Being Agile: Eleven Breakthrough Techniques to Keep You from “Waterfalling Backward”

Metrics Should Support the Focus on Working Software

We suggest you stop reporting status on individual disciplines. When each individual discipline reports status, the emphasis is shifted away from working software, which runs counter to agile. For example, 6,000 lines of code written in a big batch, without any testing or associated product documentation, is of zero value to customers—therefore, taken by itself, it is of zero value to the organization. On the other hand, 50 lines of code that implement a user story and that have been written, tested, documented, and reviewed, and where all the known defects have been fixed is of value to customers and to the project. And that code can also be demonstrated to customers and feedback obtained. ...