Re: [AM] Another quandry from the field - consistency

In a message dated 2/10/2004 11:55:39 AM Pacific Standard Time, 
[email protected] writes:

> As you know from my sporadic postings from the field (although my field is 
> mostly covered with deep carpets) I am in favor of agility, but trying 
> desperately to close a lot of holes in the approach, so that it can be promulgated 
> faster and farther.  What say you?
> 

Steve:

You have hit upon one of my original concerns regarding agility: "what does 
'aglity' mean in the context of software development?", and further, "How does 
agility relate to what I have been doing pretty succssfully for a number of 
years?". 

Regarding he first question, it seems clear to me that, to many,  agility is 
in somewhat he same category a pornography: few can define it, but they know 
it when they see it. For the record, the approach I took when I started 
programming seems to have fulfilled what we now describe as agility in this forum; 
certainly, it was in keeping with the spirit of the Agile Manifesto. 

Regarding the second question, since agility is a process, it would seem to 
me that it is entirely independent of programming languages. In fact, I have 
applied successfully the principles of the Agile Manifesto in development 
projects using a variety of programming languages.

So, if my asumptions regarding agility are incorrect, I would welcome and 
appreciate a KITA from someone in this group.

Regarding the problem of your best developers having bad days, my appoach to 
my own bad days is to minimize their effect by taking the good work I've done 
on my best days, package it where possible, and re-use it wherever applicable. 
For my money, anyone who is not leveraging their knowledge and experience in 
this way is missing the boat: I'm trying to build better software faster, and 
this approach presents an effective way to do it. (One thing I've noticed over 
the years is that, while many developers can cite "chapter and verse" about 
new or different development methodologies that have proven to be "safe and 
effective", few actually take the time and make the effort required to learn 
enough about them to apply them intelligently). 

Jut some random observations...

Regards,

Pete

For more information about AM, visit the Agile Modeling Home Page at www.agilemodeling.com
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