Chapter 3

Question 1

How does XP support agile principles?

Answer 1

Incremental development - small, frequent system releases
Customer involvement - full-time customer engagement
People not process - pair programming, collective ownership
Change - regular system releases
Maintaining simplicity - constant refactoring of code

Question 2

How development is supported in agile method?

Answer 2

extensive tool support (automated testing tools) are used

Question 3

How outputs are decided in plan-driven development?

Answer 3

produced at each separate development stages.

Question 4

How does test-first development in XP work?

Answer 4

Test-driven development (tests are written as programs and run automatically when new functionality is added)
Customer involvement (customer writes acceptance tests for system stories/ )

Question 5

Agile methods can be easily scaled from small to large systems. True/False

Answer 5

False.
Because of their focus on small, tightly-integrated teams, there are problems in scaling agile methods to large systems.

Question 6

List problems with agile methods:

Answer 6

maintaining customer interest,
team suitability for intense involvement,
difficulty in prioritizing changes with multiple stakeholders,
extra work for simplicity,
potential contract issues, similar to other iterative development approaches.

Question 7

Describe how Extreme programming (XP) works.

Answer 7

New versions may be built several times per day
Increments are delivered to customers every 2 week
All tests must be run for every build and build is only accepted if tests run successfully.

Question 8

List key practices of XP:

Answer 8

User stories as specification
Refactoring (constantly improving code, even if it is not immediately necessary)
Test-first development (tested after every change)
Pair programming

Question 9

Agile methods are based on what approach to software development?

Answer 9

iterative approach

Question 10

The aim of agile methods?

Answer 10

to reduce overheads in the software process (limiting documentation).
to respond and evolve quickly to meet changing requirements.

Question 11

List principles of agile method:

Answer 11

Customer involvement
Incremental delivery
People not process
Embrace change
Maintain simplicity

Question 12

After select in Sprint cycle, the team is isolated from customers and communicate with?

Answer 12

ScrumMaster who has to protect the development team from external distractions.

Question 13

Agile method is more focused on documentation? True/false?

Answer 13

False. Documentation is minimal. Focus on working code

Question 14

How output is decided in agile method?

Answer 14

through a process of negotiation during the software development process.

Question 15

How specification, design, and implementation placed in agile development method?

Answer 15

they are interleaved

Question 16

How systems are developed in agile method?

Answer 16

a series of frequent versions of increments

Question 17

List 3 phases of Scrum:

Answer 17

1. Initial phase (outline planning and architectural design)
2. Sprint cycles (Assess, select, develop, review; each cycle develops increment of the system)
3. Project closure (completing documentation and assessing learned lessons)

Question 18

List advantages of scrum:

Answer 18

breaking the product into manageable chunks, progress unaffected by unstable requirements,
improved team communication,
on-time delivery with customer feedback,
fostering trust and a positive project culture

Question 19

Stakeholders are involved in what stages of agile development?

Answer 19

specification and evaluation

Question 20

The aim of agile development?

Answer 20

radically reduce the delivery time for working software

Question 21

Velocaity is calculated at what stage of the Sprint cycle?

Answer 21

sprint review

Question 22

What are the two perspectives on scaling agile methods?

Answer 22

The two perspectives on scaling agile methods are ‘scaling up’ for developing large software systems and ‘scaling out’ for introducing agile methods in a large organization.

Question 23

What are the two ways agile methods can be used on a larger scale?

Answer 23

Agile methods can be scaled up for large software projects and scaled out for implementation across a big organization.

Question 24

What does ‘scaling up’ mean in agile methods, and what issues does it present?

Answer 24

‘Scaling up’ involves using agile methods for large software projects, which demand more upfront planning, communication between different teams, and frequent system updates. Challenges include maintaining communication and integration in a larger, multi-team environment.

Question 25

What is ‘scaling out’ in agile methods, and what difficulties can arise when introducing agile practices in a large organization?

Answer 25

Scaling out’ means introducing agile methods in a large organization with a history of traditional development. Challenges include resistance from project managers, conflicting quality procedures, and a wide range of skills and abilities within the organization.

Question 26

What is product backlog in Scrum?

Answer 26

list of work to be done on the project (starting point for planning)

Question 27

What is the focus of the Scrum approach?

Answer 27

managing iterative development rather than specific agile practices.

Question 28

What is velocity?

Answer 28

estimate of how much product backlog the team can cover in a single sprint.

Question 29

Where agile method is applicable?

Answer 29

for small or medium-sized products
for organizations with commited customers