This is the ninth in a series of posts on dealing with the impediments raised in “Agile Antipatterns Are Easy to Spot, Hard to Change”. The ninth antipattern discussed in the post is… 9. Emphasizing process metrics over actual project outcomes It’s been my experience that some software development teams like to track metrics — […]
Month: November 2011
Invest in the People, Not in the Process
This is the eighth in a series of posts on dealing with the impediments raised in “Agile Antipatterns Are Easy to Spot, Hard to Change”. The eighth antipattern discussed in the post is… 8. Unwillingness to invest in training and coaching Agile looks easy. All you really need are daily meetings, a status board, and […]
Cramming Works in College But Not in Agile Projects
This is the seventh in a series of posts on dealing with the impediments raised in “Agile Antipatterns Are Easy to Spot, Hard to Change”. The seventh antipattern discussed in the post is… 7. Cramming as much as possible into every iteration to ensure that the team is kept busy You’ve undoubtedly heard of Parkinson’s […]
If the Code’s Good But Not Perfect Code, Plan to Refactor
This is the sixth in a series of posts on dealing with the impediments raised in “Agile Antipatterns Are Easy to Spot, Hard to Change”. The sixth antipattern discussed in the post is… 6. Postponing refactoring until later, usually after a release Software refactoring is one of the most misunderstood and controversial aspects of agile […]
What Problem Are You Trying to Solve?
This is the fifth in a series of posts on dealing with the impediments raised in “Agile Antipatterns Are Easy to Spot, Hard to Change”. The fifth antipattern discussed in the post is… 5. Expecting the software to be built better, faster AND cheaper Software projects have a reputation for delivering systems that are late, […]
Think ‘Continuous Delivery’ Not Fixed Feature Deadlines
This is the fourth in a series of posts on dealing with the impediments raised in “Agile Antipatterns Are Easy to Spot, Hard to Change”. The fourth antipattern discussed in the post is… 4. Adherence to strict feature-set goals per iteration even if extra time is needed The old command-and-control mentality demands that software development […]
When You’re Trying to Be Agile, Less Is More
This is the third in a series of posts on dealing with the impediments raised in “Agile Antipatterns Are Easy to Spot, Hard to Change”. The third antipattern is… 3. Insisting that every decision be documented in writing I’m sure you’ve heard someone say something to the effect of “If it’s not in writing, it […]
Managers Manage. Teams Self-Organize. Conflicts Follow.
This is the second in a series of posts on dealing with the impediments raised in “Agile Antipatterns Are Easy to Spot, Hard to Change”. The second antipattern is… 2. Preserving the command and control hierarchy rather than letting the team self-organize Managers are paid to manage. It’s hard for them to relax their grip […]
Don’t Put the Organization Ahead of the Project Team
In my recent post called “Agile Antipatterns Are Easy to Spot, Hard to Change”, I listed ten impediments that prevent agile development from working well in a corporate setting. In a series of posts, I’ll offer suggestions for dealing with these impediments starting with the first antipattern. Protecting the organizational structure over the team structure […]
Agile Antipatterns Are Easy to Spot, Hard to Change
There are some tell-tale signs that an organization is not ready to be agile. There may be lots of discussion about Scrum, Kanban, XP, Lean or some other agile development variation but the organizational commitment is lacking. Adopting an agile approach to software development is not easy or quick. Doing so while protecting and preserving […]
Software Metrics Stir Controversy and Confusion
Software project metrics are often controversial. The management team needs to measure the performance of the development team. The metric of choice is often a binary one — did they hit the target date or not. Good managers know that merely hitting dates is almost meaningless. What about quality, reliability, security, and the wow! factor? […]
10 Fundamentals of Software Project Management
When sports teams hit slumps, what do they typically do? They focus on the fundamentals. The sport could be baseball, basketball, ice hockey, American football or (what we call) soccer. It doesn’t matter. When the team isn’t winning and needs to improve, the focus is on the fundamentals. What does it mean to focus on […]