gistfile1.txt

Interesting key points of "agile" development methods

- Inspect and adapt 
  Incremental change -> Revision -> Repeat:
  While the specification might be 'rigid', the implementation
  plan is continually revised.

- Short "work cycles" allows for revisions of the original spec
  without large amounts of time being invested in the wrong place

-

Things I'd like to see us implement:

- Kanban
  Task / Tickets for each job, easily visible to everyone via
  an "Agile" board on a large monitor. 

- Tickets: should preferably assigned during daily meeting,
  but can be assigned at any time if time, etc, permits
  (ie flexible assignment). Ticket states can be changed
  at any time. 
  For urgent / "spontaneous" tasks, tickets can be created *after*
  the task has been done; effectively "credit where credit is due"

- "Daily scrum" / "Morning meets":
  5-minute meeting going through todays plans; update yesterdays
  ticket states, assign todays states, general discussion

- Self-organization:
  - The manager *must* have unchallenged control over the team
  - Team members should be listened to and respected 

- Roles:
  - Product owner: "Colin"
   - Focuses on "what", not "how"

  - Scrum master: ?

   - "If you're the product manager or line manager, then you are NOT the scrum master"
    - Doesn't have a project manager role
    - No management authority
    - Facilitator
    - Promotes improved practices


   - Organizes sprints, "coordinates"
   - Protects team from distractions
   - NO "management power":

  - Team: * -owner -master
   - NO hierarchy
   - Collaborative
   - Team, as in "we can rely on each other";
     not necessarily working on the same project

- Criticisms, etc
 - SCRUM:
  - As Fraser has stated several times, a key problem with applying
    SCRUM in IT is that we usually have a single person working alone
    on any given project. This goes against some core tenants of SCRUM;
    a viable alternative, or start, is KANBAN.