InfoQ Homepage Teamwork Content on InfoQ
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Team Foundation Server SP 1 Beta 1.0 Released
A beta of the Team Foundation Server SP1 has been released via Microsoft Connect. This release contains new features as well as bug fixes. It is currently available in English and Japanese.
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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: Agile Forgets the Human Factor
Kevin Brady, self-declared Agile critic, has a problem with Agile software development approaches: he feels that while they look great on paper. they fail to work in reality because they forget the human factor. Commenters on his blog entry question whether Agile or poor implementation lie at fault.
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Put People First in Agile Distributed Testing
Baiju Joseph's new article on StickyMinds argues that, in order to build an effective testing team for distributed Agile, we need to focus on individuals and interactions over processes and tools. Based on the author's experience in setting up distributed agile testing teams, he lists numerous criteria that must be met in order to reach this goal.
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Opinion: Working in isolation breeds mistakes
Should the team room be a sanctuary? or a jazz improv session? On butUncleBob.com, Tim Ottinger blogs about his belief that the quiet bullpen is where mistakes are born, and allowed to breed.
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Interviewing for Agile Teams Podcast
Team dynamics can dramatically affect team performance, so staffing teams well is a critical success factor. Rob Myers, an Extreme Programming coach, has recorded a podcast "Interviewing Techniques for Staffing Lean-Agile Teams."
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Throwing the Keyboard is Not the Answer
Conflict is inevitable at work. Sooner or later, you will disagree about what to test, when to test, or how long to test software. How you approach the conflict affects the outcome and, more lastingly, how you feel about the exchange. On StickMinds last week, Esther Derby looked at some of the ways we approach conflict and how they affect solutions - and relationships.
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InfoQ Article: Exclusive Excerpt from Practices of an Agile Developer
Andy Hunt, one of the originators of the Agile Manifesto, and Venkat Subramaniam have written a compilation of the habits, ideas, and approaches of successful Agile software developers in "Practices of an Agile Developer". InfoQ brings you a free excerpt on Agile Debugging.
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Studies Concur, Small Teams Are Best
Knowledge@Wharton asks: Is Your Team Too Big? Too Small? What's the Right Number? Decades of research suggest the sweetspot may be between 4 and 6, though corrections to team size are unlikely to resolve all of a team's problems.
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An Experiment in Clear Communication
Rather than keeping customers and developers apart (to avoid "misunderstandings"), Agilists intentionally bring them together. Communication tends to improve faster than one might expect, and soon everyone is interacting constructively. But in a team or between teams, there is always room for improvement: Cory Foy blogged what happened when he tried a new idea in "The Dreyfus Model Experiment".
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Examining the Declaration of Interdependence
The Declaration of Interdependence emerged in 2004, when a group of experts met to discuss ways to extend the Agile Manifesto to non-software products and management. In this month's edition of Better Software Magazine, Alistair Cockburn details the DOI's six principles and how they can benefit any enterprise.
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19 Pitfalls of Technical Leadership
Hacknot's list of Great Mistakes in Technical Leadership, while not particularly intended for an Agile audience, contains some sage advice - good leadership is not restricted to Agile teams. As always, Agile teams still need to balance advice from traditional sources against Agile values and principles.
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Vacations: Creative Work Requires Rest
Summer has traditionally been a time for vacations and get-aways, a time to clear the mind and "recreate" oneself. Yet, according to a recent study, one third of people expect to take work with them on their holidays this year. Is this healthy? Can it be changed?
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Collaborative Technologies Conference, Boston, June 19-22
How much technology is really needed in the Agile world of "do the simplest thing that could possibly work"? For those needing improved technological support for their collaborative teams, the Collaborative Technologies Conference features thought leaders and technology innovators, including Google and 37 Signals, who will explore both the power of collaboration and its potential pitfalls.