book

Learning Agile

by Andrew Stellman, Jennifer Greene

November 2014

Beginner

420 pages

13h 8m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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Foreword
Preface
AcknowledgmentsSafari® Books OnlineHow to Contact Us
1. Learning Agile
What Is Agile?Who Should Read This BookOur Goals for This BookGetting Agile into Your Brain by Any Means NecessaryHow This Book Is Structured
2. Understanding Agile Values
A Team Lead, Architect, and Project Manager Walk into a Bar...No Silver BulletAgile to the Rescue! (Right?)Adding Agile Makes a Difference“Better-Than-Not-Doing-It” ResultsA Fractured PerspectiveHow a Fractured Perspective Causes Project ProblemsWhy Does a Fractured Perspective Lead to Just Better-Than-Not-Doing-It Results?The Agile Manifesto Helps Teams See the Purpose Behind Each PracticeIndividuals and Interactions Over Processes and ToolsWorking Software Over Comprehensive DocumentationCustomer Collaboration Over Contract NegotiationResponding to Change Over Following a PlanPrinciples Over PracticesUnderstanding the ElephantMethodologies Help You Get It All in Place at OnceWhere to Start with a New Methodology
3. The Agile Principles
The 12 Principles of Agile SoftwareThe Customer Is Always Right...Right?“Do As I Say, Not As I Said”Delivering the ProjectPrinciple #1: Our Highest Priority Is to Satisfy the Customer Through Early and Continuous Delivery of Valuable Software.Principle #2: Welcome Changing Requirements, Even Late In Development. Agile Processes Harness Change for the Customer’s Competitive Advantage.Principle #3: Deliver Working Software Frequently, from a Couple of Weeks to a Couple of Months, with a Preference to the Shorter Timescale.Better Project Delivery for the Ebook Reader ProjectCommunicating and Working TogetherPrinciple #4: The Most Efficient and Effective Method of Conveying Information To and Within a Development Team Is Face-To-Face Conversation.Principle #5: Businesspeople and Developers Must Work Together Daily Throughout the Project.Principle #6: Build Projects Around Motivated Individuals. Give Them the Environment and Support They Need, and Trust Them to Get the Job Done.Better Communication for the Ebook Reader ProjectProject Execution—Moving the Project AlongPrinciple #7: Working Software Is the Primary Measure of Progress.Principle #8: Agile Processes Promote Sustainable Development. The Sponsors, Developers, and Users Should Be Able to Maintain a Constant Pace Indefinitely.Principle #9: Continuous Attention to Technical Excellence and Good Design Enhances Agility.A Better Working Environment for the Ebook Reader Project TeamConstantly Improving the Project and the TeamPrinciple #10: Simplicity—the Art of Maximizing the Amount of Work Not Done—Is Essential.Principle #11: The Best Architectures, Requirements, and Designs Emerge from Self-Organizing Teams.Principle #12: At Regular Intervals, the Team Reflects on How to Become More Effective, Then Tunes and Adjusts Its Behavior Accordingly.The Agile Project: Bringing All the Principles Together
4. Scrum and Self-Organizing Teams
The Rules of ScrumAct I: I Can Haz Scrum?Everyone on a Scrum Team Owns the ProjectThe Scrum Master Guides the Team’s DecisionsThe Product Owner Helps the Team Understand the Value of the SoftwareEveryone Owns the ProjectScrum Has Its Own Set of ValuesAct II: Status Updates Are for Social Networks!The Whole Team Uses the Daily ScrumFeedback and the Visibility-Inspection-Adaptation CycleThe Last Responsible MomentHow to Hold an Effective Daily ScrumAct III: Sprinting into a WallSprints, Planning, and RetrospectivesIterative or Incremental?The Product Owner Makes or Breaks the SprintVisibility and ValueHow to Plan and Run an Effective Scrum SprintAct IV: Dog Catches Car
5. Scrum Planning and Collective Commitment
Act V: Not Quite Expecting the UnexpectedUser Stories, Velocity, and Generally Accepted Scrum PracticesMake Your Software UsefulUser Stories Help Build Features Your Users Will UseConditions of SatisfactionStory Points and VelocityBurndown ChartsPlanning and Running a Sprint Using Stories, Points, Tasks, and a Task BoardGenerally Accepted Scrum PracticesAct VI: Victory LapScrum Values RevisitedPractices Do Work Without the Values (Just Don’t Call It Scrum)Is Your Company’s Culture Compatible with Scrum Values?
6. XP and Embracing Change
Act I: Going into OvertimeThe Primary Practices of XPProgramming PracticesIntegration PracticesPlanning PracticesTeam PracticesWhy Teams Resist Changes, and How the Practices HelpAct II: The Game Plan Changed, but We’re Still LosingThe XP Values Help the Team Change Their MindsetXP Helps Developers Learn to Work with UsersPractices Only “Stick” When the Team Truly Believes in ThemAn Effective Mindset Starts with the XP ValuesThe XP ValuesPaved with Good IntentionsAct III: The Momentum ShiftsUnderstanding the XP Principles Helps You Embrace ChangeThe Principles of XPXP Principles Help You Understand PlanningXP Principles Help You Understand Practices—and Vice VersaFeedback Loops
7. XP, Simplicity, and Incremental Design
Act IV: Going into Overtime, Part 2: Second OvertimeCode and DesignCode Smells and Antipatterns (or, How to Tell If You’re Being Too Clever)XP Teams Look for Code Smells and Fix ThemHooks, Edge Cases, and Code That Does Too MuchCode Smells Increase ComplexityMake Code and Design Decisions at the Last Responsible MomentFix Technical Debt by Refactoring MercilesslyUse Continuous Integration to Find Design ProblemsAvoid Monolithic DesignIncremental Design and the Holistic XP PracticesTeams Work Best When They Feel Like They Have Time to ThinkTeam Members Trust Each Other and Make Decisions TogetherThe XP Design, Planning, Team, and Holistic Practices Form an Ecosystem That Spurs InnovationIncremental Design Versus Designing for ReuseWhen Units Interact in a Simple Way, the System Can Grow IncrementallyGreat Design Emerges from Simple InteractionsAct V: Final Score
8. Lean, Eliminating Waste, and Seeing the Whole
Lean ThinkingYou Already Understand Many of These ValuesCommitment, Options Thinking, and Set-Based DevelopmentAct I: Just One More Thing...Creating Heroes and Magical ThinkingEliminate WasteUse a Value Stream Map to Help See Waste ClearlyGain a Deeper Understanding of the ProductSee the WholeFind the Root Cause of Problems That You DiscoverDeliver As Fast As PossibleUse an Area Chart to Visualize Work in ProgressControl Bottlenecks by Limiting Work in ProgressPull Systems Help Teams Eliminate Constraints

9. Kanban, Flow, and Constantly Improving
Act II: Playing Catch-UpThe Principles of KanbanFind a Starting Point and Evolve Experimentally from ThereStories Go into the System; Code Comes OutImproving Your Process with KanbanVisualize the WorkflowLimit Work in ProgressMeasure and Manage FlowUse CFDs and WIP Area Charts to Measure and Manage FlowLittle’s Law Lets You Control the Flow Through a SystemManaging Flow with WIP Limits Naturally Creates SlackMake Process Policies Explicit So Everyone Is on the Same PageEmergent Behavior with Kanban
10. The Agile Coach
Act III: Just One More Thing (Again?!)...Coaches Understand Why People Don’t Always Want to ChangeCoaches Listen for Warning Signs That the Team Is Having Trouble with a ChangeCoaches Understand How People LearnUse Shuhari to Help a Team Learn the Values of a MethodologyCoaches Understand What Makes a Methodology WorkThe Principles of Coaching
Index

Overview

Learning Agile is a comprehensive guide to the most popular agile methods, written in a light and engaging style that makes it easy for you to learn.

Agile has revolutionized the way teams approach software development, but with dozens of agile methodologies to choose from, the decision to "go agile" can be tricky. This practical book helps you sort it out, first by grounding you in agile's underlying principles, then by describing four specific–and well-used–agile methods: Scrum, extreme programming (XP), Lean, and Kanban.

Each method focuses on a different area of development, but they all aim to change your team's mindset–from individuals who simply follow a plan to a cohesive group that makes decisions together. Whether you're considering agile for the first time, or trying it again, you'll learn how to choose a method that best fits your team and your company.

Understand the purpose behind agile's core values and principles
Learn Scrum's emphasis on project management, self-organization, and collective commitment
Focus on software design and architecture with XP practices such as test-first and pair programming
Use Lean thinking to empower your team, eliminate waste, and deliver software fast
Learn how Kanban's practices help you deliver great software by managing flow
Adopt agile practices and principles with an agile coach

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