1. Rob Gleasure R.Gleasure@ucc.ie www.robgleasure.com
IS3320 Developing and Using Management Information Systems Lecture 16: Agile Project Management
Rob Gleasure

2. IS3320 Today’s lecture The software development lifecycle
Waterfall approach
Agile approach
eXtreme Programming (XP)

3. The SDLC
The SDLC describes the activities performed at each stage of a software development project.
This involves six steps
Requirements Gathering and Analysis
Design
Development/Implementation
Testing
Implementation
Maintenance

4. Why use the SDLC
It provides a standard generic framework that can be re-used and adjusted across multiple projects
SDLC + project parameters  Plan
Project parameters will include:
Scope,
Budget,
Duration
This let’s us negotiate details with clients, spot problems early, regulate development, etc.

5. The Waterfall Approach
The classic model of development is the waterfall model introduced by Royce in 1970
Each phase is completed before the next begins
Idea of handover between phases, i.e. ‘waterfall’
Upstream changes may occur but only to address some emerging issues (you don’t aim for this to happen)

6. The Waterfall Approach
Taken from

7. Outputs of the Waterfall Approach
Taken from Technology Specialist at Cognizant Technology Solutions, R. Angelin

8. Agile Approach
To combat the high failure rates and growing dissatisfaction with software development approaches, in 2001 the ‘Agile Manifesto’ was introduced
Agility is argued as a philosophy, not just a set of practices
Adaptation is preferred to prediction
Iteration is preferred to linearity
Working code is preferred to documentation

9. The 12 Principles of Agility
Customer satisfaction by rapid delivery of useful software
Welcome changing requirements, even late in development
Working software is delivered frequently (weeks rather than months)
Close, daily cooperation between business people and developers
Projects are built around motivated individuals, who should be trusted
Face-to-face conversation is the best form of communication (co-location)
Working software is the principal measure of progress
Sustainable development, able to maintain a constant pace
Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design
Simplicity—the art of maximizing the amount of work not done—is essential
Self-organizing teams
Regular adaptation to changing circumstances

10. Or alternatively… The first principles of agility (Conboy, 2009)
A method must contribute to one of the following
Creation of change
Proaction in advance of change
Reaction to change
Learning from change
While not detracting from any of the following
Perceived cost
Perceived quality
Perceived simplicity
And while always being continuously ready for use

11. Agility View of SDLC
Taken from

12. Types of Agile Approach
There are many different types of agile methodologies, e.g.
eXtreme Programming (XP)
Scrum
Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)
Rational Unified Process (RUP)
Of these, scrum and XP are arguably most common

13. eXtreme Programming (XP)
Used successfully and routinely at companies like Bayerische Landesbank, Credit Swiss Life, DaimlerChrysler, First Union National Bank, Ford Motor Company and UBS.
Built on core values of
Communication
Simplicity
Feedback
Courage
Respect

14. Planning in XP Business people decide about Scope Priority
Composition of releases
Date of releases
Technical people decide about
Estimates
Consequences
Process
Detailed Scheduling

15. Planning in XP Daily standup meetings are used to manage this
15 minutes max
No sitting
Same time and place each day
Everyone quickly runs through what they did yesterday, what they will do today, and anything slowing them down

16. Designing, Coding, and Testing in XP
Minimal design, especially early
Single repository for code, everyone commits their code every day
All code has unit tests
More tests created as soon as a bug is found
Code must pass all tests before it can be released

17. People in XP Seat together Whole team approach Informative workspace
Energized Work
Pair Programming
Team Continuity

18. Scrum and sprint-based planning
From Schwaber & Beedle (2002)

19. Advantages of Waterfall
Simple way to negotiate tasks and milestones with various parties
Provides structure
Milestones are well understood
Identifies issues early
Good for management
Lets quality or regulatory metrics be set in stone early on

20. Advantages of Agile
Reflects iterative nature of exploratory development
Ability to following changing requirements means more chance of useful output
Does not require estimation of tasks that may are poorly understood
Little administrative overhead
Value realised early – client is almost guaranteed to get something…

21. When to Use Waterfall
Requirements are well known and product is clearly defined
Technology is mature
New version of an existing product
Migrating an existing product to a new platform
Where implementation can’t be broken down

22. When to Use Agile Everything else…
Even heavily regulated environments are adapting to use agile by following exploratory sprints with a ‘hardening sprint’

23. Want to read more? The Project Management Institute
Sutherland, J. (2014). Scrum: A revolutionary approach to building teams, beating deadlines, and boosting productivity. Random House Business Books.
Beck, K. (2004). Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change, Addison-Wesley
Conboy, K. (2009). Agility from first principles: reconstructing the concept of agility in information systems development. Information Systems Research, 20(3),
Schwaber, K. & Beedle, M. (2001). Agile Software Development with Scrum. Prentice Hall, UK.
The agile manifesto