Comments on: Another sideways look at Agile, passing Waterfalls on the way http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2006/12/10/another-sideways-look-at-agile-passing-waterfalls-on-the-way/ a blog about information Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:37:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: ??????????????? http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2006/12/10/another-sideways-look-at-agile-passing-waterfalls-on-the-way/comment-page-1/#comment-621610 ??????????????? Sat, 31 Jul 2010 07:32:50 +0000 http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2006/12/10/another-sideways-look-at-agile-passing-waterfalls-on-the-way/#comment-621610 This is great! I think reading this, I loved every word. Seriously, keep posting the good information, bloggers like myself need it. This is great! I think reading this, I loved every word. Seriously, keep posting the good information, bloggers like myself need it.

]]> By: sana http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2006/12/10/another-sideways-look-at-agile-passing-waterfalls-on-the-way/comment-page-1/#comment-108176 sana Thu, 08 Mar 2007 00:14:56 +0000 http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2006/12/10/another-sideways-look-at-agile-passing-waterfalls-on-the-way/#comment-108176 are there any examples of cases where agile methodologies have failed? im writing a paper and need both sucess stories, as well as a failure story. any help would be greatly appreciated. are there any examples of cases where agile methodologies have failed? im writing a paper and need both sucess stories, as well as a failure story. any help would be greatly appreciated.

]]> By: Stephen Smoliar http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2006/12/10/another-sideways-look-at-agile-passing-waterfalls-on-the-way/comment-page-1/#comment-90059 Stephen Smoliar Fri, 26 Jan 2007 20:42:26 +0000 http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2006/12/10/another-sideways-look-at-agile-passing-waterfalls-on-the-way/#comment-90059 As Marx said, when history repeats itself, what is tragedy the first time around is farce the second. How else can we explain changing the names around as a lip-service excuse for ignoring the practices? Back in the Seventies, Peter Keen knew that you could only implement a Decision Support System successfully if the implementation process entailed an ONGOING CONVERSATION with the client with ongoing sanity checks over appropriate time-chunks. (Hey, JP, see how long folks have been trying to flog the virtue of conversation?) I think that Ranjit has hit on the fundamental truth that explains the problem. The IT world is a world of nouns and noun phrases, because that is the sort of stuff that the technology can process. Unfortunately, "planning" is a verb; so we try to dress it up as a noun and call it a "plan." However, the "costume change" (in the spirit of my dramatistic thinking) takes away necessary verb-like qualities involving not only the actions themselves but the subtle ways in which issues of tense and mood can impact making the right decisions in real-time. I suspect that we would all learn a lot more from reading a good grammar book than from reading more about Agile! As Marx said, when history repeats itself, what is tragedy the first time around is farce the second. How else can we explain changing the names around as a lip-service excuse for ignoring the practices? Back in the Seventies, Peter Keen knew that you could only implement a Decision Support System successfully if the implementation process entailed an ONGOING CONVERSATION with the client with ongoing sanity checks over appropriate time-chunks. (Hey, JP, see how long folks have been trying to flog the virtue of conversation?)

I think that Ranjit has hit on the fundamental truth that explains the problem. The IT world is a world of nouns and noun phrases, because that is the sort of stuff that the technology can process. Unfortunately, “planning” is a verb; so we try to dress it up as a noun and call it a “plan.” However, the “costume change” (in the spirit of my dramatistic thinking) takes away necessary verb-like qualities involving not only the actions themselves but the subtle ways in which issues of tense and mood can impact making the right decisions in real-time. I suspect that we would all learn a lot more from reading a good grammar book than from reading more about Agile!

]]> By: Ranjit Narula http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2006/12/10/another-sideways-look-at-agile-passing-waterfalls-on-the-way/comment-page-1/#comment-89852 Ranjit Narula Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:07:00 +0000 http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2006/12/10/another-sideways-look-at-agile-passing-waterfalls-on-the-way/#comment-89852 I read a very good statement about Agile the other day. In Agile the 'plan' reduces importance and 'planning' moves to the top of the list . Well put I thought I read a very good statement about Agile the other day. In Agile the ‘plan’ reduces importance and ‘planning’ moves to the top of the list . Well put I thought

]]> By: marc http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2006/12/10/another-sideways-look-at-agile-passing-waterfalls-on-the-way/comment-page-1/#comment-70523 marc Tue, 09 Jan 2007 16:39:31 +0000 http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2006/12/10/another-sideways-look-at-agile-passing-waterfalls-on-the-way/#comment-70523 Good article. Waterfall gives people the feeling of certainty and comfort, yet as you point out it is a false sense of security. Conversely Agile can seem vague and unplanned because it offers little certainty early on. Here's a picture of what I'm getting at: http://www.dancingmango.com/blog/2006/10/16/getting-attached-to-stories/ Good article. Waterfall gives people the feeling of certainty and comfort, yet as you point out it is a false sense of security. Conversely Agile can seem vague and unplanned because it offers little certainty early on. Here’s a picture of what I’m getting at:

http://www.dancingmango.com/blog/2006/10/16/getting-attached-to-stories/

]]> By: Michael Maldonado http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2006/12/10/another-sideways-look-at-agile-passing-waterfalls-on-the-way/comment-page-1/#comment-55909 Michael Maldonado Tue, 26 Dec 2006 17:23:27 +0000 http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2006/12/10/another-sideways-look-at-agile-passing-waterfalls-on-the-way/#comment-55909 At Timeboxing.com you may find related articles and resource information. I hope it will become a valuable resource for many on how to implement, into their own lives, some of the methods used by the clear-thinkers of our modern age. At Timeboxing.com you may find related articles and resource information. I hope it will become a valuable resource for
many on how to implement, into their own lives, some of the methods used by the clear-thinkers of our modern age.

]]> By: » Savaitgalio skaitiniai #5 Archyvas » Pixel.lt http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2006/12/10/another-sideways-look-at-agile-passing-waterfalls-on-the-way/comment-page-1/#comment-37263 » Savaitgalio skaitiniai #5 Archyvas » Pixel.lt Sat, 16 Dec 2006 08:54:13 +0000 http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2006/12/10/another-sideways-look-at-agile-passing-waterfalls-on-the-way/#comment-37263 [...] Sveiki, Å¡iÄ… savaitÄ™ pasikeitimų svetainÄ—je tikriausiai nepastebÄ—jote, kadangi jų ir nebuvo TurbÅ«t visus jau po truputį apninka Å¡ventinÄ—s nuotaikos, o kartu ir kažkokių atostogų skonis, poilsis. Nepaisant to tikiuosi nepatingÄ—site ir užsuksite pasiskaitinÄ—ti Å¡io savaitgalio skaitinius: Migrate Visual Studio C and C++ projects to Eclipse CDT Another sideways look at Agile, passing Waterfalls on the way Top 12 Ruby on Rails Tutorials JavaScript - Table of Contents (čia ne skaitinys, bet turÄ—tų praversti) [...] [...] Sveiki, Å¡iÄ… savaitÄ™ pasikeitimų svetainÄ—je tikriausiai nepastebÄ—jote, kadangi jų ir nebuvo TurbÅ«t visus jau po truputį apninka Å¡ventinÄ—s nuotaikos, o kartu ir kažkokių atostogų skonis, poilsis. Nepaisant to tikiuosi nepatingÄ—site ir užsuksite pasiskaitinÄ—ti Å¡io savaitgalio skaitinius: Migrate Visual Studio C and C++ projects to Eclipse CDT Another sideways look at Agile, passing Waterfalls on the way Top 12 Ruby on Rails Tutorials JavaScript – Table of Contents (čia ne skaitinys, bet turÄ—tų praversti) [...]

]]> By: Andy Coxon http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2006/12/10/another-sideways-look-at-agile-passing-waterfalls-on-the-way/comment-page-1/#comment-31330 Andy Coxon Wed, 13 Dec 2006 18:25:01 +0000 http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2006/12/10/another-sideways-look-at-agile-passing-waterfalls-on-the-way/#comment-31330 Unfortunately, there is a tiny percentage of organisations who are comfortable with an Agile approach. It relies on significant trust in the ability of the Project Managers to deliver, and an inability to perform is usually blamed on 'poor organsational skills'. Unfortunately, there is a tiny percentage of organisations who are comfortable with an Agile approach. It relies on significant trust in the ability of the Project Managers to deliver, and an inability to perform is usually blamed on ‘poor organsational skills’.

]]> By: Justin Brister http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2006/12/10/another-sideways-look-at-agile-passing-waterfalls-on-the-way/comment-page-1/#comment-30984 Justin Brister Tue, 12 Dec 2006 18:43:47 +0000 http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2006/12/10/another-sideways-look-at-agile-passing-waterfalls-on-the-way/#comment-30984 "Where the problems start IMO is when you have management onshore and implementation off, or (possibly even worse) design on and development off. If they’re serious about agile, IT managers in the UK (and presumably the US etc too) need to realize that they can’t treat ‘coding’ as a low-value activity that can be shipped off to the lowest-cost supplier once they’ve ‘done the design’." I could not agree more. The traditional attitude to off shoring has definitely been that you can throw a design over the water and expect a solution to come back. I guess this comes down to two things; 1. Economics: it doesn't matter if it takes 40 people off shore to do what 10 developers on shore can do, they are cheap; it is cost not results that count. 2. Ignorance: I've told them what to build, it's easy. Successful software development cannot be achieved by throwing things over the wall and saying I've done my bit; but that is what happens in many cases. There is no Silver Bullet to off shoring Software Development. Off shoring faces all of the same challenges as doing development locally. The major issue being that the Communication Challenge is exacerbated. If you are good at communication you will succeed, if you are poor at communication you will fail; it is that simple. “Where the problems start IMO is when you have management onshore and implementation off, or (possibly even worse) design on and development off. If they’re serious about agile, IT managers in the UK (and presumably the US etc too) need to realize that they can’t treat ‘coding’ as a low-value activity that can be shipped off to the lowest-cost supplier once they’ve ‘done the design’.”

I could not agree more. The traditional attitude to off shoring has definitely been that you can throw a design over the water and expect a solution to come back. I guess this comes down to two things;

1. Economics: it doesn’t matter if it takes 40 people off shore to do what 10 developers on shore can do, they are cheap; it is cost not results that count.
2. Ignorance: I’ve told them what to build, it’s easy. Successful software development cannot be achieved by throwing things over the wall and saying I’ve done my bit; but that is what happens in many cases.

There is no Silver Bullet to off shoring Software Development. Off shoring faces all of the same challenges as doing development locally. The major issue being that the Communication Challenge is exacerbated. If you are good at communication you will succeed, if you are poor at communication you will fail; it is that simple.

]]> By: disambiguity - » links for 2006-12-12 http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2006/12/10/another-sideways-look-at-agile-passing-waterfalls-on-the-way/comment-page-1/#comment-30982 disambiguity - » links for 2006-12-12 Tue, 12 Dec 2006 18:37:58 +0000 http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2006/12/10/another-sideways-look-at-agile-passing-waterfalls-on-the-way/#comment-30982 [...] Another sideways look at Agile, passing Waterfalls on the way “Using Agile, you feel insecure (-ish, especially if you’ve not tried it before) at the start of a project, and satisfied at the end. Using Waterfall you feel good at the start and crap at the end. If there is an end.” I predict I’ll be borrowing that q (tags: agiledesign) [...] [...] Another sideways look at Agile, passing Waterfalls on the way “Using Agile, you feel insecure (-ish, especially if you’ve not tried it before) at the start of a project, and satisfied at the end. Using Waterfall you feel good at the start and crap at the end. If there is an end.” I predict I’ll be borrowing that q (tags: agiledesign) [...]

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