Lightweight methodologies are exploding in popularity because their flexibility is ideal for today's fast-changing development environments. In Agile Software Development, legendary software expert Alistair Cockburn reviews the advantages and disadvantages of lightweight methods, synthesizing the field's key lessons into a simplified approach that allows developers to focus on building quality software rapidly, cost-effectively, and without burnout. Ideal for managers seeking to transcend yesterday's failed approaches, the agile movement views software development as a cooperative game. As players move throughout the game, they use markers and props to inform, remind, and inspire themselves and each other. The goal of the game: to deliver a working software system -- and to use the lessons of each project to build a new, smarter "game" for the next project. For every IT executive and manager, software developer, team leader, team member, and client concerned with building robust, cost-effective software.
From the Back Cover
"Coming of age for software developers means understanding that software is a cooperative effort, not something individuals do in isolation. This is a book that teams of software developers can thrive upon, full of sensible advice for a cooperative development approach."
--Tom DeMarco, The Atlantic Systems Guild
Software development paradigms are shifting. The development group's "team" ability, and the effects of the individual developer, become more important as organizations recognize that the traditional approach of increasing process pressure and overworking team members is not meeting getting the job done. The pioneers of Agile methodologies question the preconceived processes within which development teams work. Rather than adding to the burden of the individual developer, Agile asks "how can we change the process so that the team is more productive, while also improving quality?" The answer is in learning to play the "game."
Written for developers and project managers, Agile Software Development compares software development to a game. Team members play the game knowing that the ultimate goal is to win--always remembering what they have learned along the way, and always keeping in mind that they will never play the same way twice. Players must keep an open mind to different methodologies, and focus on the goal of developing quality software in a short cycle time.
Based on a decade's work and research, and interviews with software project teams, this book presents sound advice for bringing difficult projects to successful conclusion with a minimum of stress. It includes advice on:
- The principals behind agile methodologies
- Which methodologies fit different projects--including appendixes to select the appropriate methodology on a project
- New vocabulary for describing methodologies
- Just-in-time methodology tuning
- Managing the incompleteness of communication
- Continuous methodology reinvention
- The manifesto for agile software development
Today's software developers need to recognize that they have a number of methodologies to choose from. With this book as a guide, they can break free of nonproductive habits, move beyond old routines, and clear a new path to success.
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