Lan Barnes wrote:
> This is almost an "Ask Slashdot" post, except I think this list has more
> wisdom.
>
> I'm doing a lot of professional reading on my own that is challenging my
> core beliefs. I'm trying to be open and less judgemental, looking for
> what's good in different current movements. But this leads to dichotomies
> -- pieces that don't seem to fit together. Like trying to make Maxwell,
> quantum theory, and relativity all play nice. Or something ...
>
> So here is my quandry. On the one hand I'm reading a lot about six sigma
> and quality processes like IEEE 828 (SCM). On the other, I'm reading about
> SCRUM and other agile processes.
>
> At their best, these should (I would think) be able to coexist. But as
> usually practiced, standards and processes degenerate into rigid
> constrictions, and agile techniques collapse into uncontrolled chaos.
>
> So how can these things be made to work together? Specifically with SCM,
> can self-directed teams be trusted to honor the imperatives of
> traceability, repeatability, and accountability? How do self-directed
> teams fare in a regulated environment where a government auditor might
> demand a path connecting requirements through issue tracking to code
> changes and on through to testing and resolution (more code changes)?
>
> Does anyone have any experience in a shop where these things coexisted
> without abuse? Is there a book, a guru, a discipline that blends these
> impulses?
>
Aside: I would argue that the term "self-directed teams"
may not be an agreed synonym for "agile".
I own these books, and would be willing to loan.
Barry Boehm (a respected greybeard) has a book perhaps closely matching
your question:
Balancing Agility and Discipline
A Guide for the Perplexed
ISBN 0-321-18612-5 (Addison-Wesley, 2004)
Alistar Cockburn tries to address this issue in his "Crystal Family"
concept. The small-team end of his crystal spectrum is in:
Crystal Clear
A Human-Powered Methodology for Small Teams
ISBN 0-201-69947-8 (Addison-Wesley, 2005)
Other writers you see a lot are Scott Ambler, ..
Oh well, heres' some of my bookmarks
- - -
> NAME=Mountain Goat Software
> URL=http://www.mountaingoatsoftware.com/
>
> NAME=XProgramming.com - an Agile Software Development Resource
> URL=http://xprogramming.com/
>
> NAME=Software Engineering Resources - Construx Software
> URL=http://www.construx.com/resources/cka/
>
> NAME=Wicked
> URL=http://www.poppendieck.com/wicked.htm
>
> NAME=The Rally Coach's Corner: Rally Software Development
> URL=http://www.rallydev.com/coaches_corner_lp.jsp
>
> NAME=Critical Chain Project Management
> URL=http://www.focusedperformance.com/articles/ccpm.html
>
> NAME=Poppendieck.LLC
> URL=http://www.poppendieck.com/
>
> NAME=Agile Modeling (AM) Home Page: Effective Practices for Modeling and
> Documentation
> URL=http://www.agilemodeling.com/
>
> NAME=www.agiledata.org Home Page
> URL=http://www.agiledata.org/
>
> NAME=Agile Alliance :: Article Library
> URL=http://www.agilealliance.com/articles
>
> NAME=Lean Construction Institute
> URL=http://www.leanconstruction.org/
>
> NAME=www.refactoring.be
> URL=http://www.refactoring.be/
>
> NAME=Martin Fowler
> URL=http://www.martinfowler.com/
>
> NAME=Extreme Programming and the Capability Maturity Model
> URL=http://www.xprogramming.com/xpmag/xp_and_cmm.htm
>
> NAME=http://www.stsc.hill.af.mil/images/icon_crosstalk.gif
> URL=http://www.stsc.hill.af.mil/images/icon_crosstalk.gif
>
> NAME=An Introduction to ISO 9000, 9001, 9002, ISO 9000:2000
> URL=http://software.isixsigma.com/library/content/c000917a.asp
>
> NAME=It's Not Software
> URL=http://opal.cabochon.com/~stevey/blog-rants/its-not-software
>
> NAME=TQM and ISO 9000 Web-based Information
> URL=http://www.gslis.utexas.edu/~rpollock/tqm.html#iso
>
> NAME=ISO 9001 2000 in Plain English - Page 1 of 2
> URL=http://www.praxiom.com/iso-9001.htm
>
> NAME=Software Reality
> URL=http://www.softwarereality.com/
>
>
- - -
The Crosstalk mag above gives some feel for the DOD crowd. A lot of it
seems to be overblown rhetoric, though. Some good pieces. Lots of good
names.
Any of the latest writers about project management in general seem to
deal with the same questions you ask:
Steve McConnell
Rapid Development
Taming Wild software Schedules
ISBN 1-55615 (Microsoft, 1996) -- did I say _recent_
Scott Berkun
The Art of Project Management
ISBN 0-596-00786-8 (O'Reilly, 2005)
My take is that there are dreadfully few people responsible for software
development who have a good grasp of project management. The good ones
will most nearly achieve the title of Boehm's book.
Another personal observation: risk management is ignored at your own peril.
Regards,
..jim
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