I really dig this post. I've worked at waterfall companies and agile companies doing Scrum, and in both places the tools tended to dictate the process a bit too much for my liking.
Estimates got treated as gospel and planning was deemed extremely important, but nobody was willing to make the time for it to be done right.
I think web apps with shorter release cycles and fast deployments can really benefit from a process like this. You just have to be willing to try out simple, light weight tools and iterate on the process just like you iterate on the code.
Most shops tend to just use what they know rather than attempt to hack the process to meet their own needs. Kudos to the guys at UserVoice for going against the grain.
Yeah I pretty much echo this experience. The ironic part is how almost every "Agile" company I've ever seen seems to completely reverse the very first line of the manifesto.
> Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
For my part, I'm completely done with Agile and the Agile community, there is very little of value there any more. Those who did add value have moved on, tired of and pushed out by those looking to make a quick buck consulting or managers looking to justify their poor management skills. It's quite sad.
I'm on a small team now, doing something fun and cool. The process is leaner, faster, way more productive and without all the BS overhead of trying to be "Agile".
For my part, I'm completely done with Agile and the Agile community, there is very little of value there any more
I don't think it's quite that bad myself, but I think it depends which bits of "the community" you find yourself in. There are still smart folk who do actually pay attention to the manifesto and don't wander around applying an "agile" label to everything around them and carrying on as before ;-)
I wrote a blog post last week that echos this sentiment. Funny how (many) people who (and tools that) espouse agile actually fail the first tenet of the agile manifesto.... (not meant as a plug but for those interested in reading .... http://www.thetaboard.com/blog/why-im-haking-thetaboard?r=37...)
Comments
I really dig this post. I've worked at waterfall companies and agile companies doing Scrum, and in both places the tools tended to dictate the process a bit too much for my liking.
Estimates got treated as gospel and planning was deemed extremely important, but nobody was willing to make the time for it to be done right.
I think web apps with shorter release cycles and fast deployments can really benefit from a process like this. You just have to be willing to try out simple, light weight tools and iterate on the process just like you iterate on the code.
Most shops tend to just use what they know rather than attempt to hack the process to meet their own needs. Kudos to the guys at UserVoice for going against the grain.
Yeah I pretty much echo this experience. The ironic part is how almost every "Agile" company I've ever seen seems to completely reverse the very first line of the manifesto.
> Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
For my part, I'm completely done with Agile and the Agile community, there is very little of value there any more. Those who did add value have moved on, tired of and pushed out by those looking to make a quick buck consulting or managers looking to justify their poor management skills. It's quite sad.
I'm on a small team now, doing something fun and cool. The process is leaner, faster, way more productive and without all the BS overhead of trying to be "Agile".
For my part, I'm completely done with Agile and the Agile community, there is very little of value there any more
I don't think it's quite that bad myself, but I think it depends which bits of "the community" you find yourself in. There are still smart folk who do actually pay attention to the manifesto and don't wander around applying an "agile" label to everything around them and carrying on as before ;-)
I wrote a blog post last week that echos this sentiment. Funny how (many) people who (and tools that) espouse agile actually fail the first tenet of the agile manifesto.... (not meant as a plug but for those interested in reading .... http://www.thetaboard.com/blog/why-im-haking-thetaboard?r=37...)