Choosing An Agile Development Framework: Which is Best?

This article looks to discuss choosing development frameworks and looks to investigate the different Agile Frameworks to help you determine which is best for your project. the article looks to discuss Crystal Clear, Kanban and Lean.

The Agile Fundamentals

A 59 Seconds Agile Video Animation

The Agile Manifesto with 59 Seconds Agile

Choosing Development Frameworks – Which One is Best for You?

A 59 Seconds Agile Article

If you are contemplating the move to Agile development or already have an agile framework, but it is not delivering the results you expected, here are some of the options available and some key considerations you must take into account when selecting a framework. Agile is an evolution of Rapid Application Development and Extreme Programming (RAD and XP are still regarded as agile frameworks), and while it can deliver extraordinary results it can also deliver spectacular failures. However, the failures happen fast; you do not have to sit with a five-year IT project that seems to be going nowhere. Where Agile is not living up to expectations, it is generally due to your company culture and environment and not the framework itself. Let’s start by looking at some of the frameworks out there.

59 Seconds Agile – Agile Project Management with Scrum

Choosing Development Frameworks: Agile Frameworks and Disciplines

When the Agile Manifesto was drawn up in 2001, the protagonists surely did not envisage all the different flavors of agile that would develop. There are many frameworks that fall under the general description of Agile not to mention all the hybrids created by IT shops globally, who have tweaked and tailored the basics to fit their environment. Here are a few of the more prominent philosophies.

Choosing Development Frameworks: The Options

Crystal Clear is an agile framework for small teams who are developing non-critical software. The focus is on the people, not the processes or products. This framework has been comprehensively described by author Alastair Cockburn.
Kanban is an aspect of Toyota’s Lean Manufacturing philosophy. A Kanban is a card with a single work item on it. The kanbans are displayed on a Kanban board, giving an overall view of the agile project.
Lean agile development is derived from Toyota’s Lean Manufacturing again. The Poppendiecks took the Lean philosophy and applied it to software development, in their book written in 2003. Lean principles, such as waste elimination and just-in-time, are applied to the software development process.

Choosing Development Frameworks: Scrum

Scrum originated as a product delivery framework in the 1980s, based on the game of Rugby. During the 1990s, through to 2001, there were various initiatives to apply Scrum in software development, culminating in a book by Schwaber and Beedle in 2002. Scrum is based on teamwork and the expectation that requirements will change during development.

User Stories Applied

A 59 Seconds Agile Book Review

User Stories Applied by Mike Cohn is one of our favourite books on Agile User Stories. The book starts with an overview into user stories, and details what a user story is and the different aspects of them. He then discusses how to go about writing a user story, and provides details of the INVEST criteria that can be used to determine if the story is meeting all of its objectives. Next Mike gives an in depth discussion of who user stories are written for and where to begin when gathering the details for them. The book then discusses acceptance testing user stories, including how to go about specifying these criteria and the responsibilities of the development team and customers during this process.