Enterprise Agility through Product Patterns and Agile Methods

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Enterprise Agility through Product Patterns and
Agile Methods

• Jeff Smith, Senior Developer,
• Titan Professional Services
• Austin-SPIN
• October 15, 2002

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Defining Agility

• Lightweight (Low overhead / baggage)
• Fast (Small, Meaningful cycles)
• Flexible (Adapts quickly for new needs,
  customers)
• Collaborative But not Cumbersome
• More People-oriented than Traditional Process

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Good Process

• Only a few goals for processFaster Cycle Time,
  Decreased Cost, Improved Quality/Repeatability,
  Business Flexibility
• Good Process is Predictable, Simple, Measured,
  Non-intrusive(Transparent - Automatic),
  Flexible(Where Business Human Value Add occurs)
• Good Process makes you wonder why you didnt do
  this sooner Easier than the Alternatives. No one
  wishes to circumvent because good process,
  because the process is easier than alternatives.

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Process Overhead

• In accounting, overhead is generally everything
  that is not direct production This includes
  management, the electric bill, office space,
  reports, schedules, pencils,
• In the world of software development process it
  is anything that feels like drudgery anything
  repetitive or cumbersome likely is looking for a
  machine solution.
• Developers, being the creative arm, abhor obvious
  overhead. Especially if they have to own it.
  Unfortunately many consider almost everything
  done by project management also as overhead.
  (Common, though not enlightened)

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Enter Agile Processes

• Generally, agile methods represent the
  development community questioning the mechanistic
  and control oriented approach in traditional
  software development. The suggestion is that too
  much complexity exists and programmers are too
  often the overworked whipping boys in an
  unpredictable endeavor. Agile methods are
  typically about less developer control and are
  considered more humanistic in their approach.
• Whether they are always better will vary

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Quotes

• Frequent, Tangible, Working Results!
• Peter Coad
• The factory of the future will have only two
  employees, a man and a dog. The man will be there
  to feed the dog. The dog will be there to keep
  the man from touching the equipment.
• Warren Bennis,
• Professor Business Admin USC

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RUP as a Reference

• While UP/RUP is truly a framework, many treat it
  as a silver bullet.. Thorough in its coverage,
  it is like UML if implemented completely. It is
  not agile. It is best trimmed and tuned for the
  situation.
• Iterative model 4 Phases Multiple Workflows
  Volumes of Best Practices Information, Risk, and
  Control Managed en Masse
• Like the Waterfall RUP may really be just a good
  reference(depending on the organization)

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XP (eXtreme Programming)

• Planning Process
• Small Releases
• Metaphor
• Simple Design
• Testing
• Refactoring

• Pair Programming
• Collective Ownership
• Continuous Integration
• 40-hour Week
• On-site Customer
• Coding Standard

Primary XP authors Kent Beck, Ken Auer, Ward
Cunningham, Martin Fowler.
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SCRUM

• 30 Day Sprints
• Sprint Backlog
• Feature Backlog
• Daily 15 minute Meetings for Coordination
  Integration

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(FDD) Feature Driven Development

• Appears first in
• Java Modeling in Color with UML
• 2 Week Iterations
• Client-valued Features and Feature sets
• Best Practices include Domain Object Modeling,
  Developing by Feature, Individual Class
  Ownership, Feature Teams, Inspections, Regular
  Builds, Version Control, Progress Reporting

Primary FDD authors Peter Coad, Jeff De Luca,
Stephen Palmer
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Feature Driven Development(Contd)

• 5 Processes
• 1 Develop overall model (use initial reqts /
  features, snap together with components, focusing
  on shape)
• 2 Build a detailed, prioritized features list.
• 3 Plan by feature.
• 4 Design by feature (use components, focus on
  sequences).
• 5 Build by feature.

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Other Agile Methods

• Crystal Methods A family of People Centered
  Methods(Alistair Cockburn)
• Lean Development Risk Entrepreneurship, Change
  Tolerant Organization(Bob Charette)
• Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)
  Principles, Docs and Training from the UK
• Adaptive Software Development Practices and
  Philosophy (Jim Highsmith III)

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Agile Modeling

• Instead of in-depth, comprehensive modeling
  Design capture can be in code file folders of
  post-it notes, white board printouts, engineering
  notepaper, and prototypes Its about using the
  simplest tool possible
• All possible methods are at your disposal but
  should only be applied as needed.. Not
  dogmatically. Communicate just enough to drive
  code.
• Re Agile Modeling Effective Practices for
  Extreme Programming and the Unifies Process, Scot
  Ambler

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JIT, Reverse, Automated Documentation

• Documentation may be generated from code (e.g.
  JavaDoc, Visio, Database methods, Script methods)
• Tools may help a lot e.g. TogetherSoft
  products(Code is data Changing design changes
  code Changing code updates design)
• Much documentation should be generated on the fly
  as the code evolves So it matches the
  problems as they are truly solved Usually only
  major architectural and interface details need
  extra, earlier attention.

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Design Patterns

• The Gof Book talks about common software design
  patterns Behavioral, Structural, Creational.
  More architectural than algorithmic, design
  patterns represent solutions to common software
  problems. This book is required reading for
  coders. Some problems are basically already
  solved.
• The refactoring book talks about improving code,
  with an awareness of Design Patterns
• If you truly desire libraries of reusable code
  These are fundamental education. Applicable in
  the OO and near-OO world. (e.g. VB)

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Product Patterns

• Product patterns are typically more meaningful at
  implementation time They may be meaningful to a
  customer or an integrator They are the levers to
  product flexibility. Studied and properly
  exposed, they easily provide long-term
  opportunity.
• Types of Opportunities

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Examples

• Questonnaires Questions, rules, flow, and
  answers can usually be totally data-driven
• Application presentation Apps follow patterns
  An app has menus, forms, controls, layout,
  toolbars All of which can likely be identified
  in a data structure and easily customized
• Many solutions are recurring Approaches to
  Security Object generation from Database schema
  But just user-specific enough that it makes
  sense to write tools instead of hard-coded
  solutions.

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Knowledge Management

• The Pro-Active Push of Critical Business
  Information to the Point of Use
• Not just a Tool People, Process, Technology
• Requires Planning, Role Identification,
  Recognition of critical and non-critical
  information, motivations
• Lots of Strategies Portals, Phone Lists, Brown
  Bags, Training,

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Organizational Issues

• Develop a Culture for Aggression
• Avoid Complacency, Stability, Over-Analysis
• Keep It Simple about the Velocity of Quality
  Code
• Make Fast Positive Change a Habit
• Make the Team Dependent on Each and Provide
  Compelling, Challenging Goals

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Organizational Issues (Contd)

• Must be Willing and Able to Change from the Top
  Down
• Will Need to Start Small May have Education
  Issues Across the Board
• Using Product Patterns truly may redefine the
  Business Approach
• Agile Methods may want more customer contact than
  you are used to
• Knowledge Management is difficult in any
  organization where collaboration is difficult

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References

• Extreme Programming Explained Embrace Change ,
  Kent Beck
• Extreme Programming in Practice, James W.
  Newkirk, Robert C. Martin
• Extreme Programming Perspectives, Michele
  Marchesi
• Questioning Extreme Programming, Pete McBreen,
  Kent Beck
• Extreme Programming Explored, William C. Wake
• Extreme Programming Examined, Giancarlo Succi,
  Michele Marchesi
• Extreme Programming Examined, Giancarlo Succi,
  Michele Marchesi
• Extreme Programming Applied Playing to Win, Ken
  Auer
• Planning Extreme Programming, Kent Beck, Martin
  Fowler
• Extreme Programming Installed, Ron Jeffries

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References

• A Practical Guide to Feature Driven Development,
  Palmer / Felsing
• Agile Software Development Ecosystems, Jim
  Highsmith
• Agile Software Development, Alistair Cockburn
• Refactoring Improving the Design of Existing
  Code, Martin Fowler
• Design Patterns Elements of Re-usable
  Object-Oriented Software, Gamma / Helm / Johnson
  / Vlissides
• Adaptive Software Development A Collaborative
  Approach to Managing Complex Systems, by James A.
  Highsmith III,
• DSDM Dynamic Systems Development Method The
  Method in Practice,
• by Jennifer Stapleton
• The Rational Unified Process - An Introduction,
  Philippe Kruchten
• Mentoring Object Technology Projects, Richard Due

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References

• Software Product Lines Practices and Patterns,
  Clements / Northrup
• The PDMA Handbook of New Product Development,
  Product Development Management Association
• Common Knowledge How Companies Thrive by
  Sharing What They Know, Nancy Dixon
• If Only We Knew What We Know, ODell / Grayson
• Working Knowledge, Davenport / Prusak