“Being a certified bibliophile and a professional geek, I have more shelf space devoted to books on software methods than any reasonable human should possess.Balancing Agility and Discipline has a prominent place in that section of my library, because it has helped me sort through the noise and smoke of the current method wars.”

—From the Foreword by Grady Booch

“This is an outstanding book on an emotionally complicated topic. I applaud the authors for the care with which they have handled the subject.” —From the Foreword by Alistair Cockburn

“The authors have done a commendable job of identifying five critical factors—personnel, criticality, size, culture, and dynamism—for creating the right balance of flexibility and structure. Their thoughtful analysis will help developers who must sort through the agile-disciplined debate, giving them guidance to create the right mix for their projects.” —From the Foreword by Arthur Pyster

Agile and disciplined: These apparently opposite attributes are, in fact, complementary values in software development. Plan-driven developers must also be agile; nimble developers must also be disciplined. The key to success is finding the right balance between the two, which will vary from project to project according to the circumstances and risks involved. Developers, pulled toward opposite ends by impassioned arguments, ultimately must learn how to give each value its due.

Balancing Agility and Discipline begins by defining agility and discipline, sweeping aside the rhetoric and drilling down to core concepts. The authors describe a day in the life of developers who live on one side or the other. They expose the bureaucracy and stagnation that mark discipline without agility, and they liken agility without discipline to unbridled and fruitless enthusiasm. Their analysis is both objective and grounded, leading finally to clear and practical guidance for all software professionals—showing how to locate the sweet spot on the agility-discipline continuum for any given project.

Contents

• Discipline, Agility, and Perplexity
• Contrasts and Home Grounds
• A Day in the Life
• Expanding the Home Grounds: Two Case Studies
• Using Risk to Balance Agility and Discipline
• Conclusions

• Appendix A. Comparing the Methods
• Appendix B. Manifesto for Agile Software Development
• Appendix C. Capability Maturity Models
• Appendix D. Tools for Balancing
• Appendix E. Empirical Information
• Notes