Art Of Agile Development, The

The Art of Agile Development contains practical, down-to-earth guidance for anyone involved in or considering the agile method -- and Extreme Programming in particular -- to build reliable software. Agile development methods have become increasingly popular because too many software projects have failed to meet expected release dates, deliver the required features, or to match projected costs. This book provides no-nonsense advice on agile planning, development, delivery, and management taken from the authors' many years of experience.

While plenty of books address the what and why of agile development, very few offer developers, managers, stakeholders and users the information they can apply directly. The Art of Agile Development provides a gestalt view of the agile development process that serves as a comprehensive introduction for non-technical readers, along with hands-on technical practices for programmers and developers. The book also tackles the people aspect of Extreme Programming.

Other books focus solely on the process; this book deals with the need for face-to-face interaction, which is the most difficult aspect of working in an agile development. You'll find clear answers to questions such as:

• How can we adopt agile development?
  
• Do we really need to pair program?
  
• What metrics should we report?
  
• What if I can't get my customer to participate?
  
• How much documentation should we write?
  
• When do we design and architect?
  
• As a non-developer, how should I work with my agile team?
  
• Where is my product roadmap?
  
• How does QA fit in?

Whether you are currently part of an agile team, working with an agile team, or interested in agile development you will reach for this book again and again. Author James Shore's companion web site, Successful Software (www.jamesshore.com), contains dozens of considered essays discussing agile development and Extreme Programming, with multiple new essays posted each month.

About the Authors
James Shore, signatory number ten to the Agile Manifesto, has been coaching agile teams large and small before they were called agile. He brings both breadth and depth to his discussion of agile development. In 2005, the Agile Alliance recognized James with their most significant award, the Gordon Pask Award for Contributions to Agile Practice. James is an internationally recognized speaker who consults for companies interested in agile development. He writes about agile development on his top-ranked blog, jamesshore.com.

Shane Warden promotes free and open source software for O'Reilly's Open Technology Exchange. In practice, this means editing and researching. He is a co-author of The Art of Agile Development

He has contributed to several projects including Perl 5, Perl 6, Pugs, and, these days, Parrot. Someday, he'd like to claim some responsibility for improving the quality of all software.