Agile in a Flash 14

Incremental Everything – The Idea
Agile in a Flash by Jeff Langr and Tim Ottinger (card #14)


> Build/groom a prioritized feature backlog
> Select stories for iteration
> Develop in a timebox (one week to one month)
> Certify release candidate
> Release to production
> Retrospect
> Repeat


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For an agile team, incremental development applies both to product and to workflow. Most teams begin with a project plan that follows the outline presented here.


The customer first puts together a prioritized list, or backlog, of desired features for upcoming product releases. The list is neither final nor comprehensive. Acceptance tests are written for the most immediately needed features.


Each iteration is a fixed-length period of development. At the outset of each iteration—no sooner—the team and customer agree on what will be delivered. During the iteration, the customer clarifies decisions and answers questions. At the end of each iteration, the team certifies the release candidate by demonstrating it passes all acceptance tests so far. The (partial) product may then be released to production. Also at iteration’s end, a team holds a retrospective to determine how to improve the work system or the product so that future iterations will have higher quality and functionality.


The next iteration then repeats the whole process but includes the retrospective-inspired changes. These changes will evolve the software development practice even as the product grows. Agile teams are always trying to build a better future, both for the customer and for themselves.


Civilization World Wonder quote: "Most of us can, as we choose, make of this world either a palace or a prison."

–John Lubbock