Agile Discipline and Quality
Filed under: Agile, Teams — Aldo Cauchi Savona @ 1:42 pm
Earlier this week, I heard a comment by someone I was speaking to that they do not like Agile methods as they proclaim that the developers should not product any documentation or else, that there is no need for any planning. This was not the first time I heard this comment. One person exclaimed that when he worked in a company that used Lean practices, bad quality products were delivered thanks to the Lean practices they used!
Apparently, the people they worked with interpreted reduced documentation and planning for no documentation or planning. This gives rise to the view that Agile = Lack of Discipline = Bad Quality Products = Bad Process.
Anyone who has decided to dig a bit deeper into Agile and their theory would know that they are founded on two fundamental principles: Discipline and Quality. A great example where adequate documentation and quality driven development was used is the Boeing 777 project. Their aeroplane was ready for in-flight testing after 2 years of development, 3 years ahead of the norm.
If at the moment your team is not producing any form of documentation, or have a poor development development process, then when transitioning to Agile, you will most likely have to produce more documentation and do more planning than you currently do. When Agile practitioners talk about streamlining your documentation, they mean reducing the amount of documentation an existing cumbersome process might require. Again using Boeing as an example, the 777’s electronics specification document was over 2500 pages. When Boeing increased the collaboration with their provides, they could reduce their specification. The end result was that the 787 electronics specification document was reduced to 20 pages.
Agile methods ask all committed people to be more involved in the project, and to always act in the best interest of the project. This requires great discipline and dedication with the end result being a high quality product!
See: http://leadinganswers.typepad.com/leading_answers/leadership/;
Implementing Lean Software Development: From Concept to Cash by Mary and Tom Poppendieck.
October 7th, 2008 at 9:52 am
Indeed this is a very valid comment. I tend to find that these comments of I do not need to plan as I am good enough come mostly from the over confident type of personalities whereby there is an inherent belief that what they do and think is almighty and always the best. It is unfortunate that this is in this way as they do tend to have the most brilliant minds but end up being so brilliant that they close themselves up, tend to alienate their team mates and end up as singleton entities who are not able to work in team structures which require proper communication methods which is beyond just talk and do as I say, but rather this is what I am thinking, these are the approaches I will be taking and this is how the plan will be executed. Engineers tend to believe that planning is a waste of time but the are also the first in line to start grumbling when things do not cut out in the way they would like them to. We have to admit that planning is not the most exiting thing in the world, however once we experience how much things can get screwed up when running larger teams without a plan, the plan becomes the central point of reference for all in the end when things need to start coming together in an orderly fashion.
Unfortunately Aldo I do not feel that this comment you received is really about agile/lean development methodologies at all but rather a state of mind of individuals who lack proper rigour in either development approach or method of presenting the work done to an external audience…..also known as fear of being criticized syndrome (invented this last phrase really but guess what…….it is there).
October 7th, 2008 at 9:56 am
Having said the above (and yes some more punctuation work would have fit in!! my bad), the individuals I refer to above are a not the rule but rather the exception. Most people are work with and worked with do not fall in this category at all and most I must always say look for ways to improve themselves, and at times expect their leaders to explain what is expected from them in a clear fasion. The leaders are responsible for this part too.
October 13th, 2008 at 9:49 am
I agree. No one individual should take the blame. The whole process takes the responsibility for ensuring that people work according to procedure. Also, the ScrumMaster makes sure that people adhere to the process they signed-up for during work…
November 10th, 2008 at 2:55 am
I think Agile is like many other ways forms of development processes an idealistic form. As you both state - if all work together as a team then it works harmoniously - but then my experience is - so will any form of development process. I think what is completely left out in most discussions of development process is the underlying company infrastructure - there is a difference between business and development.