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Is Agile Development a Failing Concept?

Posted by timothy on from the surely-you're-not-all-out-of-buzzwords dept.

Nerval's Lobster writes: Many development teams have embraced Agile as the ideal method for software development, relying on cross-functional teams and adaptive planning to see their product through to the finish line. Agile has its roots in the Agile Manifesto, the product of 17 software developers coming together in 2001 to talk over development methods. And now one of those developers, Andy Hunt, has taken to his blog to argue that Agile has some serious issues. Specifically, Hunt thinks a lot of developers out there simply aren't adaptable and curious enough to enact Agile in its ideal form. 'Agile methods ask practitioners to think, and frankly, that's a hard sell,' Hunt wrote. 'It is far more comfortable to simply follow what rules are given and claim you're 'doing it by the book.'' The blog posting offers a way to power out of the rut, however, and it centers on a method that Hunt refers to as GROWS, or Growing Real-World Oriented Working Systems. In broad strokes, GROWS sounds a lot like Agile in its most fundamental form; presumably Hunt's future postings, which promise to go into more detail, will show how it differs. If Hunt wants the new model to catch on, he may face something of an uphill battle, given Agile's popularity.

3 of 507 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Agile. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm in a "stand-up" even as I type this response. Ours are typically only 30 minutes or so. Unless, of course, our PM decides to tack on some estimation at the end, then they balloon to an hour or more. Then our QA lead tacks on a discussion of every recently-active ticket.

    Most of us just check out of it mentally and go do something else (like read /.) after our personal status update.

    And it ended as I typed that last sentence. LUNCH TIME, MUTHAFUCKAS!

  2. Re:No. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    No.

    But it'll be yes again by the time of the next scrum.

  3. Re:Agile. by Penguinisto · · Score: 5, Funny

    Funny you should mention this... I actually got a lot of actual work done in the two-hour monster retrospective I sat through this morning. I just listen for my name and glance at the Kanban board occasionally to see if I come up next. :)

    Thank Heaven for wifi and laptops, is all I can say, else I'd never get anything done.

    --
    Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?