Being Agile: Eleven Breakthrough Techniques to Keep You from "Waterfalling Backward"

by Leslie Ekas, Scott Will

Break the Old, Waterfall Habits that Hinder Agile Drive Rapid Value and Continuous Improvement When agile teams don't get immediate results, it's tempting for them to fall back into old habits that make success even less likely. In Being Agile, Leslie Ekas and Scott Will present eleven powerful techniques for rapidly gaining substantial value from agile, making agile methods stick, and launching a "virtuous circle" of continuous improvement. Drawing on their experience helping more than 100 teams transition to agile, the authors review its key principles, identify corresponding practices, and offer breakthrough approaches for implementing them. Using their techniques, you can break typical waterfall patterns and go beyond merely "doing agile" to actually thinking and being agile. Ekas and Will help you clear away silos, improve stakeholder interaction, eliminate waste and waterfall-style inefficiencies, and lead the agile transition far more successfully. Each of their eleven principles can stand on its when you combine them, they become even more valuable. Coverage includesBuilding "whole teams" that cut across silos and work together throughout a product's lifecycle Engaging product stakeholders earlier and far more effectively Overcoming inefficient "waterations" and "big batch" waterfall thinking Getting past the curse of multi-tasking Eliminating dangerous technical and project debt Repeatedly deploying "release-ready" software in real user environments Delivering what customers really need, not what you think they need Fixing the root causes of problems so they don't recur Learning from mastering continuous improvement Assessing whether you're just "doing agile" or actually "being agile" Being Agile will be indispensable for all software professionals now adopting agile; for coaches, managers, engineers, and team members who want to get more value from it and for students discovering it for the first time.

Genres: Nonfiction

214 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2013

Reviews

[Ylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leslie Ekas and Scott Will present a practical approach to Agile that balances the philosophy of the Agile Manifesto with the tools and techniques needed to navigate the roadblocks that those wishing to implement Agile encounter on a daily basis.

The authors are not shy about sharing their extensive experience building enterprise software. I found myself nodding along on more to one occasion while reading the many anecdotes from the field sprinkled throughout.

The book is well-organized. Each chapter is devoted to one of eleven techniques, which in turn is divided into principles, practices metrics and breakthroughs expected. Of course the authors save the bet for last: Continuous Improvement, wich is rightly presented as the bedrock of the Agile methodology. The constant drive for individuals, teams and organizations to constantly improve on their past performance is the essence of successful software development (and more broadly, I would argue, of any human endevour).

This work is a great addition to the bookshelf of team members or leaders just starting out or well on their way in their Agile adventure.

[Karoline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by software engineers for software engineers, but illuminating for anyone running a business and looking for fresh ideas and new perspectives on methods, focus, value, communication, efficiency, and goals. Ekas and Will are enthusiastic and persuasive, and come across as knowledgeable and highly qualified. Each of the 11 chapters is set up in three parts: Principles, Practices, and Breakthrough. The book is structured around these breakthrough techniques. As the authors explain in the Introduction, they aren't for the fainthearted, but they will be highly effective at moving teams from "doing agile" to "being agile."

Chapters cover whole teams, active stakeholder interaction, queuing theory, no multitasking, eliminating waste, working software, delivering value, releasing often, stopping the line, agile leadership, and continuous improvement.

I had the privilege of reading this book before it went to print, and although I don't work in technology, I immediately found applications for my own private business. Challenging, illuminating, readable, and fun. Recommended.