Jul 17, 2016
The Software Process and Measurement Cast 403 features our essay on Agile practices at Scale. Scaling Agile is a contentious topic. Frameworks and techniques for scaling are often lambasted as semi-Agile or perhaps even backdoor waterfall techniques. Occasionally you still hear that if a piece of work is too big for one team to complete in a reasonable period of time it should be broken down or just not done. Rather than throw the baby out with the bathwater, many organizations have taken a more pragmatic approach and adopted techniques to scale Agile. We discuss the issues and some of the steps that can be taken to address them!
We will also have a visit from the Software Sensei, Kim Pries. Kim discusses making real transformations using his experience learning Tai Chi. Kim points out that change like deep learning is not instantaneous.
Gene Hughson anchors the cast with an entry from his Form Follows Function Blog. We discussed his article titled, NPM, Tay, and the Need for Design. Gene points out that being forewarned is forearmed. While it has always been true, in today’s dynamic environment, an architect needs to be forearmed.
Re-Read Saturday News
This week we continue our re-read of Kent Beck’s XP Explained, Second Edition with a discussion of Chapters 8 and 9. Chapter 8 changes gears and provides advice on how to get started with XP. Beck suggests that there is no single place to start for everyone. Where you start depends on where you are beginning. Chapter 9 provides a list of corollary practices that build on the primary practices discussed in Chapter 7.
Use the link to XP Explained in the show notes when you buy your copy to read along to support both the blog and podcast. Visit the Software Process and Measurement Blog (www.tcagley.wordpress.com) to catch up on past installments of Re-Read Saturday.
Next SPaMCAST
The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature our interview with Ryan Ripley. We discussed the presentation he is going to do at Agile 2016: The Business of Agile: Better, Faster, Cheaper at Agile. We discussed why having the answer for whether Agile is better, faster and cheaper is still important in the business world!
Shameless Ad for my book!
Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: “This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team.” Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.