Beyond Requirements: Analysis with an Agile Mindset

Chapter 1. Guiding Principles

Introduction

Perhaps the biggest influence agile approaches have had on me is the idea that teams’ approaches should be based on values and principles rather than a set of practices. Practices tend to be very sensitive to context—the set of practices you use for a Web application are different from those used for a commission system, which are different from those used in a mainframe payroll system. Using the same practices in all three cases is a recipe for trouble. Values and principles meanwhile tend to be more widely applicable. The “Manifesto for Agile Software Development” and the “Principles behind the Agile Manifesto” are generally considered to be representative of agile values. This chapter discusses the ...