Agile Manifesto and Principles behind Agile Manifesto

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In February 2001, 17 software developers met at the Snowbird, Utah resort, to discuss lightweight development methods. They published the Manifesto for Agile Software Development to define the approach now known as agile software development. Some of the manifesto’s authors formed the Agile Alliance, a nonprofit organization that promotes software development according to the manifesto’s principles.

Manifesto for Agile Software Development

Agile Manifesto Individuals and interactions

We are uncovering better ways of developing
software by doing it and helping others do it.
Through this work we have come to value:

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan

That is, while there is value in the items on
the right, we value the items on the left more.

Principles behind the Agile Manifesto

We follow these principles:

Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer
through early and continuous delivery
of valuable software.

Welcome changing requirements, even late in
development. Agile processes harness change for
the customer’s competitive advantage.

Deliver working software frequently, from a
couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a
preference to the shorter timescale.

Business people and developers must work
together daily throughout the project.

Build projects around motivated individuals.
Give them the environment and support they need,
and trust them to get the job done.

The most efficient and effective method of
conveying information to and within a development
team is face-to-face conversation.

Working software is the primary measure of progress.

Agile processes promote sustainable development.
The sponsors, developers, and users should be able
to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.

Continuous attention to technical excellence
and good design enhances agility.

Simplicity–the art of maximizing the amount
of work not done–is essential.

The best architectures, requirements, and designs
emerge from self-organizing teams.

At regular intervals, the team reflects on how
to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts
its behavior accordingly.

Reference :
http://agilemanifesto.org/history.html
http://www.agilemanifesto.org/principles.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agile_software_development#Agile_Manifesto

Any agile software tool you use?

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Agile Tool

Agile Tool

Basically, there is no such thing as ‘agile software tool’ because agile is methodology, while software tools can be used to implement it. Which one could be best at it? Again, to a project manager it doesn’t matter much, because it’s perfectly possible to manage work on a whiteboard, in Excel, email or during meetings. The thing is not about how you do it, but what the final result you deliver is.

At the same time, on professional boards, like linked in, specific sections of quora or others, I see the same question appear again and again: which software tool is the best for project management\agile\scrum? Depends on what problem you want to solve with it. There might be many of them:

  • communication problem
  • visibility problem
  • process execution problem
  • task management problem
  • reporting problem
  • and others

Usually, a software development team starts with a simple bug tracker. Report bug – fix bug. There is nothing more you might need from this solution. Until some time passes. If you want to make a great product, you need to think of feature request, user stories that must be tracked somehow. The more your product functionality grows, the more it matters. We used to keep userstories in GoogleDocs, Jira, Redmine. I can’t say it was all very clever, but the good thing about it all is that the data was available online to everyone on the team. Yet we needed some more order for it all. First of all, we needed set access roles, keep history of the changes that were made to the document.

So I started to search for more project management tools. There are over 9000 of them and all of them are web-based. Some of them are free, but the functionality is restricted. First thing I did, is left aside all of the solutions that were not available from both desktop and mobile browser. I won’t tell you the long story of my searchings, but finally I got to the Comindware.com website. It says that Comindware Tracker is one of the most flexible work management and workflow automation systems due to the ElasticData technology. The solution is available online from web-broswers, desktop or mobile devices. Work processes can be created in graphical workflow builder with simple drag and drop. And they can be modified at any time without interrupting the process.

The solution would seem incomplete to me if it didn’t have Comindware Task Management – integrated solution for task management, as it is obvious from its title. This couple makes it possible to automatically give out tasks to the team players, while your working process is running. Means you don’t need to open the whole solution and go into detail to understand what you personally need to do now, because the solution makes your own list of tasks based on what’s going on with the project. That sounds promising, so, I guess, my next post will be dedicated to its features, in case I find some time to try the product.

Thanks to Anastasia for providing this article. Is there any software you use along with Agile methodology? Please share your experiences  and feel free to like, share and comment.

What is Agile Software Development

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Agile software development is a group of software development methods based on iterative and incremental development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams. It promotes adaptive planning, evolutionary development and delivery, a time-boxed iterative approach, and encourages rapid and flexible response to change. It is a conceptual framework that promotes foreseen interactions throughout the development cycle. The Agile Manifesto[1]introduced the term in 2001.

Agile development is a common umbrella term used for today’s highly iterative and incremental approaches to software development.  The term was first used in 2001 when the Agile Manifesto was published as a unifying charter by many of the leading visionaries in the software field at the time who were fed up with traditional approaches to software development.  Unlike traditional software development practices, agile development methodologies such as Scrum, Extreme Programming, Dynamic System Development Method (DSDM), Lean Development, Feature-Driven Development (FDD), Crystal, Adaptive Software Development (ASD), and others incorporate close, cross-functional collaboration and frequent planning and feedback as fundamental tenets inherent to the evolution of a software system.

The overarching focus of agile development projects is the frequent delivery of high-quality, working software in the form of business-valued functionality.  Each of these methods emphasizes ongoing alignment between technology and the business.  They are all considered lightweight in nature in that they strive to impose a minimum of bureaucracy and overhead within the development lifecycle.  They are adaptive in that they embrace and manage changing requirements and business priorities throughout the development process.  With any agile development project, there is also considerable emphasis on empowering teams and collaborative decision-making.

Put On Your Own Oxygen Mask First – “Save Water”

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Save Water Oxygen

Save Water

 “YOU ARE THE LEADER”

(SAVE WATER)

“Put on your own Oxygen Mask First”   

“If you breathe oxygen, you are a leader”

Secure your family, neighbors & Community

SAVE WATER

                A step to conserve water is the step to secure the future. The most essential among all the natural resources on earth is water. A drop of water is worth more than a sack of gold for the thirsty man. If each one of us makes efforts to save water today, it will save us later. Water conservation is the most effective and environmentally sound method to fight global warming. Water conservation can reduce the scarcity of water.It aims to promote efficient use of water, reduce losses and waste.

Tips to save water

  • Avoid leakage of water from taps.1 drop per second amounts to loss of 10220 liters /year.
  • Turn the tap off when not in use, especially when you brush your teeth or wash clothes.
  • Rainwater harvesting is another method to conserve water.
  • Check leakage of water in toilets. Also, plug hidden water leaks.
  • Promote the conservation of water through media and wall posters.
  • Never throw away water that can be used for gardening and cleaning.
  • Avoid flushing toilets unnecessarily. Dispose off tissues, cigarettes, and other waste into bin instead of dumping them in toilets.
  • Use minimum amount of water to bathe.
  • Pour only as much water as you need when you fill your glass of water. A lot of us take only a sip and waste the rest of water.
  • Water your lawn only when needed.
  • Use a broom instead of a hose to clean sidewalks or to wash your car.
  • Plug water leaks; repair the fault as soon as possible.
  • You can use water-efficient washing machines to wash clothes.
  • Do not leave the tap running while washing dishes in the kitchen.
  • Install small shower heads to reduce the flow of water.
  • Please provide tips/coach your servant maids about importance of water, when washing clothes, dishes and water.

Benefits of conserving water:

  •  If you save water, you can save on your bills.
  •     Leads to reduction in water use, cuts waste water flows, especially overflowing of gutters, which contaminates the environment.
  •     Environment benefits include eco-system equilibrium and habitat protection.
  •     Helps in improving the quality of your drinking water.

Just Don’t Check Up Them, Please Check in With Them..

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Still my friends talk about micro managing…Please..

Just don’t check up them, Please check in with them: STOP “Micro Managing” or being  a “Mirco Manager”.

1) Be sure the team has the full autonomy to solve whatever problem they’ve been given.
2) Don’t just ask team members about their progress; offer them real help.
3) Avoid blaming individuals. Things will occasionally go wrong. Assigning blame when that happens will make people feel they are being checked up on rather than just being checked in with.
4) Don’t hoard information. Micromanagers tend to view information as a resource to be retained and only shared when needed.