(DIVIDE) 5. Respond to Change / 6. Agile Frameworks Flashcards
What can be said about adaptation in regards to Agile?
Adapting to change is built into the very foundation of the Agile manifesto. To work well as an agile team, you must be adaptable.
Which principle in the Agile manifesto is about changing requirements and what does it say?
The second principle. It says, “Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage.”
How does the terminology around adapting to change differ between the Extreme Programming and the Scrum frameworks, and what do they have in common?
Extreme programming promotes “embracing change,” whereas scrum promotes “inspecting and adapting.”
Both of these approaches encourage you to experiment or change and adapt to improve the product.
What is a likely negative outcome for software development teams that do not make frequent changes to their plans and instead work in long iterations?
The chances are, when they finish the project, their software will already be obsolete. This is due to the moving parts across the entire development stack such as databases, servers, operating systems, and dependencies.
What does embracing change provide for the customer and how?
It gives them a lot more flexibility.
For instance, they might decide to use a different technology for a particular tech in the tech stack. An Agile mindset allows the team to pivot to take advantage of this new information so that the customer is more likely to be satisfied with the final product.
What is the Agile point of view towards being predictable vs creating detailed plans and why?
Agile focuses on being predictable instead of creating detailed plans.
Non-Agile organisations create detailed plans because they are trying to eliminate uncertainty, but Agile teams can actually do a better job eliminating uncertainty by delivering predictably every few weeks.
Which principle in the Agile manifesto is about timescales and what does it say?
The third principle. It says, “Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.”
Which principle in the Agile manifesto is about sustainable development and what does it say?
The eighth principle. It says, “Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.”
Why is working with small batches of work the best way to embrace Agile?
Because Agile teams must deliver frequently and maintain a constant pace while at the same time embracing change and experimenting.
What can be said about time management in an Agile team?
An agile team should be very aware of time. You can’t have meetings that go over schedule or brainstorming sessions with an uncertain outcome. This is because your team has a deadline every few weeks. That’s also why Agile teams are very structured with their time.
What is a timebox and what does it mean for Agile?
A box of time that CANNOT expand. This means that if a meeting is scheduled for 45 minutes, then the meeting will end in 45 minutes. Whatever your team decides within that 45 minutes will be the final outcome.
What can be said about timeboxing when it comes to team members’ own time schedules?
- Each team member have their own timebox
- No more than eight hours of work a day
- Overtime work disrupts team’s predictability
- Overtime work is not sustainable
Is a sprint a timebox, what does this mean?
Yes. A typical sprint is two weeks. That’s a timebox. This means that you need extra time to finish a feature, you must take that feature out of the sprint instead of extending the sprint.
What can be said about timeboxes with regards to delivering predictably?
That you need a timebox to deliver predictably. You can’t commit to a delivery date if you have too much work or if your meetings go long or if everyone is working overtime.
What is the waterfall model?
It’s a step by step approach to project management that was used in engineering — each step falls into the next like a waterfall.
What is the terminological difference between Agile and Waterfall?
Agile is a mindset whereas Waterfall is a strict process.
What is a major drawback of the Waterfall model when it comes to frequently (say, every few weeks) delivering working software?
It’s nearly impossible to deliver every few weeks in a Waterfall style approach. If the business analysts got stuck waiting to hear from the customer, the rest of the team would just sit idly as they wait to start the development for the handoff.
How does Agile relate to the Waterfall model?
Agile encourages you to accomplish many of the same
things as you do in Waterfall, but in a cross-functional way and compressing all the phases into a few weeks.
Where does the term “sprint” come from?
It comes from Scrum, the most popular Agile framework.
What is the reason that most Agile teams deliver in sprints?
Because it is a very well structured way to deliver their product predictably and frequently.
