The first value of Agile Manifesto clearly says, "Individuals and Interactions over Process and tools". Does this mean that usage of processes and tools needs to be reduced ?
Many Agile evangelists prefer using just flipcharts to write their design diagrams rather than using rational rose/any other diagramming tools. These Agile designers are proud to say that they don't use any software tools. However Kent Beck one of the Agile signatories shares in his latest white paper on "Tools for Agility", that when he and others created the manifesto they never wanted to disregard the usage of tools. However they felt that tools are ideal "If" it helps them in certain areas of work and specifically in some of the transitioning activities. Kent is not negating the usage of tools, however the tools like flipcharts, post-its and white boards have their own limitations. They cannot be shared if used in a distributed environment, it might get lost, and things like that.
In the white paper mentioned above, Kent makes some powerful statements. Some of them are as follows
- Every quantitative change of an order of magnitude creates a qualitative change
- A transparent team can more cheaply and effectively coordinate their efforts towards shared goals
- It may be hard to unlearn habits and beliefs, but in a world of wide and
free flowing information, keeping secrets is a position of weakness - You never know when you are going to be found out. Transparency is the new strength
I personally beleive that tools are very much needed in any software development, however tools should consciously be choosen and introduced into the project environment. Also a constant inspection and upgradation is essential to ensure that the tools are not becoming bottlenecks and hampering productivity & creativity.
No comments:
Post a Comment