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"Real Options" Underlie Agile Practices

Whether we realise it or not, "freedom to choose" is a principle underlying many Agile practices. By avoiding early commitments, we gain flexibility in the choices we make later. In this article, Chris Matts and Olav Maassen propose that an understanding of "Real Options" allows us to develop and refine new agile practices and take agile in directions it hasn't gone before.

Olav Maassen Chris Matts
on Jun 08, 2007
Agile User Interface Development

The wider adoption of Agile software development has raised questions about how an approach that shuns up-front design and analysis can coexist with the emerging practice of user-centered design, which has a detailed user research and modeling phase before development begins. In this article Dave Churchville explores how the disciplines can be used together for an effective development process.

Dave Churchville
on Feb 19, 2007
Culture & Methods

Case Study: Targeted Practice Adoption using Patterns

It's easy to forget what originally motivated us, once we're implementing Agile. Teams spin, trying to figure out which practices to start with, unsure which will have the biggest impact, or how they fit together. Amr Elssamadisy and John Mufarrige propose a customized adoption approach to help teams decide where to focus first - an alternative to adoption of pre-packaged methodologies.

Amr Elssamadisy John Mufarrige
on Jan 29, 2007
Standish: Why were Project Failures Up and Cost Overruns Down in 1998?

Following InfoQ's August interview with Jim Johnson, creator of the CHAOS Chronicles on project failure, one important question remained: how does the Standish Group explain the amazing change in cost overrun from 189% in 1994 to 69% in 1998? In an excerpt from this month's CHAOS University newsletter, Johnson refers to events in 1996 that changed the complexion of project planning and execution.

Jim Johnson
on Oct 03, 2006
Book Excerpt: Implementing Lean Software Development: From Concept to Cash

In 2003 Mary and Tom Poppendieck adapted the revolutionary principles of Lean manufacturing for software development. Their new book offers a blend of history, theory, and practice, drawing on their experience optimizing the software "value stream". They present the right questions to ask, the key issues to focus on, and techniques proven to work for those implementing a lean software process.

Tom Poppendieck Mary Poppendieck
on Sep 18, 2006
Interview: Jim Johnson of the Standish Group

Jim Johnson, founder and chairman of the Standish Group, took time out from his vacation to talk with InfoQ editor Deborah Hartmann about his research, and the role of Agile in changing the IT industry. Johnson is best known for creating the CHAOS Chronicles: 12 years of independent research on project performance, including data on over 50,000 completed IT projects.

Deborah Hartmann Preuss
on Aug 25, 2006
Executive summary - An Adaptive Performance Management System

Traditional thinking has turned budgets into fixed performance contracts forcing managers at all levels to commit to specified financial outcomes, although many of the underlying variables are beyond their control. In this Cutter Executive Summary, Jim Highsmith offers an alternative for the adaptive organization: a project performance management system and a team performance management system.

Jim Highsmith
on Aug 09, 2006
Agile: The SOA Hangover Cure

Author Carl Ververs who is an expert on SOA Integration and Distributed Systems writes about the application of "Agile" development philosophies that ensures that organizations can overcome architectural paralysis and get moving on those important SOA projects, while at the same time ensuring that the architecture is sufficiently flexible and adaptable for future growth.

Carl Ververs
on Jul 31, 2006
What is Agility, and Why Should You Care?

Coach Mishkin Berteig introduces the benefits of Agility with two stories of highly responsive teams, and outlines some further reading. Agile helps people work more effectively by empowering teams, amplifying learning and eliminating waste. Agility teaches the team to modify its own working process over time, always with a view to providing more value to the enterprise while reducing waste.

Mishkin Berteig
on May 16, 2006
Ruby and Rails: In your face... but out of your way

Ruby on Rails is in many ways a system in itself. But in many, many other ways, Rails exposes, explores, and exploits its connections to Ruby, rather than hiding or disguising them. David A. Black, author of the book Ruby for Rails from Manning, shares his thoughts on whether or not Rails developers should take the time to master Ruby.

David A. Black
on May 11, 2006
Being Agile Without Going Overboard

Agile Software Development is gaining popularity. But, what does it mean to be agile? Is it using unit testing, continuous integration, following XP, Scrum? In this article Venkat Subramaniam discusses how to incrementally introduce agility into a project which is in trouble and not currently agile.

Venkat Subramaniam
on May 10, 2006