Feb 23, 2009
Agile Processes for Software Development
Paul Hodgetts, founder and visionary of AgileLogic, was the keynote speaker at the monthly SCQAA-OC meeting hosted by Capital Group in Irvine last Tuesday the 17th of February.
Mr. Hodgetts spoke on the Agile process as it relates to software development and particularly the role of QA.
Mr. Hodgetts share with the group five key strategies of the Agile process. They are:
- Iterative/Incremental processes – The purpose here is to create repeatable solid steps. Also, at each cycle, the goal is to have a potential deliverable product.
- Collaborative Whole Team – The key here is collaboration from the WHOLE team, not working in silos but interactively together. The team as a WHOLE must have all the skills to deliver or complete a cycle.
- Adaptive, localized project management – The by-word here is “inspect and adapt.” Localized pertains to the team and the moment.
- Value focused clear objectives – These are hard to achieve and geared towards the stakeholders.
- Continuous improvement – Always learning from your mistakes and holding on to your successes. Also, this implies leaving blame out but giving credit to those who achieve.
According to Mr. Hodgetts, the agile process is all about “stories.” Each chunk of functionality that makes up a story must be small and achievable. The goal is to move through each story at optimal “velocity” lasting only a couple of days.
Finally, the key Agile testing principles are:
- Build quality in
- Done means Tested
- Testing drives development
- Quality is a team responsibility
- Continuous testing
Much more was discussed and you can read more about the Agile process at Mr. Hodgetts’ website AgileLogic.
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