CSC/ECE 517 Fall 2007/wiki3 10 10

The Agile debate. Perhaps the most prominent controversy in o-o design today is whether it is possible to do a robust design with as little advance planning as agile methodologies recommend. Research this issue, on the Web and in the ACM DL, and report (fairly) on the major arguments of both sides, and on the evidence for both positions.

Agile Software development

Agile software development in general is characterized by the following attributes: incremental, cooperative, straightforward, and adaptive. Incremental refers to small software releases, with rapid development cycles. Cooperative refers to a close customer and developer interaction. Straightforward implies that the method itself is easy to learn and to modify and that it is sufficiently documented. Adaptive refers to the ability to make and react to last moment changes.

Menifesto

Value

• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
• Working software over comprehensive documentation
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan

Principles

• Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
• Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer's competitive advantage.
• Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.
• Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.
• Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.
• The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.
• Working software is the primary measure of progress.
• Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
• Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
• Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount of work not done--is essential.
• The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
• At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

Comparison

Adaptive methods

Adaptive software development

It encourages incremental and iterative development, with constant prototyping. It provides a framework with enough guidance to prevent projects from falling into chaos, but not too much, which could suppress emergence and creativity.

Agile Modeling

It encourages developers to produce sufficiently advanced models to support acute design needs and documentation purposes. The aim is to keep the amount of models and documentation as low as possible. Cultural issues are addressed by depicting ways to encourage communication, and to organize team structures and ways of working.