The document discusses several common myths about agile development practices and provides the realities in each case. Some myths addressed include that test-driven development is slow, pair programming is inefficient, agile does not work for large or distributed teams, agile requires no documentation or process, and that every project is unique and agile cannot apply. The realities provided counter each myth by explaining how the practices have been shown to save time and improve quality when implemented properly. The document aims to dispel misconceptions about agile and convince readers that with commitment, agile can work for their projects and teams.

1. Agile Myths ... from the "real world" Agile Latvia Evening 26.08.2010 Dmitry Buzdin

2. What are Agile Myths? An excuse not to use Agile or some of the Agile Practices because of the "real world" conditions

3. Myths, where do they come from? old habits previous experience lack of knowledge no hands on experience fear of change/responsibility/transparency...

4. Spot the Reality Competition If Myth is real --> raise your hand

5. Disclaimer All infomation in given presentation is based on speaker's personal experience and reality he lives in...

6. Developer Myths

7. Myths about Test Driven Development TDD makes me slow Real code is too complex to test Unit Testing is a separate product Just a waste of time

8. Reality: Test Driven Development yes, it takes more time now because ... ... you do not know how to do that ... it will save time later ... it makes you think

9. Myths about Pair Programming Takes twice as much time Not so good idea Not efficient

10. Reality: Pair Programming It will not save time now Knowledge sharing Constant reviews Not necessary for the whole day Impossible if developers are against

11. Myths about Agile in Big Teams Not for Big Teams Not for Distributed Teams Our daily meetings take too much time Total Chaos

12. Reality: Agile in Big Teams Split teams to smaller ones, by functionality/location/other Distributed collaboration can be automated Strict daily meeting format

13. Myths about Agile Developers Only highly skilled and talented could do agile You can not just become agile That is why agile is not working...

14. Reality about Agile Developers Simply follow the rules Responsibility is the key Skilled developers are welcome Newcomers are involved from day one

15. Recap of Developer Myths Spend more time today to save time tomorrow Every team can do Agile

16. Manager Myths

17. Myths about Having No Process Agile throws away processes Agile replaces "bureaucracy" Our CMMI Level 4 is incompatible with Agile

18. Reality: Having No Process Agile is more disciplined than "ad-hoc" development Reliance on practices Continuous feedback Measurable progress Continuous improvement

19. Myths about No Documentation Documentation should be discarded "I am agile, I do not need documentation"...

20. Reality about No Documentation Documentation is not forbidden Documentation should be generated No documents for sake of the documents

21. Myths about Agile and Customers Agile is impossible in Fixed-Price contracts Our customer should be on-site Our customer should be agile

22. Reality: about Agile and Customers Possible with any type of contracts Agile is for you, not for the customer Backlog is the key Pick customer from your team

23. Recap on Manager Myths Having as little process and documentation as possible But no less than that! Customer should not necessary be Agile Agile is about efficiency and responsibility

24. General Myths

25. Myth: We are Already Agile! We are already Agile enough

26. Reality for being Agile Agile is a strive for excellence, not a stop

27. Myth about Agile Solving any Problem Agile will rescue our project Agile will make me happy Agile will cut the development costs Agile does the job for you by automation

28. Reality: Agile Solves Any Problem Not a silver bullet Takes time and commitment to master Will not be effective during first X weeks/iterations/months/releases/years Sorry for that...

29. The Grand Myth: My Project is Unique Agile is great, but my project is very special, because of design/code/customer/technology/team/...

30. The Reality NO , it was implemented hundreds of times!!! ... there is nothing special about your clustered real-time embeddable enterprise project

31. Conslusions If project is not special, Agile just might work Most of the myths have some ground It is all about people Adopt practices one by one Do not go blindly into agile Think...

32. Anything Else to Add? Questions? What other Myths have you encountered? a - ... b - ... c - ... d - ... e - ... f - ...

33. Who am I? Dmitry Buzdin Software developer/architect practicing Agile since 2005. Currently working in C.T.Co. Reach me by [email_address]