Radically Collaborative Patterns for Software Makers

A Mini-Encyclopedia

Introduction

This is a little collection of patterns for making software with others. (The word “pattern” in this book simply means a repeatable way of working that makes sense in some, but not necessarily all, situations). These patterns have been observed in organizations that individually subscribe to different and supposedly competing methodologies for making software. Some claim to follow Scrum, whereas others subscribe to Extreme Programming (XP). Some are SAFe certified; others eschewed certifications in general. Because they all tend to disagree with one another about what label to use to describe their “way” of making software—and because they all believe their way is the right way—I’ve simply referred to them collectively as Radically Collaborative organizations, or RC organizations for short. Perhaps if they begin to adopt this more general, more open way of labeling themselves, they will begin to open themselves up to one another’s ideas.

Keep in mind that this book is not an exhaustive list of patterns. RC organizations exhibit many more ways of making software than will be found in this book. Also keep in mind that this book is not a manual. The short essays presented here will not teach you how to practice any given pattern; that is far beyond the scope of this book, and perhaps any one book. This book is simply an attempt to introduce you to some of the most successful patterns seen within ...