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  • Constraints are Advantages in Disguise

    Building software is closely associated with managing a lot of constraints. These constraints might be in terms of time, money, technology, decisions, compatibility, regulatory, people, process or all of the above. Jim Bird discussed the constraints imposed by Scrum, XP and how they help in fostering creativity and building the right software.

  • Agile 2010: Where Were the Programmer-Focused Sessions?

    The Agile 2010 conference was held in Orlando from 9-14 August. A number of commentators felt there were not enough sessions focused on the technical practices and programming techniques, including Bob Martin who twittered about the lack of technical sessions. This resulted in a number of responses and the announcement of plans to launch an XP Universe conference in 2011 targeting programmers.

  • XP or Scrum, Either, Both, or Neither?

    Which is better? Scrum or XP? Is there one that is more applicable than the other or is there another alternative?

  • A Good Velocity

    Buddha Buck recently asked the Extreme Programming list if there were a velocity range that could be considered 'good' for a team of about seven people doing two-week iterations. He felt that a velocity of eight or below indicated that the team's stories might be too big. The resulting discussion provided some answers to the question, and the questions behind the question.

  • Presentation: A Tale of 2 Systems

    In this video recorded during QCon London 2008, Pete Goodliffe presents two Linux-based audio products with a complete different outcome, software design making the difference.

  • Presentation: 10 Ways to Improve Your Code

    In this presentation recorded during QCon SF 2008, Neal Ford, an architect at ThoughtWorks, shows 10 ways to write better code. This is practical advice for developers, but application architects can benefit from it too.

  • An Agile Approach to Code Reuse

    A recent discussion on the Extreme Programming Yahoo Group explored the apparent conflict between making software reusable and the XP practice of not writing code until it is needed. Ron Jeffries and others shared insights about the costs and benefits of code reuse, as well as how and when to do it in an agile environment.

  • Adopting The Whole Enchilada

    Recently InfoQ reported on Jim Shore's 'The Decline and Fall of Agile', which highlighted a trend for organizations to adopt "Agile" (in name) but fail to adopt what it means to be Agile (in practice). Community leaders such as Joshua Kerievsky, Martin Fowler, and Ron Jeffries have taken Shore's post a few steps further recently, posting their own thoughts on what's going on with this situation.

  • Interview: Similarities Between Interaction Designers and Agile Programmers

    In this interview taken during Agile 2008, Alan Cooper, the father of Visual Basic and supporter of interaction design, talks about his contact with the Agile movement and the similarities discovered between Agile programmers and interaction designers.

  • Presentation: Kent Beck: Trends in Agile Development

    In this presentation, Kent Beck, the father of eXtreme Programming, shows the synergies between business and Agile development. The reason Agile is becoming more popular every day is because it responds to the business needs as they evolve.

  • Article: Making TDD Stick: Problems and Solutions for Adopters

    In this article, Mark Levison addresses the difficulties encountered by developers willing to adopt TDD, the reasons why many start using TDD but give up after a short period of time, and what could be done to help developers make TDD a habit.

  • Presentation: Embrace Uncertainty by Jeff Patton

    In this original presentation from the Communitech Agile Event, Jeff Patton, winner of the Agile Alliance’s 2007 Gordon Pask Award, explains why one needs to embrace uncertainty in order to succeed with his/her Agile project and how to avoid some of the common mistakes leading to project failure.

  • Presentation: Reaching Hyper-Productivity with Outsourced Development Teams

    In this presentation filmed during Agile 2008, Jeff Sutherland, co-creator of Scrum, and Guido Schoonheim, CTO of Xebia, present an actual case of reaching hyper-productivity with a large distributed team using XP and Scrum.

  • Presentation: When Working Software Is Not Enough: A Story of Project Failure

    In this presentation filmed during Agile 2008, Mitch Lacey talks about a real life project that was on the verge of being successful, but was deemed as unsuccessful by the customer. Considering that "the true measure of project progress is working software", Mitch and his team delivered the software, but the client was not satisfied.

  • When is Ok to Break the Rules

    In “Just Ship Baby” Kent Beck, author of the JUnit Framework, reminds us that the point of all the Agile processes and practices is to produce shipping software. If they’re getting in the way of shipping software – then perhaps you need to break the rules.

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