Computerworld
Quick Menu
Search



Ads by TechWords

See your link here


Subscribe to our e-mail newsletters
For more info on a specific newsletter, click the title. Details will be displayed in a new window.
Application/Web Development
Computerworld Daily News (First Look and Wrap-Up)
Computerworld Blogs Newsletter
The Weekly Top 10
More E-Mail Newsletters 
Computerworld 2007Subscribe to Computerworld
40 years of the most authoritative source of news and information for IT leaders.
Laptops
Toshiba Laptops with Intel® Centrino® Duo. Free Shipping

Coder Be Agile, Coder Be Quick

 

Sign up to receive Development Resource Alerts

July 25, 2005 (Computerworld) -- Anew force is making itself felt in the world of software development. Advocates of the agile development methodology (www.agilealliance.com) claim that its potential to increase productivity in some areas is so bright that coders are going to need to wear shades to write software with it.
Instead of starting by developing a detailed set of requirements, agile methodologies call for programmers to begin by writing small chunks of functionality that can be completed in two to four weeks -- "iterations," in agilespeak. Module testing receives the same level of attention as the actual writing of the code. When one iteration is done, developers find the next requirement to add more functionality to the module just completed and thereby start a new iteration.
Agile processes promise to deliver high-quality, functioning software at a fraction of the time and cost of traditional methods. Still, agile isn't likely to replace the so-called waterfall development methodologies, those proven ivory towers that have been used for the development of everything from missile guidance to widget-tracking ERP systems. For many projects, especially big ones with relatively fixed requirements, the Software Engineering Institute and its family of Capability Maturity Models (www.sei.cmu.edu/cmmi) are the gold standard and will remain so.
What's changed is product development in the era of global mass customization. You can't afford a three-month requirements-definition phase whose pieces are nebulous and evolving. The agile method has at its core the ascendance of trial and error over planning and documentation or, borrowing more agilespeak, "early value delivery" over "formalism."
Agile tilts to a more intuitive but still disciplined form of software development. Build and test a software module for that widget-tracking system with a very small, tightly integrated team. Then interpret the requirements for that module in the testing and have the software built before the requirements even would have been developed using traditional waterfall methods.
Agile already is showing up in mainstream software development. Some developers will see it first as part of a hybrid methodology, with some parts managed via waterfall methods and others spun off to agile. Likely candidates for spinning off to an agile team are software modules that include undefined areas or functionality that's likely to change.
Instead of waiting for dependencies to be resolved or customer inputs to catch up to requirements, put agile to work. Develop the test plan, build, and test with "Tinkertoy" interfaces that can be easily updated when the project catches up. Agile excels in this environment.
The potential savings offered by the agile method force the global software development marketplace to take it seriously. Its pros and cons are hotly debated. If agile does what

Continued...
1 | 2 | NEXT  



Print this Story Send Us Feedback E-mail this Story Digg! Digg this Story Slashdot this Story
"Cisco and PostPath will finally break Exchange's iron grasp on business e-mail...." Read more...
"Linux is more secure than most operating systems, but Not if you don't practice basic security measures..." Read more...
Read more Development posts or See all Blogs
Cellular operators say they're ready for Gustav
Psystar calls Apple a 'monopoly' in antitrust charges
Doubt cast on Seinfeld as Windows TV ads near
More top stories...
IT workers hit hardest by offshore outsourcing, survey finds
Microsoft: No more Windows Live Mail crashes with IE8 Beta 2
Microsoft warns of IE8 lock-in with XP SP3
Telework can change office dynamics in ways you hadn't anticipated. Proceed cautiously.
Got a painfully slow connection or random dead spots? Our tips will help you get the most out of your wireless network.
Listen up, managers: Employees don't quit the job; they quit you.
Netbooks, ultraportables, mini-notebooks — whatever you call them, they've been grabbing headlines. Are they here for the long term or just a flash in the pan?
Reviews, analyses, how-tos, visual tours, hot issues and predictions about Microsoft's new OS.
Four years from now, the IT field will be a vastly different place. Will you be ready?
All Zones
Application Performance Zone
Business Continuity Zone
The File Data Management Zone
Security Management Zone
ITIL Best Practices Zone
The SAS Zone
Business Intelligence and Analytics Zone
Windows Protection Zone
Identity & Security Management Zone

Ads by TechWords

See your link here
Sold on SOA

(Source: Computerworld) It's the hot technology for most large companies, but business, technical and cultural issues must be addressed for a successful SOA implementation. Get the whole story, from the big picture to the how-to-do-it details, in this Executive Bulletin. Download this Executive Bulletin (a $49.95 value) for Free, compliments of Fujitsu.
Download this executive briefing download
Driving Business Success Through Workgroup Choice and Flexibility
Download this white paper, free, compliments of Novell!
(Source: Novell) The structure of your workgroup environment plays a vital role in enabling your knowledge workers to be productive and collaborate securely. And IT choice and flexibility can mean the difference between reactive spending and proactive investment. Boost your competitive advantage with a workgroup infrastructure that lets you deliver the tools and services that are right for you. Download this white paper to learn how Novell offers a variety of solutions that give you the flexibility to address critical business initiatives and workforce productivity.
Download this white paper go
From Laggard to Leader: Transforming the Data Center
From Laggard to Leader: Transforming the Data Center
Register for this complimentary live webcast today!
Go to the webcast 
White Papers
Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services.
Archiving Compliance with Sunbelt Exchange Archiver
The Impact of Messaging and Web Threats
Advanced Load Balancing: 8 Things You Need to Handle Today's Network Traffic
View more whitepapers