Changing Software Development: Learning to Become Agile

Chapter 1. Introduction

"We understand that the only competitive advantage the company of the future will have is its managers' ability to learn faster than then their competitors."

—Arie de Geus (1988)

Software development, in all its forms, is an exercise in learning. Learning occurs within the teams that develop the software – not just the amongst the managers. Then learning occurs with the people who use the software. If we exploit this learning, we can enhance the competitive advantage for our companies.

In order to recognize the value of learning, it's necessary to change things: to change what we do and the way we do it. Without change we can't truly learn, and we certainly don't exploit our learning. The process of learning and changing is an exercise in knowledge creation. Knowledge itself is learning with action: this action often manifests itself as change. This idea, summarized in Figure 1.1, runs through this book.

Knowledge is the underpinning of our modern economy – hence the 'knowledge economy' – and IT is a key part of this economy. Modern IT wouldn't be what it is without software, and that software needs to be written. Yet the people who develop software, and those who manage them, seldom talk about knowledge and the role that IT can play in enhancing learning. All too often, we prefer to view software development as some sort of factory production line process.

This view runs far beyond the development process. Organizations buy software and other IT products ...