FAQT based Agile Framework

Agile methodology has become synonymous with modern software development. According to the 12th annual State of Agile Report by VersionOne, 97% of organization practice Agile development. And, as you might imagine, with everyone doing it, its being done every possible way. So what makes Agile work for one team, while another team might struggle? I certainly don't pretend to have the magic bullet. But, I do want to share what I've learned, what's worked for me, what's worked for others, and what I believe will help any team get IT Done.

FAQT is a specific set of guidelines for Agile Development, that help guide you through all the Agile options and find a path to success. The framework includes both a set of philosophical principles, as well as concrete action plans. FAQT stands for Family, Alacrity, Quality, and Transparency. These are the four pillars that support this specific Agile framework.

Family - The team is a foundation of any technology work. Investing in the health of the team culture, growing the skills of team, and retaining good talent are critical to the success of any team. 

Alacrity - Cheerful briskness is how I describe the demeanor of an effective team. The business needs them to have a certain sense of urgency. But That needs to be restrained to a level that is maintainable in the long run. Its a Marathon, not a sprint. Avoid the use of contrived deadlines to pressure the team into overtime. The team knows that the deadlines are made up, and this creates a toxic environment. Save pressure for when there is a real immovable deadline. Otherwise drive velocity up by empowering the team and removing obstacles. 

Quality - You know Quality when you see it. Do all things well. Architect with Quality, Design with Quality, Code with Quality, and test for Quality. Manual testing is a necessity, but so is automation. Few teams can achieve long term success without automated testing. 

Transparency - Trust is a magical thing. And a lack of trust will destroy a team. Communicate, communicate and over communicate. Whatever you think everyone already knows, tell them again. What are we doing? How are we doing it? Why are we doing it? 

I've started documenting FAQT at https://faqt.azurewebsites.net. Take a look, and let me know what you think. Its very much a work in progress, I'll be adding more details soon. I very much look forward to hearing your feedback.