Chapter 2: Agile Methodologies and Approaches
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Notable Agile Methodologies
Because so many Agile methodologies are out there, and because each of them has different parts that
take a bit of time to absorb, this chapter briefly touches on just two of them: Scrum and XP. Once
you take the brief tour of these methodologies, you can incorporate the ideas you want from each
to make things work.Some people feel a little anxious about mixing methodologies. However, that is actually at the heart of
being agile. Where Agile with a capital “ A ” focuses on the purity of the model, agile with a small “ a ”
focuses on freeing you up to do whatever will help you quickly and easily achieve your goals. Being
“ agile ” is about being adaptive and fast on your feet.In the real world when you are working with clients, any time you have to decide between getting things
done on schedule and strictly adhering to theoretical rules, always err on the side of getting things done.
It may get under your skin a bit, but it ’ s really the only way to keep the customer happy.Scrum
Scrum is an Agile project management methodology that offers small teams a great deal of flexibility
(even by Agile standards). Here are the typical attributes of a Scrum undertaking:You need a product backlog — a prioritized list of work items that need completion.The self - organizing team uses the product backlog to create sprint backlogs.Each sprint is a short period of duration (usually 1 to 4 weeks) in which highly focused activity
takes place.Each sprint begins with a sprint planning session , in which backlog items for the sprint are
defined.Each sprint ends with a retrospective , in which a postmortem is performed.Each team has a ScrumMaster, who acts as coach, facilitator, and buffer against the outside world. The
ScrumMaster is not the leader of the team! Many outsiders view the ScrumMaster as the chief project
manager, but it ’ s not so.Scrum recognizes that customers are wont to change their minds about what they want. Sometimes the
changes in direction are subjective and capricious, and other times they come about because of market
pressures. Regardless of the reason, change happens, and normal predictive methodologies have zero
chance of predicting these changes (ironically). Instead, Scrum accepts that change is inevitable,
unpredictable, and indefinable, and focuses instead on maximizing the team ’ s ability to adapt to change
and still deliver a great product.The team works closely with stakeholders (such as business owners, marketing managers, the CEO,
CFO, etc.) to develop a backlog of requirements that need to be addressed. Normally, this backlog of
requirements is maintained by a certain stakeholder called the “ product owner. ” In most cases, the
product owner is the CEO, but it can also be a marketing manager or project manager.