Agile Revisited

In 2001 a group of programmers proposed the word "agile" to describe a set of values they shared. Several of these programmers had already developed methods based on these values. The values are universal, that’s how they were chosen. The methodologies, however, were designed for the technology landscape of the 1990s. Think of all the changes in technology and business practise in the last 25 years. If that seems too daunting just think about the last five years. In taking "Agile" mainstream, we adopt these ancient practises on faith while losing sight of the values that inspired them.

How do agile values map to the modern landscape of massive computing power and storage on demand, languages that compile faster than you can type, computers in jeans pockets more powerful than the previous generation's mainframes, home broadband fast enough to stream high-definition video?

It's time to revisit what agile software development really means. The previous generation moved the delivery horizon from years to months. Now we need to think in days or even hours.

Transcript

1. Agile Revisited Dan North @tastapod
2. @tastapod Large projects Functional silos Slow, fragmented technology Process modelled on Civil Engineering 1990s development
3. @tastapod Civil Engineering Cost of errors rises exponentially Assurance through formal hand-offs Plan is intolerant of slippage Hand-offs are detailed and expensive
4. @tastapod Software Engineering Assumes: Cost of errors rises exponentially Assumes: Assurance through formal hand-offs Plan is intolerant of slippage Hand-offs are detailed and expensive
5. @tastapod Agile Then
6. @tastapod The Manifesto Early and continuous delivery of software Welcome changing requirements Deliver frequently Business and developers working together Build projects around motivated individuals Value face-to-face communication Working software is measure of progress Sustainable pace for sponsors, users, team Technical excellence and good design Simplicity Regular reflection and tuning Self-organising teams
7. @tastapod The Brand “Brand(vt): give a product a distinctive identity”
8. @tastapod Early and continuous delivery of software Welcome changing requirements Deliver frequently Business and developers together Build projects around motivated individuals Value face-to-face communication Working software is measure of progress Sustainable pace for sponsors, users, team Technical excellence and good design Simplicity Regular reflection and tuning Self-organising teams Scrum The Brand Agile
9. @tastapod Agile Now http://infoq.com/news/2015/09/agile-bank
10. @tastapod 2010s development Smaller projects Cross-functional “feature teams” Incremental delivery
11. @tastapod 2010s development except… Upstream batching of money Downstream batching of Release
12. @tastapod 2010s development Scrum Water- -fall
13. @tastapod Agile Next
14. @tastapod “Move the people to the work” …but remember they are people! Build your own Light Saber Embrace radical diversity Figure out what a “team” looks like at scale
15. @tastapod Measure Business Impact We can build-ship-measure fast enough Less is more, like surgery Developer “productivity” isn’t a thing Neither is velocity
16. Assume technology is instant* and free* *at least compared to the 1990s Write Build Provision Deploy Monitor
17. @tastapod Embrace Continuous Delivery Two weeks is an illusion, two months doubly so Outcomes create options, requirements emerge Rolling Op-Ex over committed Cap-Ex Investment collaboration over detailed estimation
18. @tastapod Would you use a 1990s computer?
19. @tastapod Then why use a 1990s method?
20. @tastapod The Manifesto Early and continuous delivery of software Welcome changing requirements Deliver frequently Business and developers working together Build projects around motivated individuals Value face-to-face communication Working software is measure of progress Sustainable pace for sponsors, users, team Technical excellence and good design Simplicity Regular reflection and tuning Self-organising teams
21. @tastapod The Manifesto Early and continuous delivery of software value Welcome changing emerging requirements Deliver frequently continually Business and developers and everyone else working together Build projects products around motivated individuals Value face-to-face communication Working software Business impact is measure of progress Sustainable pace for sponsors, users, team all stakeholders Technical excellence and good design Simplicity Regular Continual reflection and tuning Self-organising teams
22. @tastapod Early and continuous delivery of software value Welcome changing emerging requirements Deliver frequently continually Business and developers and everyone else working together Build projects products around motivated individuals Value face-to-face communication Working software Business impact is measure of progress Sustainable pace for sponsors, users, team all stakeholders Technical excellence and good design Simplicity Regular Continual reflection and tuning Self-organising teams Not bad for a first draft!
23. @tastapod Thanks for listening Dan North @tastapod http://dannorth.net