Hi, I’m Anna, co-founder of T5 Digital, and today I want to share something I’ve learned over the years, something that can make or break a project: it’s all about principles, not frameworks. If there’s one bit of advice I can give to anyone embarking on a transformation or delivery project, it’s this: don’t get too hung up on the frameworks. Focus on the underlying principles that guide your team’s decisions and work.
Don’t get me wrong, frameworks can be really useful. They give you structure and a set of rules to follow, which can be comforting when you’re tackling something complex. But the problem is, frameworks can also feel rigid. They might not fit perfectly with how your business operates, and trying to shoehorn everything into a predefined box can sometimes do more harm than good.
I’ve seen teams follow delivery practices from various frameworks and methods to the letter, only to end up frustrated because it didn’t solve their problems. The key to success is using frameworks as scaffolding, but if you want a high-performing team culture that keeps improving and evolving, it’s best to understand the principles behind those frameworks. For example, take agile principles like collaboration, iterative progress, and responding to change, and then apply them in a way that works for you.
One thing I always advise is to focus on flexibility. No two businesses are the same, and no two projects, products, or teams are either. The moment you realise that principles give you the freedom to adapt, everything gets easier. Rather than forcing a process or methodology onto your team, ask yourself: what’s the principle behind this? How can we apply it in a way that fits our situation?
One of the principles I lean on a lot is “continuous improvement.” In practice, this means taking the time to reflect and adjust as you go. Whether it’s through regular retrospectives or having an open culture where people feel comfortable suggesting changes, it’s about empowering the team to improve with every step. I’ve found that when teams focus on improving their processes bit by bit, they deliver better results and handle challenges more easily.
For example, Scrum sets a cadence of a fortnight for retrospectives, but why wait to improve? When Scrum was developed over 20 years ago, the goal was to encourage teams to stop, reflect, and improve, something many teams never did back then. The fortnightly retro was a revolutionary concept, but fast forward to today, and the best teams I’ve worked with retro every single week. It’s about understanding the principle behind the practice and making it work for you in real time.
Here’s another example: security. Too often, teams think of security as a box-ticking exercise, something to be added on at the end of a project. But when you approach security as a principle, it becomes something that’s embedded in every part of the process. It’s not just an extra task, it’s a mindset. Teams start thinking about security at every stage, from development through deployment, and that makes the end product much more robust.
I once worked with a team that struggled with late-stage security issues. They’d get so close to the end of a project, only to have everything grind to a halt because security testing found vulnerabilities. What worked for them was shifting their thinking, making security part of the principle behind their day-to-day work, rather than something tacked on at the end. How they did this was by adding security as standard acceptance criteria across everything – to ‘bake security in’. That led them to adopt security testing tooling within their deployment pipeline rather than standalone testing at the end. This reduced stress, made the project flow more smoothly and resulted in far fewer last-minute surprises. Importantly, it reduced risk.
The best thing about focusing on principles is that it makes everything simpler. You’re not constantly trying to figure out if you’re following the framework correctly or worrying if you’re “doing it right.” Instead, you’re making smart decisions based on what really matters, whether that’s reliability, security, user experience, or cost efficiency. The principles guide you, and they’re flexible enough to adapt as things change.
For me, it always comes back to this: what’s the best way to reduce risk and make life easier for the people doing the work? And how can we make sure that we’re delivering value in a way that’s sustainable and scalable? When you focus on the right principles, those questions become a lot easier to answer. One of my favourite lean principles is all about simplification, as opposed to adding more process.
So here’s my advice, the next time you’re faced with a project or a change initiative, start by thinking about the principles. What are the core things that need to be true for this project to succeed? How can you apply those principles in a way that makes sense for your team and your goals?
Focus on flexibility, continuous improvement, and embedding key principles like security and quality right from the start. When you do that, you give your teams the freedom to adapt and the confidence to deliver. Principles will always serve you well.
Thanks for reading!
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