WEEK 2 Flashcards
Describe the main characteristics of plan-driven development methodologies before the rise of agile. Why were these approaches commonly used in large projects such as aerospace and government systems?
Because if the nature of the project it required structured planning, quality assurance and formalized analysis and design methods.They were well suited for long-term and heavy projects because they facilitated coordination across multiple teams, maintained high standard and provided through documentation which is essential for critical and long lived systems
What key challenges led to dissatisfaction with plan-driven methodologies partial for small-medium sized business?
The implementation of planning, designing and documenting became overwhelming for small business because more time was spent on how the system should be developed than actually programming and testing which made it inefficient for small businesses that required flexibility in development
Explain the principle of iterative development in Agile and its benefits over the plan-driven approach?
It invokes creating of software in small, manageable increments allowing for regular feedback and adaptation to changing requirements, but is in contrast to plan-driven as it is fixed, linear progression.
Iterative development enhances flexibility and responsiveness to customers needs and helps deliver systems more quickly
In what ways does the agile methodologies focus on the software itself rather than it’s documentation and design
It prioritizes functional software and values rather than documentation by focusing on developing working features in short cycles.
Describe the three main phases of the SCRUM process and the process and the purpose of each phase.
• Outline Planning Phase - establishing the projects objectives and initial software architecture
• Sprint Cycles - assess, select, develop, review. iterative development phases where each phase production a functional increment of the system
• Project Closure Phase - completes documentation. compiles lessons learned , assess projects outcome.
Explain the role of a SCRUM master and how it differed from a traditional project managers role in plan-driven methodologies.
He acts as a facilitator, arranging meeting, tracking backlogs, recording decision, measuring progress and communicating with the external stakeholders.
Unlike the project manager that makes top-down decisions he empowers the team, organizes them and makes collaborative decision
Discuss why rapid delivery and deployment of systems are often more critical to business than having fully detailed functionality.
It enables them to respond quickly to market demands, adapt to customer feedback and gain competitive advantage. It also provides immediate value but waiting can cause missed opportunities
Describe scenarios where agile methods might not be suitable for software development
Projects with a rigid regulatory or security requirements like healthcare or defense
How might the principles of agile be adapted when scaling up for larger system development involving distributed teams?
• require frameworks like SAFe or LeSS
• Regular communication tools
• dedicated roles for cross-team alignment
• increment-based planning cycles
these can help agiles flexibility in larger system development
Explain how agile method enhance programmer productivity, particularly through practices like a pair programming
• enhances collaboration and knowledge sharing
• improves code quality and accelerates learning leading to fewer reworks and enhanced efficiency.
Reflection on Bill Gates’ quotes, explain how agile methodologies could magnify efficiency in well-organized team and conversely, amplify issues in a poorly organized team
In a well organized team it can enhance efficiency by aligning with clear objectives and efficient workflows.
But in an unorganized team it can exacerbate issues like lack of accountability and scope screepand could lead to chaotic progress
Considering the iterative nature of agile method how would you handle a situation where the projects requirements keep evolving during development?
Agile approach would handle this by prioritizing and re-evaluating requirements in each sprint. By incorporating feedback loops and holding regular reviews .
