InfoQ had a round-up of ideas about “How Long Would it Take to Build the Product?”. It was funny (ha-ha funny) to read some of the responses. One person suggested that upfront estimations end up in a fixed scope, which is anti-agile. If I was new to agile, I would read it this way: if
Last week, I had the great pleasure of attending the Agile Practitioner in Israel meeting. Roy Osherove gave a splendid presentation on the “10 mistakes team leaders make” (and if that’s the sample, you better go check the entire course). As the presentation went on, it was evident there’s some division between the crowd and
Last week I had great time hosting a Typemock Webinar called “10 secret unit testing tips”. The fun thing was that I’ve discovered both in preparation and answering questions live that I have at least 20 tips in me for at least two more webinars. So prepare for “10 secret unit testing tips strike back”
A couple of comments on my last post (the sad truth about agile planning) made me think: Maybe I was slamming agile planning too much. Then I thought (after an elaborate discussion with myself) – I wasn’t doing that at all! So let’s put some things in perspective: Can I make a plan for the
If you’ve read any basic agile stuff, you know that agile teams deliver value in a consistent frequency. The team works on what’s important first, giving the best value for money. When working in a consistent velocity, you can estimate very accurately when features are going to be delivered. Prepare yourself for a shock. It
At NDC I was fortunate to take part in a session of Cyber Dojo, run by Jon Jagger and Olve Maudal. You can have a taste at it online, but it’s better experienced with a guide. The attendees pair up, select a kata and a programming language and start adding features and tests. Every 5
My NDC 2011 talk in moving pictures form. Danger! Craftsmen Ahead! from Gil Zilberfeld on Vimeo.
At NDC 2011, there were a couple of presentations about the state of the agile today. Of note, were Uncle Bob Martin’s excellent “The land that Scrum forgot” (That man can give a show just by reading from index cards!) and Michael Feathers’ “The mistake at the heart of agile”. Until the videos are out,
I’m a fan of “House”. I’m currently catching up on the 7th season, where the theme is about truth and lies. For those leaving in a cave with no cable TV, “House” is about a brilliant, misanthropic doctor who runs a diagnostic team in a hospital. In each episode the team dives into a mystery
The Agile Manifesto has 4 principles. In Agile 2008, Uncle Bob Martin in his keynote suggested a 5th principle: Craftsmanship over Execution (Yes, I’m 3 years late for the party, but bear with me. This came to me as I’m preparing to my NDC talk). All principles were written by technical people who emphasized communication