Agile 101 - Building Software
Faster, Cheaper & Better
June 26, 2009

Who am I?
 Software Practitioner & Evangelist
 14 years of building software and learning
 Certified Scrum Master
 Director Engg. - Lead Impetus Labs,
Consulting and Research
 I am available for
 Speaking on Technology & Agile
 Help & Support your Agile journey
 (e) vineet.tyagi@impetus.co.in
 (m) 931 310 2111
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Agenda
 Agile 101
 What is Agile ?
 Agile Manifesto
 Agile Principles
 7 Habits of Agile Team
 Agile Myths and Misconceptions
 Agile & Service Industry
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Some facts …
1995 : The CHAOS Report **
 Type 1 : Project Success
 On time on budget, all features are delivered (16.2%)
 Type 2 : Project Challenged
 Completed and operational but over budget, fewer features
than specified (52.7%)
 Type 3 : Project Impaired
 Cancelled at some stage (31.1%)
**Tom Clancy 1995 | The Standish Group International
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Some facts …
Traditional Processes were not helping
 Customers unhappy
 Requirement Changes are dealt through risk
avoidance strategy
 i.e resist requirement change
 Eliminating change means business failure
 So ?
 These led to evolutions in the way we approach software
development
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Evolution
 Agile is evolutionary not revolutionary
 The context of developing software is changing
●
Technology driven business innovation
●
Dynamic Market conditions
●
Time to Market
●
Requirement Stability
 What does it mean for software development?
●
You cant win a 20-20 game with a test match strategy
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Introducing Agile
The BRAVE new way of developing software
 Don’t avoid risk, take it as unavoidable and
accept it
 Requirement Changes are dealt through risk
acceptance strategy
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Agile Manifesto
“We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing
it and helping others do it.
Through this work we have come to value:
 Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
 Working software over comprehensive documentation
 Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
 Responding to change over following a plan
“That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value
the items on the left more.”
Agile Manifesto http://www.agilemanifesto.org
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Principles Behind Agile Manifesto
 Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer
through early and continuous delivery of valuable
software
 Welcome changing requirements, even late in
development. Agile processes harness change for
the customer's competitive advantage
 Deliver working software frequently, from a
couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a
preference to the shorter timescale
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Principles Behind Agile Manifesto
 Business people and developers must work
together daily throughout the project
 Build projects around motivated individuals. Give
them the environment and support they need,
and trust them to get the job done
 The most efficient and effective method of
conveying information to and within a
development team is face-to-face conversation
 Working software is the primary measure of
progress
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Principles Behind Agile Manifesto
 Agile processes promote sustainable development. The
sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain
a constant pace indefinitely
 Continuous attention to technical excellence and good
design enhances agility
 Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount of work not
done--is essential.
 The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge
from self-organizing teams.
 At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become
more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior
accordingly.
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So, What is Agile?
Simply Stating … It a way of developing software that follows
the Agile Principles
 There are a number of agile software development
methods; most attempt to
 minimize risk by developing software in short timeboxes,
called iterations, which typically last one to four weeks
 Each iteration is like
 miniature software project of its own
 includes all of the tasks necessary to release the
mini-increment of new functionality: planning,
requirements analysis, design, coding, testing, and
documentation
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So, What is Agile?
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7 Habits of the Agile Team
 Self Organizing
 Deliver Frequently
 Plan to Learn
 Communicate Powerfully & Effectively
 Test Everything
 Measure Value
 Clear the path – Remove Roadblocks
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Myths & Misconceptions
 Agile methods are sometimes characterized as being at
the opposite end of the spectrum from "plan-driven" or
"disciplined" methodologies
 A more accurate distinction is to say that methods exist on a
continuum from "adaptive" to "predictive”
 Adaptive methods focus on adapting quickly to changing realities
 When the needs of a project change, an adaptive team changes
as well
 Predictive methods, in contrast, focus on planning the
future in detail
 A predictive team can report exactly what features and tasks are
planned for the entire length of the development process
 Predictive teams have difficulty changing direction
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Myths & Misconceptions
 Agile methods v/s CMM/CMMi
 CMM/CMMi is NOT a method or a process model
 It is a reference process benchmark
 CMM/CMMi don’t prescribe what process (for developing
software that is) to use
 Agile Software Development process can be
benchmarked on CMM/CMMi models
 Initial, Managed, Defined, Quantitively Managed &
Optimizing
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Myths & Misconceptions
Agile __________
 Is a silver bullet
 Will solve my resource issues
 Has no planning/ documentation/architecture/ <insert
pet peeve>
 Is a license to hack
 Creates quality issues
 Is undisciplined
 Doesn’t build on my previous experience / expertise
 Is not proven
 Is not being used by industry leaders
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Agile & Service Industry
 Agile does not work for the Service Industry
 To the contrary it works very well, rapid gains in productivity
and customer satisfaction
 Have to ensure a few basics
 Be ready for ugly stuff …. Courage
 Be mindful of your context …. Success Stories are what
they are … Stories
 Organizational changes required …. Champion at top
 Use what works … practices first method next
 What about contracts?
 Mindset change needed …. Does not make one lose the
safety net
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Thank You
Questions?

Pair Programming