book

Agile Development in the Real World

by Alan Cline

December 2015

Beginner to intermediate

328 pages

11h 38m

English

Apress

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Ancient Project ManagementFormal Development of Project ManagementSoftware Development As a Manufacturing MetaphorMoving Toward Software EngineeringSoftware Engineering As an Immature ScienceProject Management for the Twenty-first CenturyEvolution of Agile DevelopmentExtreme Programming: An Early Agile MethodProgressive ElaborationEffort vs. Planning by Project MethodThe Agile Manifesto: Values and PrinciplesComparing Agile and Traditional PracticesHigh-Quality Product DevelopmentTraditional ApproachAgile ApproachComparing Agile vs. Traditional ResultsPMI ParallelsConclusion
Submit a Project ProposalAlign the Proposal with Existing Business GoalsBusiness AlignmentRiskReturn on Investment (ROI)Product Life SpanTotal Cost of Ownership (TCO)Find a SponsorBuild a Business CasePrioritize the Project PortfolioProject TypesProject Selection CriteriaAuthorize the Project with a CharterThe Project Vision and MissionMilestones and the RoadmapThe Project CharterReview the Portfolio PeriodicallyDifferences with AgilePMI ParallelsConclusionAdditional ToolsPrioritization Process Using the Delphi Technique
OverviewThe Project ManagerThe Product OwnerThe Business AnalystManage Stakeholder ExpectationsHold a Business Team Kickoff MeetingClarify Stakeholder RelationshipsDefine Roles and ResponsibilitiesStakeholder Analysis and Engagement GridBuild a Communication PlanDefine Stakeholders’ ScopeBusiness AbstractsThe Project AbstractWorkflow Context DiagramMeetings, Agendas, and MinutesRecommendations for Writing Minutes EasilyUpdate the Project CharterDefine the Features Catalog (Product Backlog)Prioritize the Feature CatalogEstimate Relative Feature SizesScoping MetricsEstimate the Top Part of the Features CatalogDevelop a Preliminary Release PlanIteration 0Hardening IterationRelease IterationHow Long Is an Iteration?PMI ParallelsConclusionAdditional Tools
Some Upfront Work Is NecessaryWhat Is Iteration 0?Count from ZeroAcquiring the Technical TeamAvoid the Myth of MultitaskingHold a Technical Team Kickoff MeetingTailor an Agile Iteration ApproachArchitectureDevelopment InfrastructureFunctional RequirementsProject Support ToolsReestimating the ProjectThe Iron TriangleImpossible ProjectsFixed-Term Agile ProjectsForecasting from Team ProductivityPMI ParallelsConclusion
IntroductionWhat Is Software Architecture?DefinitionBalanceRefactoring vs. RewritingApplication Architectural ViewsPlatform-Independent and Platform-Specific Design Models (Logical View)Platform-Independent Model (PIM)Platform-Specific Model (PSM)Agile PracticesArchitectural Layers (Physical View)Software Architecture (Development View)Problem Domain Component (PDC)Data Management Component (DMC)Systems Interface Component (SIC)Human Interface Component (HIC)Component Interface Validator (CIV)Architecture RecommendationsEmergent Design: An Architectural AlternativePMI ParallelsConclusion
OverviewInfrastructure EnvironmentsThe Requirements EnvironmentThe Development EnvironmentThe Test EnvironmentThe Test Environment Is Not the Development EnvironmentThe Staging EnvironmentThe Production EnvironmentThe Project EnvironmentToolsRequirements Environment ToolsDevelopment Environment ToolsTesting Environment ToolsPMI ParallelsConclusion
OverviewHigh-Quality Product DevelopmentFunctional RequirementsRequirements HierarchyOther Useful TermsRequirements ElicitationMerging Different PerspectivesQuenty Twestions: Interviewing Is Not a First-Approach TechniquePrefer Use Cases to FeaturesProduce Detailed RequirementsAssociate Features to Business WorkflowDecompose Each Workflow to Use Cases into the Use Case CatalogWrite the Detailed Use Case for ApprovalMake the Detailed Use Case a Functional SpecificationDevelop the UX ArtifactStart the Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM)Repeat Through the Features CatalogPMI ParallelsConclusionAdditional ToolsDescriptions
The Agile ApproachAgile Team RolesProduct Backlog to Iteration BacklogIteration Process OverviewIteration Planning (Box 1)Validate Use Case with an Object Model (Box 3)Develop UX Artifacts (Box 4)Develop GUI Test Cases (Box 5)Develop Integration Test Cases (Box 6)Implement Use Case and Unit Tests (Box 7)Run Regression Tests (Box 8)Transfer the Build (Box 9)Run GUI Tests (Box 10)Code and Run Integration Tests (Box 11)Run QA and Regression Tests (Box 12)Defects and the Change Meeting (Box 13)Build Approved? (Box 14)Build Iteration and QA Reports (Box 15)Present the User Demo (Box 16)Stage or Release the Build (Box 17)Implicit Change Management Flow Within an IterationPrepare the ReleasePMI ParallelsConclusionSoftware Development as Puzzle BuildingAdditional ToolsAgile Iteration Development and Terminology Summary
Is There Such as Thing as an Agile Business Analyst?Does Scrum Use a Business Analyst?Does Extreme Programming Use a Business Analyst?Does an Agile Team Need a Business Analyst?The Role of an Agile Business AnalystStakeholder Expectation ManagementProduct Scope ControlRequirements Verification and ValidationRequirements CommunicationRequirements TraceabilityChange Control and the Definition of DoneThe Business Analyst TasksUse Cases and User StoriesThe User Story TemplateBehavior-Driven Design (BDD)INVEST for Use Cases or User StoriesValidating RequirementsLeveraging Orthogonality for ValidationVerify for ConsistencyTo Validate or Not to Validate?Going FurtherThe Business Analyst within the Agile IterationIteration Planning (Box 1)Develop the Detailed Use Case (Box 2)Validate the Use Case with an Object Model (Box 3)Develop the User Experience Artifact (Box 4)Defects and Change Meeting (Box 13)Build Approved? (Box 14)The User Demo (Box 16)Stage or Release the Build (Box 17)PMI ParallelsConclusionAdditional ToolsATM ProjectValidating Use Cases with XUML6Class Diagrams
The Agile Software DeveloperAgile Developer Characteristics and IdiomsProjectized Agile Teams vs. Developer AllocationSustainabilityThe Agile Team RoomPairing (Pair Programming)Osmotic CommunicationInformation Radiators and Big Visible ChartsDaily Standup MeetingsRefactoringTest Driven Development for Unit TestsDevelopers within the IterationIteration Planning (Box 1)Develop the User Experience Artifact (Box 4)Implement Use Case and Unit Tests (Box 7)Run Regression Tests (Box 8)Upload the Development Build for Testing (Box 9)Defects and Change Meeting (Box 13)Approve the Build (Box 14)Build QA & Iteration Reports (Box 15)The User Demo (Box 16)Stage or Release the Build (Box 17)PMI ParallelsConclusionA Typical Day in the Life of an Agile DeveloperSummary of Developer Roles
The Agile TesterTest CasesIntegration TestsRegression TestsQA Compliance TestsConcurrencyWriting Test CasesTesters in the IterationIteration Planning (Box 1)Develop GUI Test Cases (Box 5)Write Integration Test Cases (Box 6)Receive the Test Build (Box 9)Run the GUI Tests (Box 10)Code and Run the Automated Integration Test Code (Box 11)Run QA and Regression Tests (Box 12)Defects and Change Meeting (Box 13)Build Approved? (Box 14)Build the Iteration and QA Reports (Box 15)The User Demo (Box 16)Stage or Release the Build (Box 17)PMI ParallelsConclusionSummary of Tester RolesAdditional ToolsThe NEBS TransformNaming ConventionsSample Integration Test SuiteTest Script Form Instructions
The Agile Project ManagerAgile Practices and RetrospectivesMonitoring the Release PlanDaily MeetingsAgile PerspectivesThe APM Perspective with ManagementThe APM Perspective with the Agile TeamThe Agile Team and the StakeholdersTask Tracking: The Kanban BoardKanban: A “Pull System”Work-in-Progress LimitsNo Iterations!Resizing Cards on the FlyComparing Velocities Between Teams, Individuals, or GroupsTeam VelocitiesIndividual VelocitiesGroup VelocitiesAgile and Earned Value ManagementThe Components of Earned Value ManagementPutting It All TogetherThe Agile Project Manager in the IterationIteration Planning (Box 1)Design Approval Meeting (Box 5)Defects and Change Meeting (Box 13)Build Approved? (Box 14)Build Iteration and QA Reports (Box 15)The User Demo (Box 16)Stage or Release the Build (Box 17)PMI ParallelsConclusionsAdditional ToolsKanban Process SummaryBuilding a Burn-Up Chart (Example)Quality Report (Example)

Overview

This book is a practical guide for new agile practitioners and contains everything a new project manager needs to know to get up to speed with agile practices quickly and sort out the hype and dogma of pseudo-agile practices.The author lays out the general guidelines for running an agile project with the assumption that the project team may be working in a traditional environment (using the waterfall model, or something similar).

Agile Development in the Real World conveys valuable insights to multiple audiences:

For new-to-agile project managers, this book provides a distinctive approach that Alan Cline has used with great success, while showing the decision points and perspectives as the agile project moves forward from one step to the next. This allows new agile project managers or agile coaches to choose between the benefits of agile and the benefits of other methods.

For the agile technical team member, this book contains templates and sample project artifacts to assist in learning agile techniques and to be used as exemplars for the new practitioner’s own project.

For the Project Management Office (PMO), the first three chapters focus on portfolio management. They explain, for the agilists’ benefit, how projects are selected and approved, and why projects have an inherent "shelf-life" that results in hard deadlines that may seem arbitrary to traditional technical teams.