Using Agile in the Classroom - presented at Online News Association 2014.

1. Agile Methodology
Cindy Royal, Professor
Texas State University
cindyroyal.com @cindyroyal

2. Agile
“able to move quickly and easily”

3. Agile
“method of project management characterized by
the division of tasks into short phases of work and
frequent reassessment and adaptation of plans.”

4. 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.
From the Agile Manifesto - http://agilemanifesto.org/

5. Traditional Approach
 Waterfall development
 Complete one phase before the next
 No plan to revisit phases

6. Why Agile?
 Development is expensive and time-consuming.
 Building software is more like an art, requires creativity.
 Teams need to be empowered; collaboration is integral.
 Development often requires customers to be involved in the
process.
 Changing requirements
 No clear completion. Development goes on forever.
 Agile methodologies help create environments for these types
of characteristics to thrive.

7. Phrases Associated with Agile
 Rapid
 Adaptable
 Quality-Driven
 Cooperative
 Iterative
 It’s not a process. It’s a philosophy, a set of values.
 Small teams, spending short timeframes, building small things.
 Integrating regularly
 Different approaches. Scrum is a popular application of Agile.

8. 12 Principles
 Customer satisfaction by rapid delivery of useful software
 Welcome changing requirements, even late in development
 Working software is delivered frequently (weeks rather than
months)
 Close, daily cooperation between business people and developers
 Projects are built around motivated individuals, who should be
trusted
 Face-to-face conversation is the best form of communication (co-
location)

9. 12 Principles
 Working software is the principal measure of progress
 Sustainable development, able to maintain a constant pace
 Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design
 Simplicity—the art of maximizing the amount of work not
done—is essential
 Self-organizing teams
 Regular adaptation to changing circumstances

10. Terminology
 Sprint – an interaction. The sprint starts with a sprint planning meeting. At the
end of the sprint there is a sprint review meeting, followed by a sprint
retrospective meeting. Product is designed, coded and tested during the sprint.
 Scrum meetings: daily, short, productive. Stand up.
 Backlog: List of features; there is a product backlog and a sprint backlog
 User Stories: how to describe features
 Estimates
 Ranked and Weighted List; Roadmap
 Prototype
 Shippable Product Increments

11. Design Thinking

12. Lean Startup

13. Agile Resources
 The J-School Scrum: Bringing Agile Development Into the Classroom, PBSMediaShift,
2014 - http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2014/01/the-j-school-scrum-bringing-agile-
development-into-the-classroom/
 The Agile Classroom by Sarah Dillard, 2012 -
http://sarahdillard.wordpress.com/2012/10/01/the-agile-classroom/
 Managed Chaos: How I Use Agile in the Classroom -
http://www.jacobsingh.name/content/managed-chaos-how-i-use-agile-and-scrum-
classroom
 The Lean Startup - http://theleanstartup.com/
 The Stanford d.School - http://dschool.stanford.edu/dgift/
 The Art of Agile Development (book) - http://www.amazon.com/The-Agile-Development-
James-Shore/dp/0596527675
 Agile Software Development Guide - http://martinfowler.com/agile.html
 Introduction to Scrum - http://scrumtrainingseries.com/Intro_to_Scrum/Intro_to_Scrum.htm