Becoming Agile: ...in an imperfect world

Many books discuss Agile from a theoretical or academic perspective. Becoming Agile takes a different approach and focuses on explaining Agile from a case–study perspective. Agile principles are discussed, explained, and then demonstrated in the context of a case study that flows throughout the book. The case study is based on a mixture of the author‘s real–world experiences.

Becoming Agile also focuses on the importance of adapting Agile principles to the realities of your environment. In the early days of Agile, there was a general belief that Agile had to be used in all phases of a project, and that it had to be used in its purest form. Over the last few years, reputable Agile authorities have begun questioning this belief: We‘re finding that the best deployments of Agile are customized to the realities of a given company.

Becoming Agile discusses the cultural realities of deploying Agile and how to deal with the needs of executives, managers, and the development team during migration. The author discusses employee motivation and establishing incentives that reward support of Agile techniques.

About the Author:

Greg Smith is an agile coach, trainer, and senior project manager at GS Solutions Group. Greg specializes in practical adoption of agile techniques and methods. During his career, Greg has held positions as a Product Manager, Program Manager, Development Manager, ScrumMaster, and Project Manager. He has received numerous awards for his work in helping start–ups establish good software practices, and for helping enterprises overcome bureaucracy and deliver urgent projects. Greg also partners with the Project Management Institute (PMI) to bring agile knowledge into the project management community.

Dr. Ahmed Sidky guides organizations during their transition to agile software development. His research includes a value–based agile measurement index, known as the Sidky Agile Measurement Index, and a process framework for the adoption of agile practices. Dr. Sidky developed Dr. Agile, an online readiness assessment tool that helps guide organizations aspiring to adopt agile practices. He has worked as a software developer at some of the largest software firms in the Middle East and holds a Masters degree in Software Engineering from Virginia Tech (USA) with a research focus on Requirements Engineering and a doctorate in Agile Software Development Methodologies and Process Improvement. Dr. Sidky is a frequent speaker at international agile conferences.