Which Agile methodology is best for my project/company ?
Devendra Singh
Founder at Effilix - Digitizing Agile Transformation || Enterprise Agile coach
Last week while training a small team (This is the first interaction of team with Agile) on Agile this question came up "Is there a way to identify which agile methodology is best for this project?"
My answer was - more than methodology Agile is a mindset and if we are able to understand the core value and the 12 principals in their true scene then even without adapting any particular methodology we can benefit from Agile.
My personal take on methodology, specific to software development, is that no single methodology can solve all our problem or give best outcome (that’s why we have so many). I feel below combination work good, please share your experience and how this could be improved.
Scrum -- To define overall delivery process
But to have built-in quality ensured below is a good combination
- Extreme Programming concept :
- Simplicity – Develop simple solution first. Simplicity is subjective so the team need to decide what is simple in their context.
- Spike Solution - Same as Scrum Spike sprint
- Code refactor
- Never Add Functionality Early.
- Code the Unit Test First – If time allow will prefer TDD
- Pair Programming – only if time, resource and budget allow. But at least peer code review on regular interval should be conducted.
- TDD – Looks like time consuming but saves lot of effort at later stage
- Kanban board – Though it’s quite helpful to improvise development process and surface problem but should be a must have for Support and implementation process
- DSDM – MSCoW Rule—dividing features in these bucket is always helpful either we apply in general Agile principal “Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount of work not done--is essential” or go by XP - Never Add Functionality Early rule or in Scrum – need to decide on Sprint backlog
- Continuous Integration – This should be made a mandate for any Agile development, though should not be a blocker to start adopting agile practice but always a major milestone to achieve and good to achieve earlier in development cycle.
Extra Miles:
- DevOPS -- Start thinking about it, this team will save lot of time for development team and delivery product/patch faster.
- Continuous Delivery – Good to have capability but need a lot of maturity so aim for it once your team is Agile in true sense and you are able to achieve built-in quality delivery within time.
Agile Coach/Trainer for Management through Teams
8 年Also, consider the mindset directed at being effective and not "being Agile" as that risks Agile being an end in itself. It's the opposite of dogma. It's tools for thinking and bringing ones best judgement and integrity to choices of process and actions.
Agile Coach/Trainer for Management through Teams
8 年Devendra, I'd recommend losing the term methodology and use METHOD. Reserve methodology for the study of methods and their proper context of use. Agile, I like to say, is best defined as the collected works of a bunch of people trying to counter a history of dysfunction. Identify the dysfunctions and and their cure. Agile offers many alternatives, many of which l=play nicely together. SAFe has a robust set of issues identified and articulately addressed. It provides lots on recommended pieces that address specific challenges. Use the ones that apply to your context. Re. the Agile Manifesto, Consider the 12 Principles as the real VALUES - that which we want to deliver. The four preferences on the first page are simply the HOW - and fit a discovery context in light of rapid change.
Growth & Turnaround Executive | GTM, Partner Strategy, & Product Leadership | SaaS & GovTech | Scaling High-Growth Companies | Investor | Speaker | Podcast Host
8 年Agile is a cultural framework, not a methodology. If the question is of methodology, look to Scrum, Kanban, and the like. If you're looking to optimize under these methods, you need to embrace the Agile principles - which are largely cultural. Communication, trust, and transparency.