© Alistair Cockburn, 2002 Slide 1 What Is Agile Development & What does it Imply? [email protected] Alistair Cockburn

© Alistair Cockburn, 2002 Slide 1

What Is Agile Development&

What does it Imply?

[email protected]://Alistair.Cockburn.us

Alistair Cockburn


Talk structure

What agile is (isn’t), and what it implies

What is ‘agile’, how did it get there?

Methodology theory meets project details

Getting / Misconstruing the message


‘Agile’ got there by winning the development races in the turbulent 1990s.

Agile techniques were in use since the beginning.

Agile (mobility-based) techniques did not show competitive advantage in the 1970s / 1980s,but did during the 1990s and do now.

Trial runs of current agile methodologies, 1993 - 1995RAD DSDM XP Crystal Scrum Adaptive


Agile software development is about valuing “maneuverability” and “efficiency”

• Differing tactics fit differing focuses of attention:? predictability? repeatability ? cost? agility

• Agile methods make greater use of:+ Individuals and interactions+ Working software+ Customer collaboration+ Responding to change

• Within ‘agility,’ different tactics fit different situations

(“Agile” is not just a retitling of Extreme Programming !)


Software development is making ideas concrete in an economic context.

People inventing / communicating,Solving a problemCreating a solutionUsing limited languages

Where every choice has economic consequences,and resources are limited

Which they don’t fully understand& keeps changing under them


A resource-limited cooperative game of invention and communication

Primary Goal Deliver this softwareSecondary Goal Set up for the next game

Elements of the Game: People, Cooperation, Invention, Communication

(p.s. The game never repeats !!)

InfiniteOrganization Survival

Career Management

Competitive Cooperative

Finite w/no fixed end

Jazz musicKing-of-the-hill

wrestling

Finite & goal-directed

Tennis

Poker

Rock-Climbing

Games

SoftwareDevelopment


Key topics in the cooperative game

1. Different tactics for different projects2. People’s Personalities, Motivation, Goal Alignment3. Talent & Skill (fewer better people)

4. Communication (developers - developers - users)

5. Energy Management (minimal requirements/design)

6. Reflecting on what works / doesn’t work7. Quality in work (good, simple designs)

8. Good Tools (configuration management, testing)

9. Tacit knowledge, verbal communication10. Frequent Delivery (incremental development)


The players in the game are “People,”Highly spontaneous, active devices

Weak on: Strong on:Consistency CommunicatingDiscipline Looking aroundFollowing instructions Copy / modify-ing

Motivated by:Pride in workPride in contributingPride in accomplishment


People communicate most effectively interactively, face-to-face.

Richness of communication channel

Co

mm

un

icat

ion

Eff

ecti

ven

ess

2 people atwhiteboard

2 people on phone

2 peopleon email

Videotape

Paper

Photo courtesy of Evant corp.


Process

Techniques

Tools Skills

Roles

Standards

Quality Teams

Products

MilestonesActivities

Regression testsObject modelProject planUse cases

Microsoft Project3month incrementsUML / OMTC++

Microsoft ProjectSTPEnvy/Developer

ModelingJava programmingJAD facilitation

Personality

Project managerDocumenterDesignerTester

MBWAUse casesCRC cards

Methodology meets Project details:(a) Methodology = theory of a project

Methodology

Values


EcosystemMethodology

Process

Techniques

Tools Skills

Roles

Standards

Quality Teams

Products People

MilestonesActivities

Personality

Jenny

JimPeter

Annika

“Ecosystem” = the actual project details. (b) People are stuffed full of personality

Project managerDocumenterDesignerTester

Values

Values


Methodology and Ecosystem are always in interplay

When each changes, the ecosystem rearranges itself.

Ecosystem:Project details (“environment”)Staff expertise (“species”)Specific dominant / mild people (“predators”)

Flights of stairs people must climb (“cliffs”)Office layout (“terrain”)

Amicability between the individuals


Jenny(Pete)

Marketplace Programmers

BillMary

Projects get restructured around ecosystem details

Marketinggroup

Businessanalysts


Misconstruing the message:1. Agile is hacking.

Hackers

“Avoid planning”

“Spend all their time coding”

“Talk to each other when they are stuck [only]”

“Management caves in out of fear”

Agilists

Plan regularly

Test according to project priorities, recheck results with users often.

Talk to each other and customers as a matter of practice

Expect management to provide priorities, to participate jointly in making project adjustments.

(Hacker interpretations are available & inevitable.)


Misconstruing the message2. Agile only works with the best developers.

Every project needs at least one experienced and competent lead person. (==Critical Success Factor)

Each experienced and competent person on the team permits the presence of 4-5 “average” or learning people.

With that skill mix, agile techniques have been shown to work many times.


Getting the message:1. Agile techniques are “cheating”.

· Hire good people;· Seat them close together to help each other out;· ... close to the customers and users;· Arrange for rapid feedback on decisions;· Let them find fast ways to document their work;· Cut out the bureaucracy.

This is: cheating stacking the deckthe heart of agile software development

a good idea


Getting the message:2. Agile won’t work for all projects.

Right. Not every project team

- values agility - can set up the needed trust and communication

(p.s. Business isn’t fair).


Alistair [email protected]

http://members.aol.com/acockburnwww.CrystalMethodologies.org

Documents

© Alistair Cockburn, 2002 Slide 1 What Is Agile Development & What does it Imply? [email protected] Alistair Cockburn