InfoQ Homepage Agile Content on InfoQ
-
The Decision to Refactor
Refactoring is the process of changing a software system in such a way that is does not alter the external behavior of the code yet improves its internal structure. The idea of improving an already written code is appreciated in most Agile teams. Continuous improvement is is something that these teams strive for. However, improving the already existing code involves time and money. Is it worth it?
-
Agile Teams as Cohesive Communities
Agile projects are (should be?) highly collaborative team environments built on a foundation of trust and open, honest communication. Such collaborative environments don’t just happen, and they can be easily disrupted. There are many commentators who provide advice on how to establish and maintain collaborative teams. This article summarizes the advice from a few of them.
-
Differences and Learning: the PMI-Agile Project Heats Up
The PMI-Agile project's mission is to bring agile knowledge and skills to all PMI practitioners. Yet what has emerged is much more interesting than that. The project's Yahoo group has evolved into a place where worlds collide. There is some "heat" developing as a result of the differences and diversity found in this forum. InfoQ explored this in detail, and spoke with Ron Jeffries to learn more.
-
Consistently Not Done, Done, Done at the End of Sprints?
Do you consistently have stories that don't meet your "definition of done" at the end of your sprints? Is the team tieing the hands of the product owner?
-
Handling Team Changes
Change is constant, yet people fear change. It is mostly the fear of unknown and loss of comfort zones that makes the perception of a change painful. Though Agile teams are well prepared for change, however most of them are not comfortable when the change affects the team.
-
The "Command and Control" Military Gets Agile
Agility is a term that is gaining traction in some very unusual places. The military is suddenly taking Agility very seriously. The military defines Agility as "the ability to successfully respond to change". The term "command and control" is used so commonly in the military that is abbreviated to "C2" in common usage. There is also a C2 Journal, which has had many articles on Agility recently.
-
Announcing the 4th Annual QCon San Francisco: November 1-5, 2010
QCon San Francisco 2010, taking place November 1-5 is now open for registration ($700 savings until June 11th). QCon is an enterprise software development conference for team leads, architects, and project managers covering Architecture & Design, Java, NoSQL, Concurrency, SOA, Cloud Computing, Agile methodologies and other timely topics.
-
Wireframes or No Wireframes
The adage "A picture is worth a thousand words", is sometimes forgotten in the Agile world. At least, this is what many designers on Agile teams believe. In some teams, designers are required to create small increments of the design and this process does not necessarily produce the best results. For other teams wireframes are considered to be bureaucracy which gets in the way of development.
-
What Should an Agile Project Charter Contain?
Agile projects have a strong emphasis on people over process and verbal rather than paper communication. Many formalised methodologies require heavyweight project initiation documents that have to be completed in order to gain funding. Given this potential conflict, what should an Agile project charter contain – how much documentation is “just enough”?
-
Applying Agile to Corporate Boards
In response to a question from a New York CEO, Mark Suster, former Entrepreneur and Venture Capitalist, wrote a post about "agile" corporate boards and how they can help benefit their business.
-
Reactions to the First Certified Scrum Developer Course
Dave Nicolette shared his candid feedback about the first official Certified Scrum Developer course, presented on the Lean Dog boat (Cleveland, Ohio) last week by Ron Jeffries and Chet Hendrickson. Though, he mentioned the learnings and advantages of attending the course but his thoughts did manage to re-ignite the debate about the significance of CSD.
-
Agile Coaching Gains Traction
Agile Coaching has emerged as an essential role found in and around agile teams. New teams need basics, competent teams sometimes get lost, and great teams want to get better. Coaching has arrived. InfoQ caught up with author Lyssa Adkins and asked a few question about agile coaching.
-
Joshua Kerievsky Introduces "Sufficient Design" To The Craftsmanship Discussion
Software Craftsmanship has been a hot topic as of late. Joshua Kerievsky posits a possible counter-perspective to the underlying "code must always be clean!" ethos of the craftsmanship movement; something he calls "Sufficient Design". Learn about what Joshua means, and hear thoughts also from Bob Martin and Ron Jeffries on Kerievsky's ideas.
-
Top Usability Books for Programmers
Most programmers would strive hard to build a robust product with Agile practices and clean code. However, the focus on usability leaves much to be desired. This is despite the well known fact that a good user interface design can spell the difference between acceptance of a software product and its failure. If the end users do not like the UI then the product has little chance of success.
-
Agile 2010 Conference Location Changed
Due to the flooding in Tennessee we have relocated the conference to Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Florida. The conference dates will remain the same; scheduled for August 9 - 13th.