Agile Process: Overview

1
Agile Process Overview

• Agile software engineering represents a
  reasonable compromise to conventional software
  engineering for certain classes of software
• Agile development processes can deliver
  successful systems quickly
• Agile development stresses continuous
  communication and collaboration among developers
  and customers

2
Manifesto for Agile Software Development

• Better to value
• Individuals and interactions over processes and
  tools
• Working software over comprehensive documentation
  
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan
• While the items on the right are still important
  the items on the left are more valuable under
  this philosophy

3
What is Agility?

• Rapid and adaptive response to change
• Effective communication among all stakeholders
• Drawing the customer onto the team
• Organizing a team so that it is in control of the
  work performed
• Yielding
• Rapid, incremental delivery of software

4
Agile Teams

• are responsive to changes during project
  development
• recognize that project plans must be flexible
• eliminates the separation between customers and
  developers

5
Agility

• encourages team structures that make
  communication among developers and customers
  easier
• emphasizes importance of rapid delivery of
  operational software and de-emphasizes importance
  of intermediate work products
• can be applied to any software process as long as
  the project team is allowed to streamline tasks
  and conduct planning in way that eliminate
  non-essential work products

6
An Agile Process

• Is driven by customer descriptions of what is
  required (scenarios)
• Recognizes that plans are short-lived
• Develops software iteratively with a heavy
  emphasis on implementation
• Delivers multiple software increments
• Adapts as changes occur

7
Human Factors

• Traits that need to exist in members of agile
  development teams
• Competence
• Common focus
• Collaboration
• Decision-making ability
• Fuzzy-problem solving ability
• Mutual trust and respect
• Self-organization

8
Agile Process Models

• Extreme Programming (XP)
• Adaptive Software Development (ASD)
• Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)
• Scrum
• Crystal
• Feature Driven Development (FDD)
• Agile Modeling (AM)

9
Extreme Programming (XP)

• The most widely used agile process, originally
  proposed by Kent Beck
• XP Planning
• Begins with the creation of user stories
• Agile team assesses each story and assigns a cost
• Stories are grouped to for a deliverable
  increment
• A commitment is made on delivery date
• After the first increment project velocity is
  used to help define subsequent delivery dates for
  other increments

10
Adaptive Software Development (ASD)

• Self-organization arises when independent agents
  cooperate to create a solution to a problem that
  is beyond the capability of any individual agent
• Adaptive cycle characteristics
• Mission-driven planning
• Component-based focus
• Uses time-boxing
• Explicit consideration of risks
• Emphasizes collaboration for requirements
  gathering
• Emphasizes learning

11
Dynamic Systems Development Method

• Provides a framework for building and maintaining
  systems which meet tight time constraints using
  incremental prototyping in a controlled
  environment
• Uses Pareto principle (80 of project can be
  delivered in 20 time required to deliver the
  entire project)
• Each increment only delivers enough functionality
  to move to the next increment

12
Dynamic Systems Development Method

• Guiding principles
• Active user involvement
• Teams empowered to make decisions
• Fitness for business purpose is criterion for
  deliverable acceptance
• Iterative and incremental development needed to
  converge on accurate business solution
• All changes made during development are
  reversible
• Requirements are baselined at a high level
• Testing throughout life-cycle

13
Agile Modeling

• Practice-based methodology for effective modeling
  and documentation of software systems in a
  light-weight manner
• Modeling principles
• Model with a purpose
• Use multiple models
• Travel light (only keep models with long-term
  value)
• Content is more important than representation
• Know the models and tools you use to create them
• Adapt locally