InfoQ Homepage Adopting Agile Content on InfoQ
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Agile Schools: How Technology Saves Education (Just Not the Way We Thought it Would)
People from President Obama to Bill Gates propose that technological innovation is the key to improving our schools. But tech products and concepts may not be as influential as tech processes and culture. Applying the Agile methodology to school operation could catalyze dramatic change by bringing a proven systematic solution to one of the most challenging social issues of our age.
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The Retrospective Practice as a Vehicle for Leading Conceptual Change
This paper tells how we coached the adaption process of agile software development in a specific company, with a focus on one mechanism – one-hour retrospectives – we employ to guide team members realize the needed change and let them lead it. From our perspective, the stage in which team members start facilitating the retrospective sessions by themselves is a landmark of success.
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Are You a Whole Team?
Key to the success of Agile is a "Whole Team", a cross functional team of generalizing specialists. A group that works across boundaries. Matthew Philip diagnoses some of their common problems, such as "Emphasis on Titles", the "Hero Culture" and more. Matthew looks at the root causes and possible cures.
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Agile at 10 – A State of Contradiction
Mike Beedle states that agile is in a state of contradiction, the agile of 10 years ago is now passé and we run the disk of diluting the real meaning of being agile through lip service implementations without focusing on quality. He echoes the call in the 10 Year Reunion meeting for a concerted focus on quality, and asks what an Agile Manifesto 2.0 should contain.
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Agile Architecture Interactions
James Madison shows how architects can bring agile and architecture practices together to pragmatically balance business and architectural priorities while delivering both with agility.
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Agile at the Office of Personnel Management
In its attempts to modernize retirement claims processing the Office of Personnel Management had several versions of this project cancelled. The most recent of which used "requirements, design, implement, and test cycles to develop the system. During the testing phases, serious issues became evident". In trying again the director said that they weren't going to repeat the mistakes of the past.
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Bad Attitudes of Agile
Christopher Goldsbury explores some "bad attitudes" of Agility - assertions about management, documentation, testing, teams, and schedules that are commonly encountered, but contrary to reality. These bad attitudes find refuge and justification in Agile despite the fact they are false. Addressing these viewpoints before they, potentially, darken a good movement is essential.
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Confessions of A New Agile Developer
This short article is a first-person case history of someone taking up Agility for the first time. It covers the problems and reactions that are common to most teams and most developers.
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Skills for Scrum Agile Teams
The skills required to be hyper-productive in agile projects are different from those required by a traditional one. This article identifies behavioral and technical skills required for a team to have that edge. Anyone who acquires these "delta" traits should be equipped with the right set of behavioral and technical skills, which enable them to work effectively in an agile project.
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Manager 2.0: The Role of the Manager in Scrum
Scrum defines just three roles, Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Team - not Manager. Pete Deemer explores the consequences for Managers, how the managerial role might be redefined (including a sample job description), and appointing the manager as Scrum Master.
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The Limits of Agile
The problems faced by teams that are attempting Agile in non-traditional settings aren't that Agile principles are inapplicable, nor that the feedback cycle is doomed to failure; but rather, outside of a certain Agile sweet-spot there are additional barriers and costs to applying Agile techniques. None of these obstacles prevents Agile in itself but each increases the cost of getting to Agile.
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Who Moved my Product Value?
At the outset, it seems like agile is all about short-term focus and a product life cycle is typically the polar opposite – it runs the total gamut in the spectrum that is the life of the product, starting from incubation to end-of-life. So, how does one attribute the relationship between the two? This is where product value comes in.