InfoQ Homepage Agile Content on InfoQ
-
Backlog Grooming: Who, When and How
Backlog grooming as the name suggests is giving regular care and attention to a product backlog so that it does not get ugly and unwieldy like an unattended garden with weeds. Though, it is not a formal process of Scrum, however, Ken Schwaber recommended reserving five percent of every sprint for this activity. A recent discussion on the Scrum Development group discussed and debated the process.
-
Soft Skills Are Paramount: A Report From Agile Boston Openspace
Last week the Agile Boston user group held a full day OpenSpace conference. One session was focused on how to affect other groups in an organization that you and/or your team is dependent on. The members of this session shared their different contexts and problems and came up with several strategies in improving their situations, none of which were were Agile practices.
-
What Color is your Backlog?
At the recent SDC conference in Wellington Prof Philippe Kruchten delivered a talk titled “What Color is Your Backlog”. The thrust of his talk is about bringing a focus on architecturally significant aspects of software into Agile projects, along with delivering the functional components of the system. He uses a color metaphor to illustrate the importance of addressing four types of work.
-
Organizations Going Agile: Tread with Caution
Most organizations hire Agile coaches to carry out an organization wide Agile transformation. The intention is to have a lean and fit organization by the time coaches walk out of the building. However, it is very difficult to achieve transformation that improves the end-to-end delivery process and is sustainable if the transformation just begins at the team level.
-
The Lean Software & Systems Conference 2010 Underway In Atlanta
The Lean Software & Systems Conference kicked off Wednesday in Atlanta with a great diversity of exciting activities and talks by Don Reinertsen, Alan Chedalawada, Alan Shalloway, Mary Poppendieck, Joshua Kerievsky, the duo of James Shore and Arlo Belsheee, and many more
-
Upgrading InfoQ.com's Database: Mostly Smooth, A Couple of Bumps
Recently, InfoQ.com upgraded the backend database that we've used since launch. However, everything did not go according to plan, and even though the vast majority of the migration was smooth we encountered some unexpected issues along the way (which have now been resolved). This post will discuss what our plan was, what worked and what didn't, and how we detected and recovered from the errors.
-
How to Audit an Agile Team
Stakeholders of an Agile project often seek the help of a seasoned Agile coach to gauge the effectiveness of the Agile process and practices that their team is following. The intention is to plug the holes and make the team more effective. Recently, on the Scrum Development group, Scott Killen started a thread on how to do an audit on an Agile team.
-
Touch and Intimacy in Agile Teams
If the consolidation and integration of elementary Agile practice is ending, that means something new is starting. Does a new phase of innovation lie just ahead? Where is the edge of the new Agile frontier? InfoQ looked at the research of Michael de la Maza, an agile coach and trainer who is researching controversial topics such as intimacy in teams and organizations, to learn more.
-
Organizing Self-organizing Teams
Rashina Hoda is a PhD researcher who has been examining how self-organization actually happens on teams. She has studied teams in New Zealand and India and identified six distinct roles that emerge when teams effectively self-organize. She spoke to InfoQ about her research, which will be published at the International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE2010) to be held in Cape Town in May.
-
SEMAT - Software Engineering Method and Theory
SEMAT was founded in November 2009 with the bold claim that the software industry has too many fads and immature practices. The signatories promised to refound software engineering and bring it into the modern age.
-
Visual Risk Management
Irrespective of the size of the project, stakeholders feel confident when they can a keep track of the risks and their mitigation strategies. Agile heavily promotes the use of information radiators. Keeping in line with the philosophy of radiators, Agilists suggested different ways of depicting risks visually for easy tracking and mitigation.
-
The Emerging Dynamics of Certification
Scrum and agile certification is now very much in focus. The 'certification story' is unfolding to become a major subject of debate in 2010. The story has several facets, with action from the Scrum Alliance, Scrum.org and the community-at-large, including notable bloggers and the Agile Skills Project. At issue is the basic value of certification.
-
InfoQ Feature Set: What Do You Want To See?
What’s next for InfoQ? What are some of the areas we should be focusing on feature wise? We'd like to ask you where you’d like the site to go from a feature-set perspective. InfoQ is still lagging behind many of the world-class media sites out there. We may not be the New York Times, but with your help we'll have the will and the way to get there!
-
Jim Shore Suggests Automated Acceptance Tests Are Not The Right Move
Much of the generally accepted agile literature will advise you that the best way to capture your user's needs is through examples encoded into automated tests - "automated acceptance tests". Thought-leader Jim Shore says maybe not, while others still challenge him.
-
Is the 'C' Word Dividing the Agile Community?
There has been a lot that has been said about Scrum Certifications. Some people like the idea and others oppose it vehemently. Ron Jeffries recently stated that though he has been writing about the good aspects of Scrum Alliance’s Certifications but he is concerned that the 'C' word is keeping away a lot of valuable members of the Agile community.