Many thanks to everyone who has bought my ebook - Agile Software Development Made Easy! so far.

It's gone fairly well and that gives me all the extra encouragement I need to finish my paper book! It probably won't be ready until next year some time, but my intention is to produce a product that allows you to take away all the best content from this blog and read at your convenience.

Thanks again to all those who've bought the ebook in the meantime. That really is much appreciated!

Kelly.

Here is a really interesting post from John Scumniotales, one of the inventors of Scrum. Here he sets the record straight about whether or not Scrum was based on the concepts of Lean manufacturing, as pioneered by the likes of Toyota and Honda...

Lean and Scrum - Chicken and Egg

Whilst this is clearly admirable for the inventors of Scrum, they clearly share some similar principles and philosophies.

But in some ways I was disappointed to hear this. The idea that Scrum was based on the widely celebrated principles of Lean manufacturing really added some credibility to Scrum and other agile/lean methodologies.

To think that John and others stumbled across it whilst working in their cubicle is a bit disappointing really! I would have liked to think it was based on years of research :-)

Kelly.

Photo by Mikyl Roventine

Here is an interesting article on InfoQ about the debate over agile methodologies, and which is best: Scrum, XP, either, both or neither?

Personally I think they are entirely complimentary as they cover different aspects of software development. I find it useful to think of Scrum as an agile management methodology, whilst eXtreme Programming (XP) focuses more on agile engineering.

In an earlier post, I explain my views on this in a bit more detail; see here...
eXtreme Programming versus Scrum.

What do *you* think?

Kelly.

Photo by Mike Cogh

Hi all. I'm very grateful that so many blogs and web sites link to this blog. Many, of course, still link with the old name, 'All About Agile', as the link text. If that's you, would you mind updating the link text to 'Agile Software Development Made Easy!' so it reflects the new name?

Many thanks in advance!

Kelly.

I've blogged before about Certified Scrum Master (CSM) status, and how I think Scrum Master Certification isn't worth the paper it's written on!

I'm not against CSM training. In fact I'd heartily recommend it to anyone. The Certified Scrum Trainer process is pretty rigourous, ensuring the quality of the trainers.

It's the terms 'Certified' and 'Master' I have a problem with, when all that's required to be labelled as a Certified Scrum Master is attendance on a 2 day course.

However, I'm really pleased to say that the Scrum Alliance has taken the first step towards putting that problem right, with the announcement of a Certified Scrum Master exam being introduced from 1st October 2009.

Credit to Scrum Alliance for listening and acting on feedback from the agile community. It's definitely a step in the right direction...

Kelly.


Photo by superia85

Quite a while ago now, I published this 42-point questionnaire to help you assess how agile you are.

Now even ThoughtWorks are at it...

ThoughtWorks Studios is a global leader in agile tools and training. Today they announced the launch of a new web-based tool for gauging the status of a software development team’s agile adoption and potential roadblocks to the successful delivery of business-aligned programmes.

The complimentary self-assessment tool consists of 20 questions that cover both management and engineering practices, and provides a customized report with high-level analysis and potential areas for improvement.

Why not give it a try? www.AgileAssessments.com

Kelly.


Photo by okimi

I recently ran a poll on which agile project management software you would recommend. It got a terrific response and the results are really interesting!

While you're in the mood for polls, I thought I'd run another one.

This time I'm asking which agile methodology do you use?





Thanks in advance for your response!

Kelly.


Photo by brianemitchell