Category: Individuals and Interactions

Distributed Development

A recent post on the scrumdevelopment yahoogroup got me thinking about the age-old problems of distributed software development.  The author of the post described having a Product Owner in California, developers in CA, TX, NC, & India, and QA in India.  (No mention if all of the workers in India were in the same place.)  I’m not picking on this individual.  I’ve heard similar stories many times.

It reminded me of something I’d read in Martin Fowler’s book, Patterns of Enterprise Architecture.  On page 88, figure 7.1 shows a common but distressing architectural design of distributed objects.  In the diagram, the components for Invoice, Customer, Order, and Delivery are each deployed to separate machines.  Why do it this way? Read More

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More on Automated Acceptance Testing

Jim Shore has posted a response to the reactions about his previous post on Acceptance Testing in which he defends the way he and the teams he coaches are working.  About the same time, Lisa Crispin posted her thoughts on the topic.

As Lisa says,

I can’t tell you the one right way to test and develop software”¦.  The one right way for your team to code and test will continually evolve over the years. In fact, I’m sorry to tell you that you’ll never find the one right way; it’s a moving target, but you’ll get closer and closer to it.

This is an incredibly important point!  There may be many “wrong” ways—wrong in that they fail to achieve your objectives—but there is no “right way.”  So I’m happy that Jim and his teams are able to achieve the results they want.  I’m not saying they’re doing it wrong. Read More

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Categories: Individuals and Interactions Tools and Techniques Working Software

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The Reality of Automated Acceptance Testing

Recently, Jim Shore wrote about The Problems With Acceptance Testing.  I like Jim, and respect him a lot.  Because of my respect for his opinions, I found it quite discouraging that he said, “I no longer use [automated acceptance testing] or recommend it.”  Gojko Adzic has posted his response to Jim.  This is mine.

Certainly when something’s not giving you the results you want, it’s time to make a change.  That change can be to drop the practice that’s not working for you.  It can also be changing the way you go about the practice, or changing what you want to accomplish.  Or, instead of changing, maybe the word “refining” is a better fit. Read More

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Categories: Individuals and Interactions Tools and Techniques Working Software

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3 Legs to Standing Up an Agile Project

Maybe you’re starting your first Agile project.  You’ve read books and blogs.  You’ve had training.  You think you’re ready, but it’s still a daunting prospect.  There’s just so much to remember—so many details.

Here’s a little cheat sheet.  Forget all the details and the various ways you can implement Agile for the moment.  Let’s simplify the picture.  There are just three essential legs that your Agile project needs to stand.  Get those in place, and you’ll do OK.  Keep improving all three, and you’ll do fantastically! Read More

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Categories: Individuals and Interactions Working Software

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Agile Retroflection of the Day

Yves Hanoulle asks, “If you could change 1 thing today what would it be?” as the first question in his Agile Retroflection of the Day project. Today being the first of the year, it’s natural that I look back over the past year as I consider this question.  And so I answer,

That people could ask for, and could accept, the help they need and want. Read More

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Categories: Individuals and Interactions

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I do not endorse PMAC Certification

It has come to my attention that the PMAC (Project Management Association of Canada / Association de Management de Projet du Canada) claims that I support their certification program.  This is a lie.  I do not support their certification program.

Their claim seems to based on a mailing list posting in which I said,

I applaud your efforts to educate the “traditional project manager” in Agile techniques.  I hope that you are very effective in doing so.

  • I did not say anything about their certification program.
  • They did not ask me if they could use my words on their web site.
  • They have fraudulently quoted me as if I have endorsed their certification.

I am all for education. I am suspicious of certifications. I am angry that I have been so misrepresented.

I consider this misrepresentation to be a sleazy trick. It give me the impression that PMAC is not to be trusted. I suggest that you be wary of them.

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Categories: Individuals and Interactions

Proficiency and Fluency in Self-Organization

Ever since I experienced the “Where Are Your Keys” language fluency game with Willem Larsen, I’ve been thinking about how to apply the concepts to learning other than languages.  One of the fascinating concepts I gleaned from this game is the separate dimensions of proficiency and fluency.  The proficiency scale that Willem uses is based on the ACTFL guidelines of Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, & Superior.  Willem gave a memorable colloquial description of these guidelines in relation to a party: Read More

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Categories: Individuals and Interactions Uncategorized

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Using User Stories

Since learning about them some nine years ago, I’ve found User Stories to be much handier for expressing what the system should do than the monolithic requirements documents I dealt with in the past.  User Stories have a number of advantages:

  • They can easily be shuffled into a different order.
  • You generally know (by the acceptance criteria) whether or not they’re done.
  • They don’t contain a lot of duplicated or contradictory detail.
  • The detail gets elaborated when it’s needed (rather than a long time prior, letting the details get out-of-date and/or forgotten).

I’ve created a two-page handout on writing and splitting User Stories.  I’m publishing it here in case it helps others.  And I would welcome any feedback on it.

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Categories: Individuals and Interactions

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