Preachers & Zombies

http://www.meetup.com/Agile-North-East/

Preachers & ZombiesJon McNestrie

http://www.meetup.com/Agile-North-East/Preachers & Zombies - Jon McNestrie

Why do we do it?• Tight iterations / quick feedback• Deliver high value items first• Fail early!

Individuals and interactions over processes and toolsWorking software over comprehensive documentationCustomer collaboration over contract negotiationResponding to change over following a plan


The enemy?

Preachers & Zombies - Jon McNestrie

“BRAINS”

“We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail”


Preachers• “That’s not how you do it!”


• Purists, nothing is quite good enough – pursuit of perfection

• Agile Commandments• Thou shalt not….– Plan– Have deadlines– Have multiple offices– Use the word project


Preachers• There is no law, just some principals


• Inspect / Adapt can also apply to who over-arching process

• Aiming for what fits your organisation and making incremental steps is nothing to be ashamed of


Zombies• “Everyone’s doing agile – so should we”


• But the book/guide/coach says ‘do this’

• Sleep walking through the rituals without knowing why

• The recipe for success


Zombies• Cargo Cult Agile (http://www.jamesshore.com/Blog/Cargo-Cult-Agile.html)

• More than the processes and rituals


• Look to good software processes that Scrum encourages (TDD, Automated Testing, CI, etc)

• Prove the worth of these techniques with improved delivery


Look for the good• The preachers are keen

and have some real passion

• The zombies realise that there is a path to follow and can be shown the way

• Both need some help……



Why do we do it, again..• Lean on the agile manifesto• Customer at the centre of everything• Understand what you’re doing and why• Adapt to fit• Collaboration• Educate the people in your organization



More questions?


Software

Preachers & Zombies