book

Head First Agile

by Andrew Stellman, Jennifer Greene

September 2017

Beginner

490 pages

13h 18m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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Who is this book for?Who should probably back away from this book?We know what you’re thinking.And we know what your brain is thinking.This must be important! Don’t forget it!Metacognition: thinking about thinkingSo just how DO you get your brain to think that the material about agile is a hungry tiger?Here’s what WE did:Here’s what YOU can do to bend your brain into submissionRead meThe redundancy is intentional and important.The Brain Power exercises don’t have answers.The activities are NOT optional.Try the exam questions—even if you’re not studying for the exam!The technical review teamAcknowledgmentsO’Reilly Safari®More Praise for Head First Agile
The new features sound great......but things don’t always go as expectedAgile to the rescue!A daily standup is a good starting pointKate tries to hold a daily standupDifferent team members have different attitudesA better mindset makes the practice work betterSo what is agile, anyway?Mindset versus methodologyScrum is the most common approach to agileXP and Lean/Kanbanthere are no Dumb QuestionsThe PMI-ACP certification can help you be more agile
Something big happened in SnowbirdMeeting of the mindsThe Agile ManifestoAdding practices in the real world can be a challengeThe four values of the Agile Manifesto guide the team to a better, more effective mindsetManifesto Magnetsthere are no Dumb QuestionsQuestion Clinic: The “which-is-BEST” questionThey think they’ve got a hit ...... but it’s a flop!The principles behind the Agile ManifestoThe agile principles help you deliver your productFireside Chatsthere are no Dumb QuestionsThe agile principles help your team communicate and work togetherthere are no Dumb QuestionsThe new product is a hit!Exam QuestionsExam AnswersManifesto Magnets Solution
Meet the Ranch Hand Games teamThe Scrum events help you get your projects doneThe Scrum roles help you understand who does whatThe Scrum artifacts keep the team informedThe Increment is the sum of all backlog items that are actually completed and delivered at the end of the Sprintthere are no Dump QuestionsThe Scrum values make the team more effectiveStory Timethere are no Dumb QuestionsQuestion Clinic: The “which-comes-next” questionA task isn’t done until it’s “Done” doneScrum teams adapt to changes throughout the Sprintthere are no Dumb QuestionsThe Agile Manifesto helps you really “get” ScrumThe Product Owner makes sure the team delivers valueSelf-organizing means deciding as a team what to work on nextthere are no Dumb QuestionsThings are looking good for the teamExam QuestionsExam Answers
Meanwhile, back at the ranch...So... what’s next?Introducing GASPs!No more 300-page specs... please?User stories help teams understand what users needStory points let the team focus on the relative size of each storyHow story points workThe whole team estimates togetherNo more detailed project plansTaskboards keep the team informedthere are no Dumb QuestionsQuestion Clinic: The red herringBurndown charts help the team see how much work is leftVelocity tells you how much your team can do in a sprintBurn-ups keep your progress and your scope separate from each otherHow do we know what to build?Story maps help you prioritize your backlogPersonas help you get to know your usersthere are no Dumb QuestionsThe news could be better...Retrospectives help your team improve the way they workSome tools to help you get more out of your retrospectivesTools to help you set the stage:Tools to help you gather data:Tools to help you generate insights:Tools to help you decide what to do:Cubicle ConversationPizza party!Exam QuestionsExam Answers
Meet the team behind CircuitTrakGary’s the founder and CEOAna and Ryan are the lead engineersLate nights and weekends lead to code problemsXP brings a mindset that helps the team and the codeIterative development helps teams stay on top of changesXP teams use stories to track their requirementsXP teams plan their work a quarter at a timeXP teams use one-week iterationsSlack means giving the team some breathing roomCourage and respect keep fear out of the projectVenn MagnetsVenn Magnets Solutionthere are no Dumb QuestionsTeams build better code when they work togetherA whole team is built on trustTrust means letting your teammates make mistakesXP teams don’t have fixed or prescribed rolesTeams work best when they sit togetherXP teams value communicationTeams work best with relaxed, rested mindsLeave yourself enough time to do the jobLet yourself make mistakesGet rid of interruptionsWork at a sustainable pacethere are no Dumb QuestionsQuestion Clinic: The “which-is-NOT” questionXP teams embrace changeFrequent feedback keeps changes smallBad experiences cause a rational fear of changeXP practices give you feedback about the codeXP teams use automated builds that run quicklyContinuous integration prevents nasty surprisesThe weekly cycle starts with writing testsAgile teams get feedback from design and testingWireframes help the team get early feedback about the user interfaceBuild spike solutions to get an idea of a feature’s technical difficultyUsability testing means testing your user interface on real usersPair programmingthere are no Dumb QuestionsComplex code is really hard to maintainWhen teams value simplicity, they build better codeSimplicity is a fundamental agile principleWhen units are tightly coupled, it adds complexity to the projectIt’s tempting to sacrifice simplicity for reusabilityEvery team accumulates technical debtXP teams “pay down” technical debt in each weekly cycleIncremental design starts (and ends) with simple codethere are no Dumb QuestionsExam QuestionsExam Answers
Trouble with Audience Analyzer 2.5Lean is a mindset (not a methodology)Lean, Scrum, and XP are compatibleLean principles help you see things differentlyMore Lean principlesVenn MagnetsVenn Magnets SolutionSome thinking tools you haven’t seen beforeMore Lean thinking toolsCubicle ConversationCategorizing waste can help you see it betterthere are no Dumb QuestionsValue stream maps help you see wasteTrying to do too many things at onceAnatomy of an OptionSystems thinking helps Lean teams see the wholeSome “improvements” didn’t work outA failed experiment (and that’s a good thing!)Lean teams use pull systems to make sure they’re always working on the most valuable tasksSet up a pull system by establishing WIP limitsthere are no Dumb QuestionsQuestion Clinic: Least worst optionKanban uses a pull system to make your process betterUse Kanban boards to visualize the workflowHow to use Kanban to improve your processThe team creates a workflowCubicle Conversationthere are no Dumb QuestionsThe team is delivering fasterCumulative flow diagrams help you manage flowKanban teams talk about their policiesFeedback loops show you how it’s workingKanban teams use lead time to create feadback loopsNow the whole team is collaborating on finding better ways to work!Exam QuestionsExam Answers
The PMI-ACP® certification is valuable......but you really need to know your stuffThe PMI-ACP® exam is based on the content outlineThe content outline is an important preparation tool“You are an agile practitioner...”there are no Dumb QuestionsA long-term relationship for your brainPool PuzzlePool Puzzle SolutionExam QuestionsExam AnswersAgile teams use customer value to prioritize requirementsValue calculations help you figure out which projects to doExam QuestionsExam AnswersExam QuestionsExam QuestionsExam AnswersExam AnswersAdapt your leadership style as the team evolvesSituational leadershipA few last tools and techniquesRisk-adjusted backlog, pre-mortem, and risk burn down chartsA few last tools and techniquesCollaboration gamesExam QuestionsExam AnswersExam QuestionsExam QuestionsExam AnswersExam AnswersAre you ready for the final exam?

Doing the right thingThe main ideasKeep the cash?Fly business class?New softwareShortcutsA good price or a clean river?We’re not all angelsExam QuestionsExam Answers
Before you look at the answers...

Overview

Head First Agile is a complete guide to learning real-world agile ideas, practices, principles.

What will you learn from this book?

In Head First Agile, you'll learn all about the ideas behind agile and the straightforward practices that drive it. You'll take deep dives into Scrum, XP, Lean, and Kanban, the most common real-world agile approaches today. You'll learn how to use agile to help your teams plan better, work better together, write better code, and improve as a team—because agile not only leads to great results, but agile teams say they also have a much better time at work. Head First Agile will help you get agile into your brain... and onto your team!

Preparing for your PMI-ACP® certification?

This book also has everything you need to get certified, with 100% coverage of the PMI-ACP® exam. Luckily, the most effective way to prepare for the exam is to get agile into your brain—so instead of cramming, you're learning.

Why does this book look so different?

Based on the latest research in cognitive science and learning theory, Head First Agile uses a visually rich format to engage your mind, rather than a text-heavy approach that puts you to sleep. Why waste your time struggling with new concepts? This multi-sensory learning experience is designed for the way your brain really works.