InfoQ Homepage Agile Techniques Content on InfoQ
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Scrum and XP from the Trenches - 90 page experience report
In his recently published "Scrum and XP From the Trenches," Henrik Kniberg gives a comprehensive description of how he implemented a mix of Scrum and XP practices for a development team of 40 people.
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InfoQ Interview: Using Agile for SOA Implementation
Current SOA project guidance generally encourages a phase-based approach, fully defining the solution before implementation begins. This autumn, Digital Focus published their experience with an incremental approach, in "SOA, Meet Agile". InfoQ interviewed both the client and the author of the experience report, and on business-IT alignment.
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Scrum in Five Minutes - Executive Summary
In his latest blog entry, Jeff Sutherland introduces an exceptionally concise overview of the Scrum development process, which may be useful for communicating with management, courtesy of Swedish consulting firm Softhouse.
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Drawing Analogies Between Publishing and Agile Development
In a recent blog posting titled "Moving from Software Production to Software Publishing," Gojko Adzic describes how he and his staff applied agile software development techniques to improve the production process at Mikro, the Serbian edition of PC World magazine. He then describes some ways in which the magazine publishing model can be applied to software development.
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Sharing What's Worked: Patterns for Adopting Agile Practices
Organizations adopting Agile naturally ask these questions; "Where do I start?", "What specific practices should I adopt?", "How can I adopt incrementally?" and "Where can I expect pitfalls?" In this article, Amr Elssamadisy gives a glimpse into an ongoing effort to document Agile practice adoption patterns: Participants at XPday Montreal took a stab at "Simple Design" and "Pair Programming."
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Common misconceptions about paired programming
Paired programming is an agile practice that is the source of much debate. Martin Fowler has posted an article on common misconceptions with paired programming, suggesting that pair programming is not a requirement of XP, it does not halve productivity, and others.
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Use Test Categorization for Agile Builds
Everyone agrees that developer testing is important, but ever-lengthening build times can discourage running these tests with optimal frequency. Andrew Glover's new IBM DeveloperWorks article outlines a strategy to use categorized tests to ensure end-to-end system soundness, including examples on how to automatically sort and run tests by category, resulting in dramatically reduced build times.
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Agile PMs Get it Right the Last Time
In his Gantthead article, "Get It Right the Last Time: Developing an Agile Attitude," Doug DeCarlo challenged project managers to ditch the counter-productive "get-it-right-the-first-time" philosophy practiced for so long by so many. Instead, he has proposed some Agile attitudes to help managers think differently about what counts.
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Study: Co-Located Teams vs. the Cubicle Farm
Many trainers agree that co-location is essential to really see the benefits of Agile, but proof of this has been largely anecdotal. On the ScrumDevelopment list recently, an interesting conversation was launched when a member pointed out a study conducted at a Fortune 50 auto maker, comparing productivity gains in collaborative workspaces versus traditional cubicle culture projects.
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Experience Report: Running FIT and Fitnesse with Ruby
Ron Jeffries and Chet Hendrickson, well known contributors to the Extreme Programming community, regularly meet in bookstores and cafes to pair program, then Ron blogs about what they've learned. Yesterday Ron wrote a detailed blow-by-blow of their experience installing and configuring Ruby/Fit, then Fitnesse on top of it. For agile practitioners, this is essential "Iteration 0" work.
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Practical Advice for Implementing Scrum
As Scrum continues to gain momentum, it's not surprising to hear the call for practical help for these many novice teams. Mike Vizdos, a Certified Scrum Trainer and Agile coach with experience in both small and large enterprises, has responded with a site called "Implementing Scrum", using cartoons and straight talk to lay out the basics.
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Practitioners Adapt Agile to Local Constraints
Some people think they can only be Agile with small, co-located teams and full management support, but most teams aren't that lucky. So, should they should give up on Agile techniques? Scott Ambler's answer is a resounding "No!" His Dr. Dobbs article "Imperfectly Agile: You Too Can Be Agile!" outlines how Agilists overcome common challenges that others use as excuses for not being Agile.
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Opinion: Putting Overtime in Perspective
Agile work, when done in a disciplined, creative way, tends to be very intense, so Agile leaders encourage balanced lives for team members and promote "sustainable pace". Mitch Lacey, a Microsoft Program Manager, recently blogged about his emerging understanding of how to use this XP practice appropriately.
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Choosing a Continuous Integration Server
In the first of a series of articles on continuous integration Paul Duvall compares three popular continuous integration servers, Continuum, CruiseControl, and Luntbuild. He considers criteria such as features, longevity, target environment, and ease of use.
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Is Project Status Relative?
Scott Ambler introduces a term for a familiar project phenomenon: the "green shift" that occurs when people rework status reports to make them more politically palatable to management. But can management actually handle the truth?