Ways for You to Be More Successful in Agile Development
It can be easy to be a detractor and find the bad in everything. However, I want to take a different approach and provide you with a way to be more successful in your agile efforts. Why is this important? Why should you care? Two reasons: I think learning from those who have succeeded and failed is extremely valuable; and for those who are old hands at this, it never hurts to get a refresher.
If you are considering introducing agile to a company or group, I encourage you to read gregerwikstrand.com, which gives you nine critical success factors plus three additional factors to help you out. While there are not a lot of details in the list, it is evident that it includes the areas you need to tackle to be successful.
Reedy Feggins Jr. of IBM provides a presentation on how to succeed with your “First Agile Pilot Project.” His presentation is full of valuable information if you are introducing agile to an organization that has not used this approach before. Although his use of Scrum involves an IBM Rational-slant, it is a good primer for the novice.
VersionOne offers ten steps to what they call the “hallmarks of success.” From fixed-length releases to continuous adaptive planning and other gems, the company provides valuable information for those who have more experience in the agile arena.
The most interesting aspect they discuss, in my opinion, is the multi-level planning section. Time and time again, I have seen the question—“How do you handle large pieces of work that may not fit in an iteration easily?” The folks at VersionOne recommend breaking down work so it can fit into an iteration. While you may think of a work-breakdown-structure as a one-time exercise, VersionOne does not.
For the seasoned pro in agile, I wanted to go back to the beginning when agile was fairly young and compare the previously-held views to current views of what makes agile successful. I found a great abstract from 2001 you can compare and contrast with one from 2012. Some things have changed; others have remained the same.
There are several keys to success in agile, and some covered in this article by David Rico rely on common sense and can be easily implemented. The tougher ones, like organizational structure, take time and effort from the rank and file.
My question to you is have you used any of these “criteria for success” in your implementations?
