InfoQ Homepage Agile Techniques 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?
-
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?
-
Agile Architecture - Oxymoron or Sensible Partnership?
A number of commentators have been talking about the perceived dichotomy between Agile techniques and architectural thinking. This post investigates some of the tensions between Big Up Front Design (BDUF) and You Aint Gonna Need It (YAGNI) thinking and looks at how the two approaches can in fact work together in complimentary ways.
-
Chris Matts on the Timing of Commitments, Interview Part 2
InfoQ continues its interview with Chris Matts, this week focusing on real options and how this strategy for making decisions.
-
Agile Testing Challenge
Gerald Ford International Airport has a parking lot fee calculator and Matt Heusser noticed that it was buggy. So he issued a challenge to testers around the world: Find the bugs in ParcCalc. The respondents included James Bach, Selena Delesie and many others.
-
A Roundup On The Lean Software and Systems Conference Buzz
The Lean Software & Systems Conference went down a few weeks ago in Atlanta, and InfoQ has followed much of the buzz since. Check out what we've collected from the vast pool of great blogs, articles, notes, videos, pictures, presentations and more that have surfaced since the event.
-
What IS Agile? A Useless Theoretical Question or Necessary Clarity for Success?
A quick search on your favorite browser looking for recent articles on 'agile software development' or its derivatives will return a surprisingly diverse set of ideas on what Agile is. Is this good? Is this bad? Or is this writer just filling white-space to get an article out on Monday, May 10th?
-
Chris Matts on the Agile Community as a Learning Machine
Chris Matts, known for his work on real options and feature injection, discusses the current state of the Agile Community. He suggests that the community is a learning machine and is currently failing.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Toyota Using Waterfall?
Lean software development has been inspired by lean manufacturing and specifically the work that Toyota pioneered in the field. It is then very surprising to find out that the software development arm of Toyota has been working with waterfall and is in it's infancy in lean software development.
-
Repetitive Tasks an Agile Smell?
Is slicing stories in horizontal tasks an Agile Smell? Is this common habit used in Scrum/Agile Planning meetings - hurting a team's focus on customer value? What is being suggested instead?
-
Monetizing the Technical Debt
Most Agile teams recognize the evils associated with technical debt. Just like a financial debt, the technical debt incurs interest payments. These are paid in the form of extra effort required to maintain and enhance the software. Most Agilists recommend repaying the technical debt as early as possible. However, most Agile teams fail to monetize the technical debt.
-
Agile Documentation: Is There Clarity?
Agile documentation is not exactly the most clear cut subject in the community? How much documentation should we create? What works? What doesn't? How do we transform from a traditional process to an agile one with regards to documents? This is an area that lacks clarity in the agile community.