[wpietri]

Yes, you've definitely got the theory. In a well-run Agile shop, dates are derived from the backlog and the team's observed pace.

I'll add that Agile teams should also have something releasable every iteration (which ideally is every week). When that's true, dates are less of a problem. Instead of managers sweating engineers over when it will be done, managers in an Agile context spend their time arguing with other managers about the business question of whether to release something small and soon or something bigger and later.

In a well-run Agile context, anyhow. If you're not seeing those behaviors, but instead see the traditional drama, a high-pressure single convergence on a fixed date with fixed feature goals, then it's the sort of faux Agile this article is talking about.