Narrowing Down the Issues

1. AgilityReboot:III
Narrowing Down the Issues
Andrew Chum

2. Unspoken Words in Agile Principles,
Recap
• Very often, software releases are late.
• Very often, software releases are few.
• Very often, software releases are very buggy (low quality)
• Very often, customers changed requirements along the development
cycle, especially in late stage. Development teams are not prepared
to handle the changes in any efficient and effective way. It causes
delays.
• Very often, software development is unpredictable and
unsustainable

3. Very often, software releases are late
• Incomplete according to the planned acceptance criteria
• Unrealistic schedule set by management
• Overcommitted, underestimated the effort by development team
• Completed, stable, but not function well (too many critical defects)
and make it not releasable.
• Completed, but unstable (not consistently reproducible, inconsistent
crashes and/or apparently random serious issues) and make it not
releasable.

4. Very often, software releases are few
• If those releases work correctly, only few of them is not a problem.
• Even ONLY one is fine if it is functional according to expectation.

5. Very often, software releases are very
buggy
• In this simple context, defect means any functionality does not meet
the expectation.
• Only after testing or user filed reports, we know of the defect
existence.
• Some practices file incomplete features as defects.
• Defects are being found late in the development cycle or not at all
until user filed report.

6. Very often, software requirements
keep changing
• Client and Service Provider Relationship
• Project management issues
• Each requirement change needs to be evaluated, negotiated, tracked
and timed.
• If 100% of requirements changed, it is a different project.

7. Very often, software development is
unpredictable and unsustainable
• It is a emotional feeling looking from outside of a project.

8. Narrowing Down toTwo Issues
1. Software Releases are late
• Unrealistic schedule set by management
• Overcommitted, underestimated the effort by development team
2. Software releases are very buggy
• It also leads to release delay
• Use Project ManagementTechniques to manage the followings
• Few release
• Customers change requirements late in development life cycle.
• To minimize the perception of unpredictable and unsustainable
development.

9. Agile Principles  2 Main Issues
• Since most Agile Principles are very generic and current
methodologies, frameworks and practices which base on them, do
not have enough emphasis on targeting these 2 main issues.
• What if everyone is perfect, estimation is right on target and no more
software defects.
• If we cannot achieve that, where should we pay attention to?

10. Q & A