Agile Software Development Week 3

12 Questions

What is the primary requirement for software systems in today's business environment?

Rapid development and delivery

What type of development approach is essential for certain types of systems?

Plan-driven development

How does Agile development approach differ from traditional Plan-driven development?

Agile development integrates planning, design, and implementation, whereas Plan-driven development separates these stages into distinct phases.

What is the focus of Agile development?

On producing working code

What is the role of stakeholders in Agile development?

They participate in determining the requirements and evaluating the software

What type of support does Agile development provide for testing?

Comprehensive tool support, including automated testing tools

What is the primary goal of agile methods in software development?

To provide fast-working software and quickly adapt to changing requirements, thereby reducing costs in the software development process.

What is the role of customers in agile methods?

To provide new system requirements, prioritize them, and evaluate the system’s iterations.

What is the principle of 'People not process' in agile methods?

It emphasizes the importance of human interactions and collaboration over rigid processes and tools.

What is the main difference between Extreme Programming (XP) and other agile methods?

XP focuses on iterative development, with frequent releases (multiple times a day) and continuous testing, ensuring that the software is always working.

What is the purpose of 'Pair programming' in Extreme Programming?

It allows developers to work together, reviewing each other's work and ensuring that the code is of high quality.

What is the importance of 'Sustainable pace' in Extreme Programming?

It means that developers should maintain a consistent and sustainable work pace, avoiding excessive overtime and ensuring a healthy work-life balance.

Study Notes

Agile Methods

Focus on providing fast and flexible software, adapting to changing requirements to reduce development costs
Emphasize individuals and interactions, working software, customer collaboration, and responding to change over processes and tools, comprehensive documentation, contract negotiation, and following a plan
Agile methods prioritize incremental delivery, customer involvement, and simplicity

Agile Principles

Customer involvement: customers provide new system requirements and prioritize them
Incremental delivery: software is developed in increments, with customer-determined requirements
People not process: emphasize individual interactions and teamwork
Embrace change and maintain simplicity

Agile Method Applicability

Suitable for small to medium-sized software development companies
Often used in companies with customer involvement and minimal external constraints

Extreme Programming (XP)

Developed in the late 1990s, an effective agile method focusing on iterative development
New releases are created frequently (daily or weekly)
Customers receive increments every 2 weeks
All tests are run for each build, and only successful builds are accepted

Extreme Programming Practices

Incremental planning
Small releases
Simple design
Test-first development
Refactoring
Pair programming: collaborative development with mutual code review
Collective ownership: all developers are responsible for the entire system code
Continuous integration: completed work is continuously integrated and tested
Sustainable pace: no overtime, with on-site customer availability and requirements

XP and Agile Principles

Support for iterative development with frequent small releases
Customer continuous interaction with the development team
Emphasis on people, with principles like pair programming, collective ownership, and avoiding overtime
Change is supported with regular system releases
Code simplicity is maintained through continuous refactoring