Agile Software Development Methods

 

   Agile Software Development Methods

P.D.G.A.Premawardhana 2012 MIT 037 University of Colombo School of Computing

 

Agile Software Development Methods

Crystal Methods  Methods   Alistair Cockburn, the developer of the collection of methodologies known as Crystal Methods, says that he developed Crystal Methods to "get rid of this aberration called software engineering." Engineering, he says, gives us questions like "Is our model accurate?" instead of the more interesting questions such as "Is our product meeting the customer's needs?" and "Do we have our goals aligned as a team?" In line with Cockburn's emphasis on these questions, Crystal Methods is primarily focused on communication, with special focus on interaction, community, people, and skills.  As noted, Crystal Methods is a collection of methodologies based on two fundamental assumptions: (1) teams can streamline their process as they work and become a more integrated, optimized team and (2) projects are unique and dynamic and require methods that are specifically designed for each effort.  Another theme that has run through Cockburn's work from his first articles to his current Crystal Methods development work is the concept of product development as a game, a cooperative, interactive activity that should be designed in a way that stimulates the creativity of all participants. Crystal Methods recommend a specific methodology for each project based on three critical factors: communication density (more people means more communication channels and increased complexity), system criticality, and project prioritization. The smaller the team, the more likely it can just retire into a conference room and build the product, without a lot of status reporting, knowledge transfer, or written documentation.  As the team size increases, the number numbe r of communication "artifacts" like written notes, necessarily increases, and Crystal Methods enable that increase by presenting different methodologies and processes for different projects.

Customizable family of development methodologies for small to very large teams • Methodology dependent on size of team and criticality of project • Emphasis of face-to-face face -to-face communication • Consider people, interaction, community, skills, talents, and communication as first order effects • Start with minimal process and process  and build up as absolutely necessary

P.D.G.A.Premawardhana

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2012 MIT 037 

2

 

Agile Software Development Methods

Lean Development (LD) In 1989, Professor James Womack and consultant Daniel Jones published “Lean techn iques that helped he lped create the Thinking  , a survey of the lean manufacturing techniques ”   ”  

"Japanese miracle" of the late 1980s and early 1990s. They chronicled the ideas of lean manufacturing, with their focus on eliminating waste, creating a smooth "flow" of work on the factory floor, and expecting workers to contribute high skill levels and an ownership mentality. These concepts helped Toyota, the exemplar of these techniques, vault over the traditional giants of the automotive industry. Lean manufacturing theories were highly influential in the creation of LD. Bob Charette, Charette, while not a signatory of the Agile Manifesto has developed a methodology that has many commonalities with those mentioned so far. Similar, though distinct, ideas have also been put forward by Mary Poppendieck and Tom Poppendieck in their book “Lean  . Software Development  . LD emphasizes four key success factors that clearly illustrate its compatibility with other agile methods:  

Create visible customer value rapidly,

 

Build change-tolerant software,

 

Create only necessary functionality and no more,

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 Adopt aggressiveness, stubbornness, and belief in meeting stretch goals.

Like Scrum, LD is more of a project management environment than simply a software development one; it consists of three distinct phases: start-up, steady-state, and transition / renewal. Rather than the daily "Scrum," it recommends a time-boxed "whirlpool" that, like all agile methods, includes the analysis, design, test, and build activities in each iteration. Lean development is important not just for its conformance to the ideals of agile development but because the underlying philosophies of lean manufacturing have been accepted by business leaders worldwide, and so come with existing acceptance. This makes introduction of agile methods in a lean framework more easily accepted and presents a strategic framework that executives are likely to accept with less resistance.

P.D.G.A.Premawardhana

-

2012 MIT 037 

3

 

Agile Software Development Methods

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agile_software_development  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agile_software_development  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_software_development   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_software_development http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Clear_(software_development) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Clear_(software_development)   http://agile.csc.ncsu.edu/SEMaterials/AgileMethods.pdf  

P.D.G.A.Premawardhana

-

2012 MIT 037 

4