To Agile_ or Not to Agile

							TO AGILE, OR NOT TO
AGILE
The New Methodology
History
   Many many years ago in the 1990’s…
     Peoplebegan searching for different approaches to
     software development.
History Continued…
   Nothing
       “Code and fix”
           A chaotic activity scrapped together without formally structured
            PLAN, DESIGN, and short term DECISIONS.
   Monumental
       Engineering or Plan-Driven Methodology
           Impose a disciplined process upon development to increase
            PREDICTABILITY and EFFICIENCY
   Agile Methodology
       Compromise between NO process and TOO MUCH process.
Agile Key Points
   Adaptive
     Agile   methods are adaptive rather than predictive.
   People-oriented
     Agilemethods are people-oriented rather than
      process-oriented
Predictive vs. Adaptive
   Design to Construction
     Design   specifies what tasks need to be done and what
      dependencies exist between tasks.
     It is the foundation of a construction plan.

     Design is difficult to predict and expensive where as
      construction is easier to predict.
     In theory, a perfect plan allows construction to be less
      skilled intellectually.
Software Development Parameters
   Construction is cheap
   All effort is in DESIGN
     Necessitates   creative and talented people.
   Creative process
     Noteasily planned
     Unpredictable

   A different process from traditional engineering
Unpredictability
   Software development is UN-predictable
   Controlling unpredictable process
     Iterative   design process
       Allowsadaptive process of testing, integrating, and
        changing systems.
       Creates firm foundations for future directions
People First
   Are people replaceable parts?
     Agile   methods REJECT this assumption
   If you treat people like cogs…
     Good  programmers look for better places
     You end up with plug compatible programming units
      (human cogs.)
     Be careful what you wish for
Professionalism
   Programmers are professionals
     They are the best people to decide how to conduct
      technical work.
   Management
     Programmers   must be allowed to make all technical
      decisions.
     Management and programmers must have equal
      leadership of projects.
Self Adaptive Process
   Changes over time
   Alters itself to the task at hand
• Starts off with a
  problem that can be
  improved as a project
  continues
• Should adapt to the
  team that uses it as
  well as the problem
Self Adaptive Questions
   What did we do well?
   What have we learned?
   What can we do better?
   What puzzles us?
  Flavors of Agile Development
    Agile programming consists of many different
     approaches and philosophies
•It must follow the same broad
principles of agile
programming

•Agile communities borrow
ideas and techniques from
other communities which creates
a mesh of agile programming
concepts that can be useful for
many applications
Should you go Agile?
   Find a suitable project to
    start with that is not too big
    and will have little business
    impact
   Find a team that wants to
    work in an agile way
   Can customers who need the
    software add any value by
    working in a collaborative
    manner?
When should you use the agile method?

   When people are motivated and interested in the
    intense collaboration that agile development
    requires.