Agile in a Flash Card No 6

Courage – The Idea
Agile in a Flash by Jeff Langr and Tim Ottinger (card #6)


> To always deliver quality work
> To simplify code at every turn
> To attack code the team fears most
> To make architectural corrections
> To throw away unneeded code and tests
> To be transparent, whether favorable or not
> To take credit only for complete work


Cowardly Lion: As long as I know myself to be a coward, I shall be
unhappy.


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To always deliver quality work. Even when pressure mounts, never discard the practices needed to deliver quality code. See Card 13, Don’t Get Too Deep in Technical Debt.


To simplify code at every turn. Simple code reads faster and more clearly, which leads to fewer defects and more fluid development. Simplifying is investing in speed of development.


To attack code the team fears most. Fear of breaking ugly code makes a team dread changes instead of embracing them. Empower your team by getting that code under control.


To make architectural corrections. Systems may outgrow early architectural decisions. It takes courage to undertake changes that will affect existing code, even if the change is clearly for the better.


To throw away tests and code. Often the best results are produced by discarding a poor solution and reworking it. It takes far less time than you think.


To be transparent, whether favorable or not. If you “color” your reports about status, progress, or quality, you contribute to ill-informed decision making.


To take credit only for complete work. Incomplete work provides no business value! Don’t rationalize calling it “done” for status tracking purposes.

"Why man, he doth bestride the narrow world like a colossus, and we petty men walk under his huge legs, and peep about to find ourselves dishonorable graves."

–William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar