were developed during the meeting itself, while the 12 Principles Behind the Agile Manifesto took longer and required additional work.
The anniversary video also describes techniques used during the meeting, including the use of index cards to surface strongly held beliefs and collective review of wording until full agreement was reached.
Why the Name Mattered
The group also needed a name.
- The term “Lightweight” had been used previously but was widely disliked.
- Other names were considered, including “Adaptive.”
- But the group, of course, ultimately chose Agile.
In the 10th anniversary video, Mike Beedle remarked that the group was “extremely lucky” in selecting the word because it already had meaning in the business world.
In his written recollection, Martin Fowler explained that the group understood the word “agile” was not exclusive to their work and would be interpreted in different ways, but that they needed a term to describe the common views they held.
What They Hoped Would Happen Next
The authors did not see themselves as an authority over what would follow.
As Fowler wrote, the seventeen “had ‘launched the ship,’ but saw no reason to have any special say in agile software’s future.”
In his own account, Bob Martin described the Snowbird meeting as focused and collaborative, and noted that the formal creation of the Agile Alliance as a legal organization happened afterward.
The anniversary video also includes reflections expressing the hope that Agile would eventually become normal practice rather than something treated as a special label.
25 Years Later
Twenty-five years later, the Agile Manifesto still reflects the spirit of that weekend. It does not prescribe a system or claim authority. It offers a set of shared priorities and leaves room for judgment, context, and learning over time. Its influence has come less from detailed instruction than from the conversation it continues to invite.
This anniversary is a moment to recognize the ideas produced that weekend 25 years ago, but also the people who took part in that gathering and contributed to a document that has shaped how many teams think about their work.
With gratitude to the seventeen who came together at Snowbird in February 2001 and helped articulate the values that became the Agile Manifesto: Kent Beck, Mike Beedle, Arie van Bennekum, Alistair Cockburn, Ward Cunningham, Martin Fowler, James Grenning, Jim Highsmith, Andrew Hunt, Ron Jeffries, Jon Kern, Brian Marick, Robert C. Martin, Steve Mellor, Ken Schwaber, Jeff Sutherland, and Dave Thomas.
The Next 25 Years: From Agile to Enterprise Agility
Twenty‑five years after the creation of the Agile Manifesto, the challenges facing organizations have evolved dramatically. Markets shift faster, technologies disrupt entire industries overnight, and global complexity demands new ways of working. Yet the spirit of that weekend in Snowbird endures: a belief that adaptability, collaboration, and human‑centered ways of working unlock better outcomes.
Today, those same foundational ideas extend far beyond software teams. Organizations now ask a broader, more urgent question:
Are we built for change?
PMI and Agile Alliance are carrying forward the intent of the original manifesto by helping organizations answer that question at enterprise scale. Enterprise Agility builds on Agile’s core values and expands them to the entire organizational system—where strategy, leadership, operating models, decision flow, governance, and culture must work together to deliver value with purpose and clarity in a constantly changing environment. This evolution reflects what executives across industries have told us: agility is no longer a team capability; it is an organizational one.
Just as the Agile Manifesto sparked a movement that reshaped how teams work, Enterprise Agility represents the next era—helping organizations sense change earlier, respond with alignment and speed, and create environments where empowered teams can deliver value that truly matters. By building on the legacy of the original signatories and uniting the strengths of PMI and Agile Alliance, we are shaping a future where agility becomes a strategic advantage for every organization.
Read the Enterprise Agility report from PMI and make sure to follow the Agile Alliance newsletter for the announcement of the new Manifesto for Enterprise Agility coming soon.
