
Uncomfortable with Agile - philbo
http://www.pragprog.com/magazines/2011-05/guru-meditation
======
wccrawford
Sorry, I prefer to spend my time worrying about the code rather than worry
about the rules for interacting as a team. Those rules need to be edgy enough
to make things run smoothly and quickly, but not make people wonder if those
rules are a bad idea or not.

The kind of Agile he describes is perfect for a startup. It gets things
rolling without too much worry about failure... It keeps things from being too
enterprise-y.

But an established company needs to be more concerned about their clients and
their clients' data. Things need to be as stable as possible.

------
calpaterson
Is this just "Wake up sheeple!" converted into a blog post about agile,
replete with extra buzzwords?

"Have you experienced emergence lately?"

Don't get me wrong, I love agile. I just prefer it when people use plain
language.

------
ryandvm
I can't help but read this in Jeff Goldblum's voice as the guy from Jurassic
Park.

------
joubert
_A truly agile project team lives on the edge of chaos._

One of my favorite current quotes is: "If everything seems under control,
you're just not going fast enough." -- Mario Andretti

------
b0rsuk
What's the opposite of Agile ? Chubby programming ?

------
Tichy
Somehow I feel reminded of the invisible dragon in the garage. I guess agile
is the Om and the Omega?

------
pasbesoin
All right, I'll finally comment on Agile (personal perspective, not newsworthy
of itself).

A few years ago, one of the "big name" proponents of Agile and whatnot came to
the area, and I let a few people know and we went to listen. [1]

It was nothing more than a buzzword laden rehash: Part common sense, part a
rephrasing of the same old corporate mumbo jumbo we'd all long since learned
to ignore where we can, and tolerate where we must.

On top of it, he was an arrogant prick -- at least, that day. The people I was
with were generally quite intelligent and rather conscientious. Some tried to
ask questions, especially to get past the buzzwords to the gist of the topic.
His responses basically ran along the lines: "You're doing it wrong." This as
a preface -- as an assumption, not even acknowledging the details the person
described. Then, more 'blah blah buzzwords' lead to "blah blah metrics'.

It felt like a verbalized extension of PowerPoint (IIRC, he had PowerPoint
along for the ride, too).

After that, I stopped paying much attention to articles on "agile". There's
some good value in some of the details, but trust your common sense, and that
you've probably already figured out most of the basics for yourself.

Also, I'll add that different people have different working styles. Exhibit
some trust that they have figured out, at least to some extent, what works for
them. Then stop trying to pound them into that proverbial "round hole".

Yes, people have to communicate effectively. But this does not equate with
e.g. shoving them all into a "bullpen". Or making them think all day with
someone staring over their shoulder, or vise versa.

As for e.g. continuous builds/integration and all the other technical aspects.
Some good portion of that is an outgrown of continued developments in various
systems. I suppose "agile" publicizes these, but you should be aware of and
considering them, regardless.

[1] I guess I should add that he worked for IBM, IIRC. So, of course, they
were there to promote "agile" in a manner that would sell IBM products and
services.

My experience may therefore relate more to how agile translates to the world
of larger corporations. By the time its transmogrified by all those filters,
it sounds a lot like more of the "same old same old".

YMMV

