Agile Development Methods

Question 1

Agile Development:

Most Important Features

Answer 1

Rapid Development Cycle

Rapid Delivery

Question 2

Agile Development

Principles

Answer 2

• Deliver Early and Often to satisfy customer
• Welcome changing requirements
• Face-to-Face communication is the best
• Measure progress against working software
• Simplicity is essential

Question 3

When is

Agile Development

applicable?

Answer 3

• Small or medium sized product
• Commitment from customer to become involved in the development process
• Minimal external rules and regulations that affect the software

Question 4

Agile Methods:

Problems

Answer 4

• Can be difficult to keep the interest of customers who are involved in the process
• Team members may be unsuited for the intense involvement of agile methods
• Prioritizing changes can be difficult with multiple stakeholders
• Like other forms of iterative development, contracts can be a problem

Question 5

Agile Methods:

Goals

Answer 5

• Reduce overheads in software development process
• Ability to respond QUICKLY to changing requirements
• Avoid excessive rework when responding to changes

Question 6

Agile Methods:

Two Major Types

Answer 6

Scrum

Extreme Programming(XP)

Question 7

Agile Model:

Organization of development work

Answer 7

Work on aspects of the software are organized into Activities, Tasks and Stories, sort of like use cases.

• User Activities
  
  • The “backbone” - major features
• User Tasks
  
  • “Skeleton”
  • Specific things the user can do with a given feature
• User Stories
  
  • Use cases

Question 8

Plan Driven

vs

Agile

Development Models

Answer 8

Plan Driven models

More sequential, focus on well defined requirements engineering and specification. Great for large projects that expect very few changes to requirements

Agile Models

More cyclical and iterative. Operates with an expectation of changing requirements. Goes back and forth between Requirements Engineering phase and Design/Implementation phase.

Question 9

Scrum:

Basic Description

Answer 9

Considered a “Management Side” model.

Work is divided into three phases: Planning, Sprint Cycles, and Project Closures.

Implementation/testing is done in relatively short “Sprint Cycles”

Focus on constant communication, daily meetings/updates on progress.

Question 10

Scrum:

Three Phases

Answer 10

• Planning
  
  • Project Outline
  • Architectural Design
• Sprint Cycle
  
  • 1-4 weeks
  • Focus on implementation/testing
• Project Closure

Question 11

Scrum:

Activities of the Sprint Cycle

Answer 11

• Planning(Assess, Select)
  
  • Generates: Backlog, Goals for Sprint
• Execution (Develop)
  
  • With Daily Scrum(meeting)
  • Generates: Product Increment
• Review
  
  • Inspection/Testing
  • Adapt
• Retrospective
  
  • Inspection/Integration Testing
  • Check progress against set goals
  • Generates: Product Backlog

Question 12

Scrum:

Questions that each team member answers during Daily Scrum

Answer 12

• Work accomplished
  
  • What did I do YESTERDAY to meet sprint goal?
• Work planned
  
  • What will I do TODAY?
• Expected Obstacles/Challenges
  
  • Is there an impediment in the way of me or my team meeting the sprint goal?

Question 13

Extreme Programming(XP)

Basic Description

Answer 13

A “development side” agile method

Widely used.

Takes “common sense” software engineering principles and practices to the “extreme” level

Question 14

Extreme Programming(XP)

Release Cycle

Answer 14

For each release/version;

• Select User Stories for this release
• Breakdown Stories into Tasks
• Plan the release
• Develop/Integrate/Test software
• Release software
• Evaluate System

Question 15

Extreme Programming(XP)

Principles and their corresponding Practices

Answer 15

Principle

Practice

Customer Involvement

Customer Team Member

Requirements Specification

User Stories

Collaboration

Pair Programming

Testing

Test-Driven Development

Ownership

Collective Ownership

Integration

Continuous Integration

Question 16

Extreme Programming(XP)

Development Techniques used

Answer 16

• User Stories
• Pair Programming
• Test Driven Development
• Continuous Integration

Question 17

Pair Programming:

Basic Description

Answer 17

• Two programmers work side by side at one computer
  
  • “Driver” and
  • “Navigator”
• Continuously collaborate on some design, algorithm, code, test, etc
• Driver codes, navigator provides continuous, informal review

Question 18

Pair Programming:

Benefits

Answer 18

• Continuous review
• Problems/mistakes/defects caught early
• Fewer defects
• Better problem solving
• More economical
• “Pair-Pressure” ensures timely delivery
• Rapid hands-on approach to learning
• Better induction of new team members