Agile Approaches

Quick reference

• 00:04 Hi, this is Ray Sheen.
• 00:05 I'd now like to look closer at the development of Agile Thinking and
• 00:09 some of the Agile approaches.
• 00:12 >> This movement started with the publication of the Agile Manifesto.
• 00:16 The manifesto was created by attendees at a software development conference in 2001.
• 00:21 It states, we are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and
• 00:26 helping others do it.
• 00:28 Through this work, we have come to value individuals and interactions over
• 00:32 processes and tools, working software over comprehensive documentation,
• 00:37 customer collaboration over contract negotiation, and
• 00:41 responding to change over following a plan.
• 00:45 That is while there is value to the items on the right,
• 00:48 we value the items on the left more.
• 00:51 You can see that it's essentially saying bureaucratic project management tools
• 00:55 that are heavy on documentation are being rejected in favor of collaboration and
• 01:00 attitude of just do it.
• 01:02 So how did we get into this situation?
• 01:05 Well first, you need to know the project manager wasn't always process tools and
• 01:09 documentation intensive.
• 01:11 Over 100 years ago, projects were often very flexible and
• 01:14 based upon individual initiative and that often lead to a erratic and
• 01:17 unpredictable project performance.
• 01:20 Then along came Fredric Winslow Taylor in Scientific Management.
• 01:24 This led to the incorporation of standard practices and process excellence in
• 01:27 every business management discipline including project management.
• 01:32 This did improve the predictability and the quality of the project results.
• 01:36 By the 1990's software development industry was reacting to the perceived
• 01:40 bureaucracy, and the lack of flexibility in the project management approaches.
• 01:45 Lightweight project management methodologies were being developed
• 01:48 to speed up software development and bring the team closer to the customer.
• 01:52 This led to the Agile Manifesto written in a software development conference in 2001
• 01:56 that was held in Utah in the United States.
• 02:00 While Agile had a start in the software industry, several of the Agile
• 02:04 methodologies are now being applied to projects that are far from software.
• 02:08 Agile thinking is spreading.
• 02:10 So let's look at some of the more prevalent Agile approaches.
• 02:14 Some of the approaches are specifically applied to software projects.
• 02:17 The first one to mention is Extreme Programming.
• 02:20 This approach relies on rapid software iterations and a high level of change.
• 02:25 Next is another software application called personal software process and
• 02:29 has grown into the team software process.
• 02:32 This technique relies heavily on data, data analysis, and
• 02:35 personal responsibility.
• 02:38 And next is test driven development.
• 02:40 This approach is also used in software.
• 02:42 Now, I have heard that some companies are using it with hardware projects, but
• 02:45 I haven't seen any of those yet.
• 02:47 This approach starts with a test requirement,
• 02:50 the software is written to then pass that test.
• 02:53 The most widely used Agile methodology that extends beyond just software
• 02:57 is Scrum.
• 02:59 This is an iterative approach that relies on regular re-prioritization
• 03:02 of the requirements.
• 03:04 Another method that has business-wide applicability,
• 03:07 is the dynamic systems development model.
• 03:09 Another iterative approach, but this one is focused on time and money.
• 03:14 Recently a technique has been growing that is called Kanban.
• 03:17 Now the term Kanban is actually an inventory Management technique within
• 03:21 the lean manufacturing methodology.
• 03:23 Its value is it is a visual scheduling approach that focuses on
• 03:26 optimized resource utilization.
• 03:29 The technique is particularly well suited for upgrade or
• 03:32 refurbishment projects, because it does require that the project activity is being
• 03:36 known when the project starts.
• 03:38 This course will focus on the scrum methodology.
• 03:41 However if you are taking the course to prepare for
• 03:43 the project management institutes, Agile Certified Practitioner Exam,
• 03:47 you need to be aware of the other methods.
• 03:48 The exam will address Agile principles in general not just the Scrum application
• 03:53 of Agile.
• 03:56 >> Agile is the reaction to the rise of overly bureaucratic project management
• 04:00 methodologies.
• 04:02 Agile principles can be applied in many ways and
• 04:05 we will focus on the Scrum approach in this course.

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