SDLC 3.0: Beyond a Tacit Understanding of Agile

by Mark Kennaley

The world of software development methodology has become a bit of a cottage industry. Philosophical divisions and dogma laced with branding and driven by profit motive are commonplace. Re-invention replaces integration due to a lack of collaboration. A pragmatic perspective however would be to leverage all past experience in context when approaching modern software engineering challenges. For example, issues faced by the Agile community related to agility at scale and technical debt have already been addressed before by other communities. SDLC 3.0 represents the rationalization of modern software engineering methods into a Complex Adaptive System of practices. It leverages Control Systems Engineering theory to explain Agile beyond a tacit and anecdotal basis such that the pace of modern practice adoption can accelerate. With "more for less" now being as important as "being agile", it articulates blueprints of the Lean IT Enterprise. Who should read this · - If you are an Agilist and tired of having to pause when asked the question "What is Agile".· - If you are a Traditionalist and you would like to learn why Agile is a better approach - if someone would just explain "why it works" in a credible way.· - If you are an Executive and you are faced with a fiduciary duty to influence IT investment outcomes. A blueprint of a Lean IT Enterprise is valuable to you. · - If you are a Researcher and you are tired of fads and brands, and want to ground Agile in applied science and rigorous mathematics. · - If you are a Methodologist and you believe that the cottage industry must stop, and that we must get past fragmentation and tacit or anecdotal evidence.· - If you are a Practitioner and you can't afford to pontificate on which "pure" wholesale method to leverage when faced with the "realities on the ground". · - If you are an independent thinker, a centrist. - If you are a pragmatist. Winner 2010 Dr. Dobbs Jolt Productivity Award

292 pages, Paperback

First published January 18, 2010

Reviews

[James Snook · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clear, well-written book that discusses the various competing modern software development approaches: Agile (XP & Scrum), Lean and RUP. The author reviews the history behind each methodology, discusses its strengths and tries to find a pragmatic "middle way" forward that takes the best from each world.