This document discusses how agile practices can result in an approach that is disciplined, sustainable, grounded in reality, and effective. It argues that agile is not the easy way out, but that processes like pair programming, testing, continuous integration, and retrospectives form a rigorous structure that holds teams accountable. When teams select their own processes, it empowers them and makes the approach sustainable over the long run. Agile allows teams to be adaptive, embrace opportunities, and deal with issues as they arise.

1. Agile Is Not the Easy
Way Out (But It Does Work)
Rebecca Parsons

2. Tale of Two Toy Castles
from Rich Hickey and Neal Ford. Metaphor to keep in mind during
the talk...

3. The Knitted and Lego Castles
Yes, you can buy that on Amazon...
Think about this in context of team, system, and business
model...

4. Agile Principles
like transparency, reflection, and feedback...

5. Inform the
practices
like pair programming, CI, standups, retrospectives, etc...

6. Resulting in an
approach that is

7. Disciplined

8. Sustainable

9. Grounded in
Reality

10. and Effective
For each of these, I’ll describe principles and practices that
relate... show how and why they’re not easy but why they
contribute to success.
Many items could appear in different headings and they inter-
relate.
That’s why principles matter....

11. Disciplined
Pair programming, testing and continuous
integration
Unambiguous definition of done
Continual refactoring
Standups and retrospectives
Cavalier attitudes can not survive (no place to
hide)
Ironic that some orgs feel agile only applies with talented
developers but also accuse devs of wanting agile so they can be
reckless

12. Processes together form a
rigorous structure within
which to work
Broken builds, style monitors, continuous peer review, etc....

13. Sustainable
Not just iterative (mini-waterfalls)
Balance of short and long term
Scope control limits waste
The Agile Contract
No need for heroes
Scrum as mini-waterfalls

14. The team selects the
processes, empowering them
and making it sustainable
Collective ownership of project and process allows team to buy in
and look to make things work over the long run for all
stakeholders. Broad team means broad ownership and shared
success.

15. Grounded in Reality
Yesterday’s weather
Clarity of actual progress
Adaptive planning, evolutionary architecture,
emergent design...
Actually adaptive/evolutionary everything
We’re not just order takers
Opportunities come from being responsive

16. Embracing and exploiting
opportunities as they appear
and dealing with issues as
they arise
How much more effective can you be?

17. Tale of Two Toy Castles
Revisited

18. The Knitted and Lego Castles
Elegant, unified whole, but unravels with change. Again, team,
systems and business models. We live in a world that requires us
to change.

19. Questions?