Agile and Iterative Development: A Manager's Guide

The following is a letter I wrote to someone about this book: Carlton, You should get hold of Craig Larman's book "Iterative and Agile Management". It has some of the best information about the failings of up-front requirements that I have seen. He quotes from dozens of different peer-reviewed research studies that date back to the 70's and 80's showing that the vast majority of software project failure can be traced to up-front requirements and waterfall mentality. This information is so significant that I can't believe it's not more widely known. These research studies were done by some of the best people in the industry, including people like Fred Brooks, Capers Jones, and Tom Gilb. There are 50 pages of such information, all very easy to read. Show it to your managers. Show them the report that the U.S. Department of Defense lost nearly half their major software projects in the 70's and 80's because of up-front requirements analysis.

If ever there is a book that should be part of a college-level software engineering curriculum as well as carefully read by software engineering development and project managers this is it. Every major iterative development methodology is covered in complete detail, with an emphasis on Agile methods, and a solid business and technical case is provided for the general approach.Why make a case for? As difficult as it may be to believe, the waterfall method is still prevalent despite the large body of literature on rapid, iterative development SDLCs. Indeed, I have worked in environments that claimed to embrace the RUP as the enterprise methodology in principle, yet in practice projects were planned and managed using the waterfall SDLC. Why the disconnect? Managers were set in their ways and had no true understanding of the mechanics or value of Agile and iterative development methods.This book can change that because each major approach is carefully described using the following format for easy comparison and to clearly show strengths and weaknesses:Method OverviewLifecycleWorkproducts, Roles, and PracticesValuesCommon Mistakes and MisunderstandingsSample ProjectsProcess MixturesAdoption StrategiesFact versus FantasyStrengths versus "Other"More importantly, these approaches are placed in the context of the benefits of incremental delivery, with clearly presented evidence of the benefits, which is provided in Chapter 6.Regardless of biases or preferences, any objective reader will come away with a clear sense of the meaning of 'Agile' and the power and value of iterative development. You will also come away with a good frame of reference with which to compare your own organization's approach to development and delivery, and how to improve it.

Yes, indeed, Finally. Abundant proof in one book that the traditional waterfall approach is a terrible way to manage software projects, and is therefore slowly being displaced by agile and iterative approaches. Larman does a devastatingly thorough job of debunking waterfall once and for all. The book cogently and painstakingly explains how several of waterfall's practices have been conclusively linked to project failures, and how, on the other hand, the practices of Agile and iterative methods like Scrum and XP reduce project risk. Larman summarizes research findings encompassing thousands of projects, and quotes the supporting opinions of standards bodies and industry thought-leaders. The net effect is compelling, to say the least. If you are an Agile skeptic, this book may rattle your conviction. If you are fence-sitter, it may convince you. And if you already have Agile fire in the belly, then certainly this book will stoke that fire. After reading it, I am left wondering how intelligent, experienced software development management can justify the continued use of a process that has wasted so much money and caused so much pain.

Craig's book begins with an excellent presentation of the fundamental concepts behind agile development and follows with a strong "Evidence" chapter.Next is the clear, easy-to-read comparison between the leading agile methodologies (XP, Scrum and UP) and Evo that illustrates their commonalities and differences.The 'icing on the cake' is the "Practice Tips" chapter that contains many practical insights that I learned the hard way. I think it will be especially useful for project managers new to agile.As a manager with over 3 years experience managing XP projects, my opinion is that this book is a must-have for any manager interested in agile and iterative development.

I was expecting a lot from this book, having read and enjoyed Larman's prior work. On the other hand, I expected it to be somewhat simplistic as the title implied the target group being managers, which I am not. One of these expectations was correct.Larman's latest presents a wonderful introduction into what iterative and evolutionary development is about. The word "agile" in the title seems a bit displaced as the text mostly discusses about "iterative" and "evolutionary" rather than "agile", but that really is no big deal because what's inside the covers is pure gold for any one.After a thorough introduction to the theory, Larman drops a bomb on the table; the chapter titled "Evidence" is worth the salt alone. Larman has collected an impressive list of references to early, large projects employing iterative and evolutionary development. He also reminds us how the creators of predictive planning based methods have themselves preferred an iterative approach from day one.The book also packs nice descriptions of four iterative and evolutionary processes, namely XP, Scrum, UP, and Evo. The descriptions are clear but, to some degree, repetitive.Although the chapter on evidence is definitely the gold chip, the last 70 pages proved to be a very pleasant surprise. Larman presents a list of practical tips and tricks for adopting and running iterative processes, as well as answers the toughest questions in a Q/A section.Highly recommended. Have your boss read it as well.