Succeeding with Agile

Succeeding with Agile
Author: Mike Cohn
Publisher: Pearson Education
Total Pages: 504
Release: 2010
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0321579364

Proven, 100% Practical Guidance for Making Scrum and Agile Work in Any Organization This is the definitive, realistic, actionable guide to starting fast with Scrum and agile-and then succeeding over the long haul. Leading agile consultant and practitioner Mike Cohn presents detailed recommendations, powerful tips, and real-world case studies drawn from his unparalleled experience helping hundreds of software organizations make Scrum and agile work. Succeeding with Agile is for pragmatic software professionals who want real answers to the most difficult challenges they face in implementing Scrum. Cohn covers every facet of the transition: getting started, helping individuals transition to new roles, structuring teams, scaling up, working with a distributed team, and finally, implementing effective metrics and continuous improvement. Throughout, Cohn presents "Things to Try Now" sections based on his most successful advice. Complementary "Objection" sections reproduce typical conversations with those resisting change and offer practical guidance for addressing their concerns. Coverage includes Practical ways to get started immediately-and "get good" fast Overcoming individual resistance to the changes Scrum requires Staffing Scrum projects and building effective teams Establishing "improvement communities" of people who are passionate about driving change Choosing which agile technical practices to use or experiment with Leading self-organizing teams Making the most of Scrum sprints, planning, and quality techniques Scaling Scrum to distributed, multiteam projects Using Scrum on projects with complex sequential processes or challenging compliance and governance requirements Understanding Scrum's impact on HR, facilities, and project management Whether you've completed a few sprints or multiple agile projects and whatever your role-manager, developer, coach, ScrumMaster, product owner, analyst, team lead, or project lead-this book will help you succeed with your very next project. Then, it will help you go much further: It will help you transform your entire development organization.

Software Development & Agile - Simple Steps to Win, Insights and Opportunities for Maxing Out Success

Software Development & Agile - Simple Steps to Win, Insights and Opportunities for Maxing Out Success
Author: Gerard Blokdijk
Publisher: Complete Publishing
Total Pages: 198
Release: 2015-07-04
Genre: Reference
ISBN: 9781488893292

The one-stop-source powering Software Development & Agile success, jam-packed with ready to use insights for success, loaded with all the data you need to decide how to gain and move ahead. An one-of-a-kind book, based on extensive research, this reveals the best practices of the most successful Software Development & Agile knowledge mavens, those who are adept at continually innovating and seeing opportunity where others do not. This is the first place to go for Software Development & Agile innovation, in today's knowledge-driven business environment, professionals face particular challenges as their purpose is to discover or develop new concepts, products, or processes; the pressure to perform is intense. This title is the entryway to a single source for innovation. BONUS: Included with the book come numerous real-world Software Development & Agile blueprints, presentations and templates ready for you to download and use. This book addresses the crucial issue of Software Development & Agile adoption by presenting the facts to move beyond general observation. The model underpinning this book has been used as a predictive decision tool, tracking thousands of innovations for over more than a decade. And...this all-encompassing analysis focuses on key areas of future Software Development & Agile growth.

Software Development - Simple Steps to Win, Insights and Opportunities for Maxing Out Success

Software Development - Simple Steps to Win, Insights and Opportunities for Maxing Out Success
Author: Gerard Blokdijk
Publisher: Complete Publishing
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2015-12-09
Genre:
ISBN: 9781489102768

Starting out with Software Development means being unsure about what to do, how to start and how to get the most out of it; preparing for success, and avoiding failure. There is enormous satisfaction in seeing the change succeed, overcoming the obstacles in the way to reap the rewards and benefits that using Software Development brings. Don't embark on the change unprepared or it will be doomed to fail. But it's my guess that since you're reading this, the forces of change have already been set in motion, and there is no going back. What you need is the resources, knowledge, and confidence required to overcome uncertainty and face Software Development changes. The job can be accomplished by having a roadmap and experiences from previous Software Development changes. This is where this book is your guide and roadmap. You will be able to relate to the experiences laid out in its resources covering all aspects of any Software Development initiative. Use it, and its INCLUDED Working Documents for Leaders, to get a strong foundation. It will provide aid, advice, blueprints, road maps en templates when you need it most. The book reflects the reality that the fastest way to learn about Software Development is from experiences, knowing about the ins and outs of employment and career developments, trends and popularity, relevant knowledge and patents AND the INCLUDED downloadable resources on Software Development Blueprints, Templates and Presentations: Working Documents for Leaders. Whatever makes you decide to take on the change: growing business initiatives or career development plans, you are ready for a Software Development Change. The book and accompanying toolkit is your gateway and will fully support your commitment in moving forward and energize yourself and others.

Lean Software Development

Lean Software Development
Author: Mary Poppendieck
Publisher: Addison-Wesley
Total Pages: 236
Release: 2003-05-08
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 0133812960

Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit Adapting agile practices to your development organization Uncovering and eradicating waste throughout the software development lifecycle Practical techniques for every development manager, project manager, and technical leader Lean software development: applying agile principles to your organization In Lean Software Development, Mary and Tom Poppendieck identify seven fundamental "lean" principles, adapt them for the world of software development, and show how they can serve as the foundation for agile development approaches that work. Along the way, they introduce 22 "thinking tools" that can help you customize the right agile practices for any environment. Better, cheaper, faster software development. You can have all three–if you adopt the same lean principles that have already revolutionized manufacturing, logistics and product development. Iterating towards excellence: software development as an exercise in discovery Managing uncertainty: "decide as late as possible" by building change into the system. Compressing the value stream: rapid development, feedback, and improvement Empowering teams and individuals without compromising coordination Software with integrity: promoting coherence, usability, fitness, maintainability, and adaptability How to "see the whole"–even when your developers are scattered across multiple locations and contractors Simply put, Lean Software Development helps you refocus development on value, flow, and people–so you can achieve breakthrough quality, savings, speed, and business alignment.

Getting Results the Agile Way

Getting Results the Agile Way
Author: J. D. Meier
Publisher: Innovation Playhouse LLC
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2010
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0984548203

A guide to the Agile Results system, a systematic way to achieve both short- and long-term results that can be applied to all aspects of life.

Agility Shift

Agility Shift
Author: Pamela Meyer
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 187
Release: 2016-11-03
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1351862405

As contrary as it sounds, "planning" -- as we traditionally understand the term--can be the worst thing a company can do. Consider that volatile weather events disrupt trusted supply chains, markets, and promised delivery schedules. Ever-shifting geo-political tensions, as well as internal political upheaval within U.S. and global governments, derail long-planned new ventures. Technology failures block opportunities. Competitors suddenly change their product or release date; your team cannot meet the pace of innovations in your market niche, leaving you sidelined. There are myriad ways in the current business environment for a company's well-considered business plans to go awry. Most business schools continue to prepare managers to be effective in stable and predictable environments, conditions that, if they ever existed at all, are long gone. The Agility Shift shows business leaders exactly how to make the radical mindset and strategy shift necessary to create an agile, entrepreneurial organization that can innovate and thrive in complex, ever-changing contexts. As author Pamela Meyer explains, there is much more involved than a reconfiguration of the org chart and job descriptions. It requires relinquishing the illusion of control at the very foundation of most management training and business practice. Despite most leaders' approaches, "Agility is not simply accelerated planning." Unlike many agility books on the market, The Agility Shift provides specific, actionable strategies and tactics for leaders at all levels of the organization to put into practice immediately to improve agility and achieve results.

Agile Retrospectives

Agile Retrospectives
Author: Esther Derby
Publisher: Pragmatic Bookshelf
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2006-07-26
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 1680503103

Project retrospectives help teams examine what went right and what went wrong on a project. But traditionally, retrospectives (also known as “post-mortems”) are only held at the end of the project—too late to help. You need agile retrospectives that are iterative and incremental. You need to accurately find and fix problems to help the team today. Now Esther and Diana show you the tools, tricks and tips you need to fix the problems you face on a software development project on an on-going basis. You’ll see how to architect retrospectives in general, how to design them specifically for your team and organization, how to run them effectively, how to make the needed changes and how to scale these techniques up. You’ll learn how to deal with problems, and implement solutions effectively throughout the project—not just at the end. This book will help you: Design and run effective retrospectives Learn how to find and fix problems Find and reinforce team strengths Address people issues as well as technological Use tools and recipes proven in the real world With regular tune-ups, your team will hum like a precise, world-class orchestra.

Agile Estimating and Planning

Agile Estimating and Planning
Author: Mike Cohn
Publisher: Pearson Education
Total Pages: 526
Release: 2005-11-01
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 0132703106

Agile Estimating and Planning is the definitive, practical guide to estimating and planning agile projects. In this book, Agile Alliance cofounder Mike Cohn discusses the philosophy of agile estimating and planning and shows you exactly how to get the job done, with real-world examples and case studies. Concepts are clearly illustrated and readers are guided, step by step, toward how to answer the following questions: What will we build? How big will it be? When must it be done? How much can I really complete by then? You will first learn what makes a good plan-and then what makes it agile. Using the techniques in Agile Estimating and Planning, you can stay agile from start to finish, saving time, conserving resources, and accomplishing more. Highlights include: Why conventional prescriptive planning fails and why agile planning works How to estimate feature size using story points and ideal days–and when to use each How and when to re-estimate How to prioritize features using both financial and nonfinancial approaches How to split large features into smaller, more manageable ones How to plan iterations and predict your team's initial rate of progress How to schedule projects that have unusually high uncertainty or schedule-related risk How to estimate projects that will be worked on by multiple teams Agile Estimating and Planning supports any agile, semiagile, or iterative process, including Scrum, XP, Feature-Driven Development, Crystal, Adaptive Software Development, DSDM, Unified Process, and many more. It will be an indispensable resource for every development manager, team leader, and team member.

Agile Project Management with Scrum

Agile Project Management with Scrum
Author: Ken Schwaber
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Total Pages: 214
Release: 2004-02-11
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 0735637903

The rules and practices for Scrum—a simple process for managing complex projects—are few, straightforward, and easy to learn. But Scrum’s simplicity itself—its lack of prescription—can be disarming, and new practitioners often find themselves reverting to old project management habits and tools and yielding lesser results. In this illuminating series of case studies, Scrum co-creator and evangelist Ken Schwaber identifies the real-world lessons—the successes and failures—culled from his years of experience coaching companies in agile project management. Through them, you’ll understand how to use Scrum to solve complex problems and drive better results—delivering more valuable software faster. Gain the foundation in Scrum theory—and practice—you need to: Rein in even the most complex, unwieldy projects Effectively manage unknown or changing product requirements Simplify the chain of command with self-managing development teams Receive clearer specifications—and feedback—from customers Greatly reduce project planning time and required tools Build—and release—products in 30-day cycles so clients get deliverables earlier Avoid missteps by regularly inspecting, reporting on, and fine-tuning projects Support multiple teams working on a large-scale project from many geographic locations Maximize return on investment!

A Practical Approach to Large-Scale Agile Development

A Practical Approach to Large-Scale Agile Development
Author: Gary Gruver
Publisher: Addison-Wesley
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2012-11-15
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 0132981017

Today, even the largest development organizations are turning to agile methodologies, seeking major productivity and quality improvements. However, large-scale agile development is difficult, and publicly available case studies have been scarce. Now, three agile pioneers at Hewlett-Packard present a candid, start-to-finish insider’s look at how they’ve succeeded with agile in one of the company’s most mission-critical software environments: firmware for HP LaserJet printers. This book tells the story of an extraordinary experiment and journey. Could agile principles be applied to re-architect an enormous legacy code base? Could agile enable both timely delivery and ongoing innovation? Could it really be applied to 400+ developers distributed across four states, three continents, and four business units? Could it go beyond delivering incremental gains, to meet the stretch goal of 10x developer productivity improvements? It could, and it did—but getting there was not easy. Writing for both managers and technologists, the authors candidly discuss both their successes and failures, presenting actionable lessons for other development organizations, as well as approaches that have proven themselves repeatedly in HP’s challenging environment. They not only illuminate the potential benefits of agile in large-scale development, they also systematically show how these benefits can actually be achieved. Coverage includes: • Tightly linking agile methods and enterprise architecture with business objectives • Focusing agile practices on your worst development pain points to get the most bang for your buck • Abandoning classic agile methods that don’t work at the largest scale • Employing agile methods to establish a new architecture • Using metrics as a “conversation starter” around agile process improvements • Leveraging continuous integration and quality systems to reduce costs, accelerate schedules, and automate the delivery pipeline • Taming the planning beast with “light-touch” agile planning and lightweight long-range forecasting • Implementing effective project management and ensuring accountability in large agile projects • Managing tradeoffs associated with key decisions about organizational structure • Overcoming U.S./India cultural differences that can complicate offshore development • Selecting tools to support quantum leaps in productivity in your organization • Using change management disciplines to support greater enterprise agility