History Flashbacks
So, you’re still reading? The question had to be asked because maybe 90% of the population would see the word “history” in a title and automatically switch their minds off. Most of us can remember our high school days and those oh so boring history lessons in which we were bombarded with a seemingly endless list of precise names and dates which were meant to be learnt parrot-fashion. So, perhaps, rather than simply dwelling on a chronology, it’s better to think more about selective flashbacks to eras, actual events and just a few of the key characters involved since it is those that really
Building The Pyramids
Since time immemorial there have been different work practices in use; go back thousands of years and imagine how the Pyramids were built and the project management which must have been involved in their construction. The methods used to create such a wonder would bear little relationship to those used today but it was still a method. In the same way that Man has progressed in the way he builds landmark buildings, methods have also been constructed, developed and improved over time.
However, an apt starting point for any retrospective is not to dig to the very roots of the past but consider what was taking place not long beforehand, since things rarely just happen without some rationality. No more well-founded could this be than in the reasoning behind the outset of Agile. Why did certain players within the world of computer software development feel a need to change and implement new methods? And secondly, what did those same people regard as being the fundamental limitations of the pre-Agile age?
Perhaps though, because computer technology is comparatively young as opposed to the construction of massive symbolistic buildings, we can go back almost to the beginning. It is universally agreed that, although never created, what can be seen as the first computer program was written by Ada Lovelace as long ago as 1842and the first real software theory in 1935 by Alan Turing; both advanced mathematicians years ahead of their time. Apologies if we have begun to start with a couple of dates but it’s worth mentioning one or two in order to understand that even in those very primitive days of computer technology some sort of basic project management would have had to exist. So, it could be implied that the eventual swing towards Agile methodology really originated from those now far-distant eras. How exactly Ada and Alan were organizing their project management, viewed in any contemporary perspective so much time later, would need to be investigated as another subject altogether.
Pre-Agile
Moving on from what was the very ancient history of software development, it’s time to bring it all a little more up to date with the real pre-history of agile methodology. Computer technology for the masses really took off fifty years ago and the older users amongst us can still fondly reminisce about the first Pac Man or Space Invaders game we stumbled across on a gigantic arcade machine in our local bar or cafe. It was revolutionary, the start of a new age. No longer did we have to make do with simple face-to-face contact and entertainment, we could now enter into another world, the cyber-world. We didn’t think twice about how these things had been developed, they were there for us to enjoy.
Something Was Wrong
However, behind the scenes in computer software development
What Was To Blame?
This catastrophic situation was primarily blamed upon the project management techniques being used. The main scapegoat was the often denounced Waterfall Method, the traditional project management approach which was heavily regulated, regimented and micro-managed. Originating in the era when the Headquarters of the United Nations was built in New York (the 1950s) and continuing to the era of the construction of the World Trade Centre in the same city (the 1970s), Herbert Bennington and
The Eras, The Events and The Characters
A New Frontier
It wasn’t just one set of individuals who were struggling with the tardiness, waste and dubious end-product quality occurring through the use of traditional methods. Characters throughout the Industry felt a need to re-think the way projects were being approached. Even in the aforementioned 1970s, innovators such as Hugh Edmonds and Don Gielanwere independently formulating what they saw as more effective approaches. The former wrote a paper on an adaptive software development process and the latter was lecturing throughout the USA on Tom Gilb’s original ideas of evolutionary project management which had evolved into what was known as competitive engineering. These individuals can probably be seen as frontiersmen in the eventual development of Agile as it was to become.
Exploring Deeper
In the following decade, the term scrum first appeared in a Harvard Business Review article by Hirotaka Takeuchi and Ikujiro Nonaka who were advocating a holistic approach to product development. Scrum would be further developed by Ken Schaber and Jeff Sutherland and arguably become the most recognizable Agile Method eventually resulting in the publication of the Scrum Guide some fifteen years later.
The decade after
However, why was so much going on at that time? Well, if it is viewed in the bigger picture and in comparison with the explosive growth in the use of internet hosts, the surge in the buildup of Silicon Valley on the West Coast and the corresponding upswing on the NASDAQ index, it is easy to understand. North American high-tech companies and the World Economy were booming; the development of computer technology very likely being the root cause.
Snowbird, Utah
Whatever and wherever you read about Agile, the meeting at Snowbird, Utah, USA is mentioned as it is seen as a definitive event in its history. The millennium had passed us by and there hadn’t been the predicted computer apocalypse at midnight on New Year’s Eve, 1999 which the scaremongers had warned us of. We had moved into the 21st century and here another date has to be added in order to fit things into the overall timescale mainly
Rogue River Lodge
A year before Snowbird, at Rogue River Lodge in Oregon, USA, the Extreme Programming Leadership Conference had taken place. This had centred on the promotion and adoption of the lightweight method XP but in the end concluded that in order to drive forward, other
Project Management Declaration of Interdependence
After Snowbird, some of the same participants alongside other characters worked with the aim of achieving an Agile Mindset in product and project management. Within four years, the outcome was the Declaration of Interdependence which laid out six principles highlighting leadership approaches more applicable to Agile.
Software Craftsmanship Manifesto
Questioning still further traditional methods of software development and aligning themselves to the Agile Manifesto led certain software developers to want to see themselves regarded as craftspeople rather than engineers in the accepted sense. As it is written in the Software Craftsmanship Manifesto of 2009 itself; “….we are raising the bar of professional software development…” This is another notable flashback within the overall effort to add more specific principles to the domain.
Clarifying Agile
Although a decade had passed since the Agile Manifesto and many businesses were admittedly using the approaches, it has to be argued that the entire concept was all a bit introverted and access to the methodology in a truly understandable way was not readily available. The Guide to Agile Practices of 2011, which five years later was to be re-named the Agile Glossary, was the answer to this. Amongst a dense forest of books, blogs and websites on the subject, it provided the first clear working definitions of Agile and its range of methodologies. In addition, the Agile Practice Guide of 2017, a comprehensive resource developed to understand, evaluate and use Agile approaches in practice, was a collaboration between the Project Management Institute and the Agile Alliance and could now be seen by many as the “Bible” in contemporary Agile bibliography.
Today And Into The Future
Under the umbrella of
So, where does agile go from here? Are there even more streamlined methods to be offered to the world of computer software development? Undoubtedly, the answer is yes. If you subscribe to Agile methodology blogs and sites, you’ll know that weekly, almost daily, new ideas and modifications to existing ones are being proposed. But, that is the essence of Agile methodology. It is constantly evolving and remains pro-active in its adaptive approach to project management. Whereas progression and evolution
Frequently asked questions
What is agile methodology and how it works?
Agile methodology encompasses a number of principles and values that facilitate an iterative, flexible, and user-oriented approach to developing software products. Agile methodology is largely defined by Agile Manifesto. Some of its key principles include early delivery, adaptive planning, self-organization, cross-functional teams, and continuous improvement of the development process
What is agile in simple words?
Put simply, agile is a way to develop software. Agile methodology urges teams to develop software products in short iterations, while making sure that every iteration of a product provides immediate value for product users or company customers. This approach allows agile teams to develop customer-centric products and quickly respond to the changing market or business requirements.
Is waterfall better than agile?
Waterfall is not better than Agile. In fact, these two approaches to project development are completely different with their own benefits. Waterfall models are easy and simple to follow with all the project stages following each other in a strict sequence. Agile development process is iterative and allows software teams to respond to changes more effectively, but teams need time and practice to learn to use agile frameworks to their maximum advantage.