Why does it seem that the .NET Community isn’t very active in the Agile community? I know that there are Agile practitioners in various .NET shops however, it seems that the overall representation is very minimal. Is it because of a lack of understanding of the Agile methodologies? Or is there a lack of support and resources for the .NET community when it comes to Agile practices?
I just got back from the Agile Development Practices by SQE and I felt like I was in the minority there. As I went from sessions on TDD to Design Patterns to Refactoring each time it was asked what platform each of the developers were on I was one of 2 or 3 that mentioned .NET. The majority was Java with a small representation of Ruby developers, which on one hand I’m glad because I got a great exposure to Java and Ruby, however on the other hand it raises the questions as to why.
So what is Agile?
Agile Manifesto:
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan
That is, while there is value in the items on
the right, we value the items on the left more.
Looking at the principles behind the manifesto we see more of what really is the driving force of the Agile movement and begin to understand why it is important to all developers to grasp this concept.
- Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer
through early and continuous delivery
of valuable software.
- Welcome changing requirements, even late in
development. Agile processes harness change for
the customer’s competitive advantage.
- Deliver working software frequently, from a
couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a
preference to the shorter timescale.
- Business people and developers must work
together daily throughout the project.
- Build projects around motivated individuals.
Give them the environment and support they need,
and trust them to get the job done.
- The most efficient and effective method of
conveying information to and within a development
team is face-to-face conversation.
- Working software is the primary measure of progress.
- Agile processes promote sustainable development.
The sponsors, developers, and users should be able
to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
- Continuous attention to technical excellence
and good design enhances agility.
- Simplicity–the art of maximizing the amount
of work not done–is essential.
- The best architectures, requirements, and designs
emerge from self-organizing teams.
- At regular intervals, the team reflects on how
to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts
its behavior accordingly.
The early continuous delivery of quality working software through continuous attention to simplicity, technical excellence, good design where the business and developers form a team to work together frequently reflecting how to become more effective through self organization.
This is just the beginning however, Agile goes beyond just what is stated in the manifesto. There are methodologies for all aspects of the business, from the executives with LEAN, to the team with SCRUM down to the individual developers with XP (Extreme Programming). Some of the concepts with in XP will be quite familiar to the .NET community, such as Test Driven Development (TDD) and Pair Programming.
I want to encourage all developers to really look into what Agile has to offer and then take it to your business and challenge them to implement Agile as your new methodology. If you are already doing Agile then start speaking up about it. Make your presence known and help evangelize Agile in the .NET community.
David Yancey
