The Fundamentals of Agile Software Development

Question 1

The Agile Manifesto contains four statements of values:

Answer 1

*Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

*Working software over comprehensive documentation

*Customer collaboration over contract negotiation

*Responding to change over following a plan

Question 2

Individuals and Interactions

Answer 2

Agile development is very people-centered. Teams of people build software, and it is through continuous communication and interaction, rather than a reliance on tools or processes, that teams can work most effectively.

Question 3

Working Software

Answer 3

From a customer perspective, working software is much more useful and valuable than overly detailed documentation and it provides an opportunity to give the development team rapid feedback.

In addition, because working software, albeit with reduced functionality, is available much earlier in the development lifecycle, Agile development can confer significant time-to-market advantage.

Agile development is, therefore, especially useful in rapidly changing business environments where the problems and/or solutions are unclear or where the business wishes to innovate in new problem domains.

Question 4

Customer Collaboration

Answer 4

Customers often find great difficulty in specifying the system that they require.

Collaborating directly with the customer improves the likelihood of understanding exactly what the customer requires.

While having contracts with customers may be important, working in regular and close collaboration with them is likely to bring more success to the project.

Question 5

Responding to Change

Answer 5

Change is inevitable in software projects. The environment in which the business operates, legislation, competitor activity, technology advances, and other factors can have major influences on the project and its objectives.

These factors must be accommodated by the development process. As such, having flexibility in work practices to embrace change is more important than simply adhering rigidly to a plan.

Question 6

The core Agile Manifesto values are captured in twelve principles:

Answer 6

1. Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage.
3. Deliver working software frequently, at intervals of between a few weeks to a few months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.
4. Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.
5. Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.
6. The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.
7. Working software is the primary measure of progress.
8. Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
9. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
10. Simplicity—the art of maximizing the amount of work not done—is essential.
11. The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
12. At regular intervals, the team reflects

Question 7

What is the Whole-Team Approach?

Answer 7

*The whole-team approach means involving everyone with the knowledge and skills necessary to ensure project success.

*The team should be relatively small; successful teams have been observed with as few as three people and as many as nine

*The whole-team approach is supported through the daily stand-up meetings (see Section 2.2.1) involving all members of the team, where work progress is communicated and any impediments to progress are highlighted.

Question 8

Benefits of whole-team approach to product development include?

Answer 8

 Enhancing communication and collaboration within the team
 Enabling the various skill sets within the team to be leveraged to the benefit of the project
 Making quality everyone’s responsibility

Question 9

What is the Power of three?

Answer 9

The whole team is involved in any consultations or meetings in which product features are presented, analyzed, or estimated. The concept of involving testers, developers, and business representatives in all feature discussions.

Question 10

Early and Frequent Feedback benefits include?

Answer 10

 Avoiding requirements misunderstandings, which may not have been detected until later in the development cycle when they are more expensive to fix.
 Clarifying customer feature requests, making them available for customer use early. This way, the product better reflects what the customer wants.
 Discovering (via continuous integration), isolating, and resolving quality problems early.
 Providing information to the Agile team regarding its productivity and ability to deliver.
 Promoting consistent project momentum.

Question 11

One way to provide rapid feedback is by?

Answer 11

Continuous integration.