develpreneur podcast
Posted on The Agile Manifesto

Sprint Grooming – Deciding on the Included Tasks

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 is also no silver bullet that allows us to guarantee proper estimation.  That is not a blocking issue.  We will get better at estimating as we do it more often.  Perfection is not needed.  We do want to be as consistent as possible and be able to get close to our estimates.  This task is not for... Read more

develpreneur podcast
Posted on The Agile Manifesto

Scrum Ceremonies – Running An Effective Sprint

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 This task is the most popular of scrum ceremonies in my experience.  However, it is often misused.  A well-run standup should be so short it is not worth the time to sit down for the meeting.  A good goal is less than fifteen minutes.  That may seem brief for a meeting. ... Read more

develpreneur podcast
Posted on The Agile Manifesto

The Sprint Process – An Agile Approach

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. Deliver Working Software A challenging part of the sprint process is the goal of delivering working software as part of completing each sprint.  We are not ignoring the SDLC steps.  Those six steps are being repeated each sprint and require a little creative thinking. Working software is not the same as useful.  We can build a solution... Read more

develpreneur podcast
Posted on The Agile Manifesto

Scrum – A Framework for Agile Software Development

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 solutions to problems.  Thus, our goal of satisfying the customer requires someone that understands the problem and constraints for the solution.  That role is called the product owner in the Scrum framework.  While this can be accomplished by a small team, it is best when an individual fills the role.  Design... Read more

develpreneur podcast
Posted on The Agile Manifesto

Responding To Change – An Agile Value

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 challenges. …Through this work we have come to value:… Responding to change over following a plan Make A Solid Plan Planning has many benefits.  While we may not enjoy the process, few argue that it is a waste of time.  I like to view it as a form of practice for the event... Read more

develpreneur podcast
Posted on The Agile Manifesto

Customer Collaboration Over Contract Negotiation

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 customer collaboration over contracts. …Through this work we have come to value:… Customer collaboration over contract negotiation Differing Values and Concerns We can all agree that some people lack honor.  Some people and organizations are a step above thieves.  I find those to be uncommon and an issue not worth worrying about for this... Read more