Transition

Articles

A Software Team's Journey to Agile
Did you ever wonder if a team needs some prerequisites before transitioning to agile? In this true story, John Lynch shows us the story of a team who teetered on the brink of dysfunction, and then was able to create its foundation so team members could begin their agile transition.
Book Review: The Human Side of Agile
Being agile is difficult. Not only are there technical and organizational challenges, but the very nature of the way agile methods work brings the assumptions, context, and fears of team members to the foreground. These people issues are explored in Gil Broza’s book, The Human Side of Agile.
Six Steps for Implementing Agile across the Organization
After facing difficulties attempting to transform a group of twelve skilled people into a self-organized agile team, Ove Holmberg learned some valuable lessons on what it takes to implement agile within an organization. In this article, Ove presents six steps for a successful agile implementation.
Making Agile Work for Government: Addressing the Challenges of Agile Adoption
Erich Knausenberger and Raj Shah examine the challenges of implementing earned value management and program management to implementing agile for government IT. Then, the authors propose a “blended-approach” by which government and other large entities can address these and other challenges.

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Better Software Magazine

Why Agile Works: Focus on the Details of Software Development
It's easy to overlook details when your focus is on the big picture. But, if you adjust your perspective, you may find new value in understanding why things work the way they do. Learn why agile works and how it can apply to both complex and simple projects.
The Roles of the Project Management Office in Scrum
Successfully adopting Scrum entails understanding and perhaps adjusting the role of the project management office (PMO), whose workers are often resistant to the lighter-weight process. But, they can become a critical part of agile success. Discover how an agile PMO works.
Twelve Ways Agile Adoptions Fail
Agile methodologies have taken some heat when they appear to have failed to deliver expected benefits to an organization. In my travels as an agile coach, I have found that agile practices don't fail—rather the variations on agile adoption fail. Here are my top twelve failure modes. See which ones may be painfully familiar to you:


Note: This article was originally published on StickyMinds.com as "11 Ways Agile Adoptions Fail."This updated version includes additional information that explains why some agile adoptions that appear to have failed may never have been truly agile to begin with.

Enough Is Enough: What Does Agile Software Development Mean?
Agile software delivery is about doing sufficient up-front analysis, design, and planning—and then deferring decisions to the appropriate time. But what does “enough” really mean? And why has the term "agile" become a cliché in development circles? Terms like "post-agile" or "pragmatic agile" have emerged as a response to this, but this is only a short-term fix.

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Interviews

Are You Using a Team Backlog in Your Retrospectives?
In this interview, Kanchan Khera and Bhuwan Lodha detail how adding a team backlog to your retrospectives can help your team go from good to great. With agile's core belief of continuous improvement, learn how the team backlog can help you get there.
Culturally Sound Leadership: An Interview with Pollyanna Pixton
Podcast
Pollyanna Pixton shares why crafting a healthy and productive agile culture is so difficult, and how it relies heavily on the shoulders of team leaders. She stresses the importance of leaders not providing their teams with answers—but giving them the ownership to solve problems on their own.
A Firsthand Agile Transition Success Story: An Interview with Penny Wyatt
In this interview, Penny Wyatt speaks with us ahead of her Agile Development Conference West session, "Transform Your Agile Test Process to Ship Fast with High Quality," to share some of the ways she and her team achieved success, and how they—and you—can continue to develop and grow together.
Security Testing in an Agile World: An Interview with Jeff Payne
Jeffrey Payne sat down with Noel Wurst to discuss a range of topics, including advice for teams that are attempting agile for the first time, the importance of clear communication between teams, and the ways that security testing has changed alongside modern technology.

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TechWell Stories
Why Radical Innovation is Dependent on People—Not Process
Book Review: Discover to Deliver—Agile Product Planning and Analysis
How Embracing Feedback Helps You Avoid the Vaccum
Agile Is Not for Everyone (And That's OK)
Can Your Agile Team Be Trusted?

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