Agile Overload
Since I buy a lot of Kindle e-books, Amazon sends me book recommendations all the time. Check out this slew of recently suggested books:
My fave in the list is “Agile In A Flash“. I’d venture that it’s written for the ultra-busy manager on-the-go who can become an agile expert in a few hours if he/she would only buy and read the book. What’s next? Agile Cliff notes?
“Agile” software development has a lot going for it. With its focus on the human-side of development, rapid feedback control loops to remove defects early, and its spirit of intra-team trust, I can think of no better way to develop software-intensive systems. It blows away the old, project-manager-is-king, mechanistic, process-heavy, and untrustful way of “controlling” projects.
However, the word “agile” has become so overloaded (like the word “system“) that….
Everyone is doing agile these days, even those that aren’t – Scott Ambler
Gawd. I’m so fed up with being inundated with “agile” propaganda that I can’t wait for the next big silver bullet to knock it off the throne – as long as the new king isn’t centered around the recently born, fledgling, SEMAT movement.
What about you, dear reader? Do you wish that the software development industry would move on to the next big thingy so we can get giddily excited all over again?
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And you knew this book had to be out there: http://tinyurl.com/lsq85qe
I think the issue can be mostly summed up in two phrases:
> “silver bullet”
> “bandwagon jumping”
I wonder what this world would be like if the following two concepts were valued more than the two above:
> “problem comprehension”
> “core principles”
Charlie
Hah. At least it wasn’t on the recommendation list.
But Charlie, wouldn’t all that aiming take time that could be spent firing? 😉
Compare NAARP – http://paddy3118.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/no-attempt-at-rigorous-proof.html I don’t wish that we should move on for the sake of novelty; I just wish that there was better science used in selecting practices.
Thanks for stopping by paddy3118. I understand your point, but beware of demanding scientific rigor before trying something new. Veering off the path of reason/logic is how innovation occurs. In many cases, the innovation occurs first, then the science is developed to understand it afterward. The steam engine is one such example that comes to mind. Plus, I like to make things up: http://bulldozer00.com/2010/04/05/makin-stuff-up/
Without the rigour people could be sold “the next big thing” and not have to change a thing – except hand over the dosh. One mans agile could be the next guys whatever.
Many more people are educated but it seems that we are at the pharmaceutical equivalent of waiting for the next huckster/shyster selling snake oil in the hope that it will solve our problem, when I would hope that we could somehow save some time by applying this widespread education we hae.
Have you seen Elysium the movie about the future of the Earth? Apparently in the future the greatest programmers live long enough (hundreds of years) and have holographic floating text as displays and if you look really closely you may be able to make out what the ancient code lords in the future have discovered. Assembly is the only tool anyone would ever need. Ha ha! In your face cave man living in the past. I will be able to write in Assembly again one day. If I can only live long enough to see the brave new lone wolf future!
Elysium is high on my list. I love Sci-Fi movies like that.