71–80 of 420 posts
Among other things he speaks about the simplicity of the Manifesto, about the cultish movement and consulting services which rose around it and the cultish, distorted, complex vortex of BS that has formed around a super simple concept.
Agile never gave organizations a holistic, viable alternative to Waterfall. Because there’s a difference between theory and practice. Product work is more about practice. When we complain about “AINO” (Agile In Name Only), we’re not being honest with ourselves. I agree with most of the article. Specially the keep-learning part. All Agile did was put software development teams unfairly under a microscope. I believe Ag…
I was interested in comp sci precisely because I didn't have to talk to people, an area where every interaction is a performance. I want to be alone - what's so wrong with that?
Feel ya. Surprisingly enough, I'd say that I've not had to attend so many boring meetings in my career but certainly I'm just lucky. Also, once I did get a manager who was an "agile guru" and he was annoying. He talked to me like he's the jedi of software development and I'm his padawan. Thankfully, he got fired.
I've seen software development done very poorly and done very well, sailing under a variety of flags. But on an eyeballing there are far more bad experiences than good that get labeled "Agile".
Whether this is because of causal differences or because it's easy to affix any label to anything (and most experiences suck regardless of the label) is hard to tell without a control-group universe were the Agile Manifesto was never written.
If anyone needs me, I'll be counting to twenty.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Writing software is design, not manufacturing [1]. Do companies know accurately in advance how much it will cost to design a new nuclear power plant, aircraft carrier, or jet engine? [1] http://www.bleading-edge.com/Publications/C++Journal/Cpjour2...
There are times when something truly original is being built and it's a valid argument for estimate uncertainty. But a significant portion of the industry is engaged in building CRUD app #237 or Ho-Hum SaaS #17, and a significant percentage of estimates end up wrong because some developer who was bored with his job decided to use a blingy new Javascript framework he had no experience with because he wanted a challeng…
>because some developer who was bored with his job decided to use a blingy new Javascript framework he had no experience with because he wanted a challenge.
That definitely happens, but I think it's a different problem.
In my experience, these discussions boil down to anecdotes at twenty paces. I've seen software development done very poorly and done very well, sailing under a variety of flags. But on an eyeballing there are far more bad experiences than good that get labeled "Agile". Whether this is because of causal differences or because it's easy to affix any label to anything (and most experiences suck regardless of the label)…
And tbh, despite how bad “Agile” process can be, it’s a lot better than pure waterfall.
Agile never gave organizations a holistic, viable alternative to Waterfall. Because there’s a difference between theory and practice. Product work is more about practice. When we complain about “AINO” (Agile In Name Only), we’re not being honest with ourselves. I agree with most of the article. Specially the keep-learning part. All Agile did was put software development teams unfairly under a microscope. I believe Ag…
Agile never gave organizations a holistic, viable alternative to Waterfall. Because there’s a difference between theory and practice. Product work is more about practice. When we complain about “AINO” (Agile In Name Only), we’re not being honest with ourselves. I agree with most of the article. Specially the keep-learning part. All Agile did was put software development teams unfairly under a microscope. I believe Ag…
I was prepared for our weekly "I Hate Agile" post, but this one is actually really great. It's a lot of the arguments I make to Agile haters. The fundamental problem that drives most agile failures isn't in the team's execution, it's in the business' expectations. One side is signed up for incremental delivery, and one side is set up for a fixed scope and deadline and the result is misery. I think this article makes…
I often sit between the business and tech orgs, so the way I explain it to the business is this: I can get you detailed status reports and metrics, but they will slow progress and be expensive. So think about why you need that information: if there are legitimate business reasons with dollars attached, go for it. If it’s just to soothe your anxiety about the timeline, a therapist will be far cheaper and more effective.