The authors open the first chapter with a Turkish proverb - "No matter how far down the wrong road you've gone, turn back." Good advice for life in general. Turns out it applies really well to dorked-up software development projects.
If you are new to agile software development practices, this book is a great, high-level introduction. Most of what software developers consider 'agile' practices are merely common sense - common sense acquired by programmers after much time spent doing things the hard way. Other programmers will keep doing things the hard way, because they simply have never seen, learned or figured out a better way to do it. Like most geeks, they occasionally need an introduction.
If you already use agile practices, you'll find this book a warm affirmation of what you're already doing. You might even find something in here that will help you squeeze out a bit more productivity on your projects.
The book addresses two of the more curious problems that keep teams from working with agile practices - where to start and how to keep it going once you do start.
The first chapter describes agile software development in general terms to help you get acquainted. Each additional chapter digs a little deeper by covering several practices related to the chapter title. Each practice is explained clearly in a few pages and is followed up with "What It Feels Like" and "Keeping Your Balance" sections that give a very succinct review of the practice.
The book is easy to read and short enough to keep as a desk reference for quick look-ups. A "Resources" section at the back of the book is a great jumping off point with links to excellent articles, tools and resources. The "Bibliography" section lists many useful books to help you explore the subject further.
But wait, there's more! A perforated, four-page cardboard foldout at the end of the book summarizes each of the forty-five practices.
A book like this in the hands of a ready-to-learn programmer might produce a wonderful growth spurt in the programmer's productivity and code quality. In the hands of a ready-to-listen software manager it might ultimately influence an entire team of developers in a positive direction. All in all, it's a well written book that I highly recommend.
by Dave Walz-Burkett
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