Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

In this episode, we continue a tour of patterns for Agile.  We will see definitions we need to set as well as tools for success.  A deeper review of this can be found on the DZone web site.  However, this should give you a good start on a checklist of items to include.  When you skip any of these, you reduce your odds of a successful Agile project. Increments We have talked about this before.  How...

We take a look at Agile patterns as we come to the end of this season.  There has been a lot of content covered.  However, we do not want to move on without looking at tools for implementing these practices.  Fortunately, there is an excellent DZone article on Agile patterns for those that want to dig deeper into these. Avatars An avatar is exactly what you might expect on a project.  It can take...

The focus on anti-patterns continues with this episode.  We have touched on some of these challenges in other examples.  However, these scrum management anti-patterns are special in that they often point to a lack of confidence in the process.  That can reduce morale and the team's dedication to the process.  It can rapidly devolve into a negative monkey see, monkey do situation. Going Around the...

Our focus the last few episodes have been on anti-patterns relegated to a specific role.  We take a step back in this episode and review scrum team anti-patterns.  These are mistakes we make on a whole that can derail our project and reduce velocity.  These can even drive a product into failure. Deliver The Wrong Thing There are many ways this anti-pattern can make an appearance.  The story may be...

We have talked about Scrum and Agile.  However, some guidance helps us improve our odds or success.  That is an essential part of becoming a better developer.  In this episode, we look at scrum master anti-patterns and position the team for improvement and success. No Retrospective Everyone needs a plan to be productive in pursuit of a goal.  Our goal of improving with each sprint will be impossib...

Everything in software development has good and bad patterns.  We have looked at why the agile approach is valuable.  However, we need to review agile anti-patterns to avoid problems that can erase any benefits.  There are many ways we can misuse this process.  Here are some development team mistakes we can avoid No WIP Limit There is a pride people have around multi-tasking.  However, it is not t...

It may come as a shock, but there are agile weaknesses.  These are situations where a different approach brings a lower risk.  These weaknesses also point to the strengths and attributes of a project or team that make agile the best choice for our framework.  None of these are set in stone.  Thus, knowing about the weakness is an opportunity for overcoming it. The Team Is Central Most of the Agile...

We have covered a broad range of topics in our discussion of Agile.  However, the goal of this approach is to fit your team and environment.  Think of it as an agile philosophy and not a well-defined or rigid process.  Your team should make the framework applicable to them, not force the team into agile methods. Make Adjustments The principles and values laid out in the agile manifesto point to on...

The sprint retrospective is where we take the time to assess how we did and plan for improvement.  It is essential for getting better.  Unfortunately, running this activity can be challenging and easy to underestimate for its value.  Here are some suggestions for converting the time spent in a retrospective into action items for improvement. Initial Challenges All teams start out working on how th...

We have set a goal of delivering working software as part of every sprint.  That requires sprint planning and deciding on what will be in or out of scope.  In this episode, we look at ways to craft a sprint and assist us in setting priorities and content.  The ultimate goal is to provide working software that satisfies the customer. The First Step When we start a project, there will often be an ov...

Several sub-tasks are needed for proper sprint grooming.  They are essential steps in crafting a sprint plan.  These tasks are not trivial and include such on-going difficulties as estimating the time or effort required .  In this episode, we will look closer at these essential activities. Estimating Effort There is no end to the content available to assist us in estimating effort.  However, there...

We have already touched on the scrum ceremonies.  However, the way we perform each ceremony goes a long way towards embracing the Scrum process.  Let's take each item individually and examine how we can make the most of them.  These are investments in building a better sprint team.  They come from the Agile principles, and it is important we keep that in mind for each activity. The Daily Standup T...

The sprint process is a popular way to implement the Agile approach to software development.  Is has its detractors.  However, there are many ways that this approach can split up a large project into smaller bites.  This action of breaking something big into manageable pieces increases the chances of success.  Also, a sprint helps us address numerous principles discussed in the Agile Manifesto. De...

The Agile Manifesto gave us many ideas.  These were embraced by the software development community and implemented in many ways.  Scrum is one of these implementations that has become very popular.  Thus, it is valuable for us to examine what this framework provides and how it works.  In this episode, our focus is on the roles defined as we craft an overview of Scrum. The Product Owner We build so...

In this episode, we reach the fourth and final value statement.  There is a larger value in responding to change than following a plan.  Planning is essential but reacting is even better.  Thus, we have another value of the Agile Manifesto that compares two things in a "1 A" and "1 B" prioritization.  However, these two concepts work together to provide us an effective way to navigate project chal...

Software development works best when everyone is on the same team.  We need to pull together to be most effective.  However, the sub-groups and members of a team have differing goals.  That is why we have things like contracts.  We sometimes have to put down our plans and goals in writing.  Negotiating these things can be tedious and even can cause some negative feelings.  Therefore, we value cust...

We started this season with a focus on satisfying the customer.  Since then, we have built a case for working software being the best way to achieve satisfaction.  Thus, comprehensive documentation is valuable.  However, not as useful to our primary goal.  Agile is often painted as anti-documentation so let's dig deeper into this comment that could be used as evidence. ...Through this work we have...

We shift slightly in our tour of the Agile Manifesto to focus on the opening statements.  In this episode, we dig into the value of individuals and interactions while acknowledging processes and tools.  The essential point in these opening statements is that all of these are valuable.  However, we find some to have more value than others.  This valuation should help us decide on how to make decisi...

We take a look at overall ideas from the twelve principles of the Agile Manifesto before moving on.  There are some challenging concepts mixed in among recommendations that are very common.  All of these can be applied in areas other than software development. Likewise, their efficacy is seen there as well. We follow these principles: Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early a...

The final principle of the Agile Manifesto directs us to reflect on a project.  We follow those eleven principles and then evaluate how we did so we can become more effective.  This recommendation should not be a surprise.  We can only improve when we examine how we did on a task.  However, this principle points to the entire team taking that step. At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to...

We near the end of the focus on the agile principles with a bold statement.  The idea of self-organizing teams producing the best results is a strong position.  They are not merely better; they make the best products.  I tend to agree with this statement.  However, it is worth defending as it is not apparent. The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams. The...

Simplicity is an integral part of satisfying the customer.  Ideally, we would provide them a button to click that does everything they want.  However, that is rarely possible.  We build complex systems that require users to select how they want to proceed.  Likewise, we include or exclude features and functions as part of meeting the requirements. Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount of wo...

We have mentioned time and again that the goal of agile is satisfying the customer.  However, each principle we explore provides ways to accomplish that goal.  The principle we focus on in this episode reminds us that we are still building software.  There are certain traits any good team or system will have.  Good design and technical excellence are tools for building the best solution. Continuou...

Software development has high and low points.  Likewise, there are hectic and "slow" times that we live with as part of our work-life.  When you think of software development as a marathon, a constant pace is a goal.  You want to be able to set a pace for the team that they can run at forever.  That allows for critical success factors like embracing change and adjusting to changing requirements. A...

There are times where it helps to state the obvious.  The most glaring truths can be lost in the details when we forget to focus or reset.  Working software as our goal is one of those truths that we need to remember.  There is so much that goes into creating a solution that can distract us from this primary goal.  However, keeping this in mind can help us sift through what is productive and what...