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"Simple Ain't Easy"
The idea of simplicity has recently been explored in relation to subjects such as charity, time management, and home design. In concert with this movement, simplicity also surfaced in 2001 in the Agile Manifesto. But the term is deceptive - surely simplicity should be, well, simple? Brad Appleton has blogged at length on the subject, exploring "Myths and Misunderstandings about Simplicity".
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SirsiDynix Case Study: Jeff Sutherland on Highly Productive Distributed Scrum
Scrum co-creator Jeff Sutherland has just finished a paper on the SirsiDynix project, which he calls the most productive large Java project ever documented. The project used Distributed Scrum and some XP practices. Although distributed teams are often expected to experience reduced productivity, this team's productivity level matched that measured by Cohn on a co-located team!
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Anderson's "Agile Management" Reviewed
Stick Minds has posted two reviews of David Anderson's "Agile Management for Software Engineering: Applying the Theory of Constraints for Business Results", in which Anderson combines TOC and Agile approaches. The book targets senior IT executives, project managers, development managers, and team leads. Do manufacturing metrics really enhance Agile software development? Apparently the jury is out.
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SOA "Soft Landing"
Is SOA a bubble? How will new emerging technologies fit in to the SOA picture? Are we due for an SOA bubble bursting, or a "soft landing" for SOA?
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Worth Repeating: The BigBook Technique
Mark Hedlund has a favourite story: he tells of the BigBook Technique, a simple ploy engineers once used to communicate with their CEO about a death-march project. With yet another big-project implosion in the news, Hedlund felt the need to roll out this simple remedy, again. In effect: nine women simply cannot deliver a baby in one month. If that sounds familiar, this story may be of use to you.
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Article: What is Agility, and Why Should You Care?
Business is moving faster than ever, there's no time for fads. But Agile has been around for decades, enabling businesses to be ever more responsive in these times of rapid change. This short article tells how it has helped two teams excel.
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Article: 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.