Comments on: Agile – is it something? http://socialmode.com/2008/12/22/agile-is-it-something/ Integrated Synthesis of Media, Society and Behavior Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:54:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: un1crom http://socialmode.com/2008/12/22/agile-is-it-something/#comment-786 Mon, 22 Dec 2008 23:35:14 +0000 http://socialmode.com/?p=688#comment-786 i like it.

basically, we’re not pushing out all the crap and getting to what matters earlier in the process: can users USE this software.

]]> By: Andrew Montalenti http://socialmode.com/2008/12/22/agile-is-it-something/#comment-785 Mon, 22 Dec 2008 23:27:46 +0000 http://socialmode.com/?p=688#comment-785 I’ll give you my version of the Agile “process” in a nutshell: timeboxed iterations. For me, timeboxed iterations with real deliverables at the end of each short cycle (I like two weeks for a small-medium size team) is the core thing that sets Agile project management apart.

You combine this with what I call “Agile practices”:

- focus on user stories rather than tasks, that is, trying to build things that add value for a specific user rather than just ‘doing stuff’

- including the customer in the prioritization decisions for your product development

- focus on best practices that connect the development practice with the user requirements, such as TDD, automated acceptance testing

- emphasize the psychology of the programmer and the instinct for craftsmanship; to do this, use pair programming (rather than Big Design Up-Front and ‘throwing specs over the wall’), use retrospectives at the end of iterations to reflect upon what was done well, and encourage code review and refactoring continuously.

Agile Practices + Agile Process == a happy and productive team, I think.

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