To me, it is:

  • value delivery,
  • rhythm of future delivery.

Agility is about effectivity, and becoming more efficient at it.
It should be towards providing a competitive edge.
A lens for every department, engineering included, to evaluate what and how they work.
Anything else is a waste of time, energy and other resource.

  • timing the tickets?
  • waste of resources – #NoEstimates.
  • writing tickets?
  • more wastage.
  • keeping a backlog?
  • a drain
  • growing backlog of errors to be fixed?
  • endless cycle of waste
  • how about? (on twitter)

The path?
Study users.
Watch them interact with the product.
Hear them.
Find their values.
Learn.
Act.
Repeat.

About engineering department,
their focus stretches beyond developing today's best solution;
They should also consider:

  • improving the current rhythm (by internal tooling, design choices, architecture, refactoring, etc)
  • enabling superior solutions; unlock new potentials (think of Apple's M-series chips vs. betting on Intel)

Each part significant;
each part strategic;
all while the focus is kept on what truly matters: real value for the users.

Embrace value.
Embrace Agility.