Story time for developers!
Story time, say what? Developing anything can be complicated and messy as there are usually a lot of people involved. This requires coordination, communication, and moderation in order to maintain work flow. In response to these necessities, processes and structures have been developed in order to facilitate productivity and precision in development. One such process is AGILE. Put simply, AGILE breaks things down into user stories. The user is typically a generic stereotype of the client's target audience/user base. They tell a tale in simple, concrete formats about an action which may be traced through development, iteratively.
Stories in this case aren't whimsical fairy tales, but short sentences describing the desire to perform action(s). A basic example of this is, "As a [type of user], I want [some goal] so that [some reason]." I might say as an internet browsing user who comes across the site, "I want to create an account so that I may purchase an item." Simple, yes? These simple sentences describe use-cases that make up the entire application, and are worked on in tandem by priority. Each goal is defined by a projected time allotment called a Sprint, with small stand-up meetings called scrums. While these may sound simplistic, the idea is to come together and check up on progress, then get back to work as fast as possible, while maintaining focus. Larger meetings are planned based on scrum results as needed to tackle roadblocks.
What is scrum? Standing around and answering three basic questions. That's really all it is. Three answers to the questions, "What have you accomplished since we last met?", "What do you plan to accomplish before our next meeting?", and "Is anything hindering completion of your task(s)?" Short and sweet, then back to work! That's the bottom line of development... to produce!
Let me start of by saying "hi." I feel it should be a common courtesy to offer salutations to a person before commenting on their work. I like the way you have set up your blog and your post. It presents information that is useful, and is timeless in value. You have managed to bring up things I would not have thought to look at; to the subject you have done a good job relating them. It is good that you have put the amount of work you have put into this literature; and what you have produced. It has a lot of value. You have done a good job using sources that are highly credible and provide information that is useful and valid. All students should aspire to produce work that is as high quality as this is. I am glad I had not a chance, not a choice, but it was a mandatory read. I am also glad that this post that I am writing is not by chance, not by choice, but is mandatory; Giving me the pleasure to congratulate you on your accomplishment here.
ReplyDeleteHi Justin, your post is well formulated and straightforward. I like how you explain the "story" setting of agile, so that even someone who never heard of it before could still picture how agile methodologies work. The table is great. It shows that almost every problem can be broken into smaller pieces and solved with agile.
ReplyDeleteThe end, however, is a little bit abrupt. You jump directly into describing three main characteristics of Scrum. It would be better if you could explain what make Scrum a great agile methodology
I really enjoyed how you put your own voice into your writing! It keeps the reader very engaged and gives a personal flair. Your description of what Agile is and how it works was detailed and to the point. Many of the articles online that I've found online were very vague and didn't help me understand it but your posting cleared it right up! Great job!
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