A TED-style overview of principles and strategies for modelling and documentation on an agile software development team.

1. Scott W. Ambler
Senior Consulting Partner
scott [at] scottambler.com
@scottwambler
Agile Modeling:
A Disciplined Approach to Modeling and
Documentation
© Scott Ambler + Associates

2. @scottwambler
How can agile teams
benefit from modeling?
How can modeling
benefit from agile?

3. @scottwambler
Stakeholders
should be
active
participants in
modeling

4. @scottwambler
Prefer direct collaboration
over documentation

5. @scottwambler
Do just
enough
modeling
Value
Effort

6. @scottwambler
Models
should be
just barely
good
enough

7. @scottwambler
Envision
requirements
early to get
going in the
right direction

8. @scottwambler
The best
architectures
and designs
emerge over
time

9. Think About the Future,
© Disciplined Agile Consortium 9
But Wait to Act

10. @scottwambler
It really does depend…

11. @scottwambler
…so tailor your approach
Scaling Factor Affect
The larger the team… …the more need for initial
understanding
The more geographically
distributed…
…the more need for initial
understanding
The more organizations involved… …the more need for alignment
The more complex the domain… …the more need for requirements
exploration
The more complex the technology… …the more need for architecture and
design exploration
The greater need for compliance… …the more need for proving your
work

12. @scottwambler
Examine the problem from
multiple points of view

13. @scottwambler
Embrace changing
requirements

14. @scottwambler
Explore details on a
just in time (JIT)
basis

15. @scottwambler
Defer Commitment to
Make Better Decisions

16. @scottwambler
Travel Light

17. @scottwambler
My parting advice….
Be pragmatic, not bureaucratic
Modeling is critical to your
success, but only if you focus on
value
Tailor your modeling strategy to
meet the needs of the situation
that you face

18. @scottwambler
scott [at] scottambler.com
AgileModeling.com
AgileData.org
Ambysoft.com
DisciplinedAgileConsortium.org
DisciplinedAgileDelivery.com
ScottAmbler.com
Thank You!

19. @scottwambler
Scott Ambler + Associates is the thought leader behind the Disciplined
Agile Delivery (DAD) framework and its application. We are an IT
management consulting firm that advises organizations to be more
effective applying disciplined agile and lean processes within the
context of your business.
Our website is ScottAmbler.com
We can help
© Scott Ambler + Associates 19