There's been a lot of press in the software industry over the past few years about Agile development processes. SCRUM has been one of the most talked-about (hyped?) processes and has possibly the most ardent supporters. Ken Schwaber and Mike Beedle's 2001 book Agile Development with SCRUM (ADwS) is the definitive book on SCRUM by the guys who invented it. My conclusion:
Believe the hype.
I've been putting off this review while searching for an approach to describe just how much I enjoyed and agreed with the software development process described by ADwS. As an engineer with training in control systems, probabilities, and statistics, I really connected with the controls-based approach SCRUM uses to eliminate estimation error. As a software developer, I relish the idea of being able to work toward one set of achievable goals for a month before switching directions. As a manager of software projects, I like the idea of having something releasable to my customers every month.
If you're interested in learning more about the SCRUM software development process, I suggest reading Chapter 2 of ADwS and checking out the Control Chaos website. I'm sending these links on to my project manager now...
I also need to purchase a copy of ADwS so that I can read/review it yearly along with Peopleware and The Pragmatic Programmer.
Monday, January 07, 2008
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year everybody!
I wish you a year of happiness, health and jalapeño poppers.
If you're looking for some help (e.g. gentle reminding) with your New Year's resolutions, take a look at 43things.com.
I wish you a year of happiness, health and jalapeño poppers.
If you're looking for some help (e.g. gentle reminding) with your New Year's resolutions, take a look at 43things.com.
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