Yesterday, an e-mail went out to our product development group saying that there was going to be a webcast by one of the agile programming pundits today and that we'd be tuning in in one of the conference rooms. The e-mail went on to further state that time taken to watch this webcast would be your own time (as opposed to company time).

The company is sending an unintentional, but valuable signal about what level of support they'll give to Agile practices: A little, but only little. I rather suspect they think they can get something for nothing. Still, it's better than their being hostile about it.

I think that agile programming is great and all...but come on! What does one have to know beforehand to do it?

It helps to understand the economic model and the thinking and philosophy behind the practices, so that in a crunch you'll make good decisions.