Book presentation:
I was very happy to contribute to official review of this book. There are some few software related books that are unique by their content fundamental value, as: ”Refactoring” (Martin Fowler and collaborators), “Clean Code” & “Clean Coder” (Robert C. Martin), “Extreme Programming Explained” (Kent Beck). The new book by Scott W. Ambler and Mark Lines seems to be from the same category, being unique of its kind. The proposed “final destination”, the “Business Agility” it is not only a concept, but it is covered with very useful light and essential guidance. The book has a great and, in the same time, light-efficient coverage of the overall process aspects:
- Delivery (software development) process
- DevOps
- Agile IT
- Agile Enterprise
- Agile Transformation
- From Transformation to Continuous Improvement
Agile Enterprise: this is a first time when this concept is backup with a process guideline. One of the main and great ideas is to focus improvement on value streams (“creating, producing, and delivering a good or service to the market”).
Here are some great ideas from the book:
- The mindset is only the beginning
- Context counts: use DA context sensitive, goal driven guidance
- Choice is Good: More Agile & Lean Delivery Lifecycles
- DevOps: Architecting for DevOps
- DevOps: Developer-led operations (You build it …).
- DevOps: Address your DevOps technical debt – Automated regression tests, Clean code, Clean data, Operational and reporting infrastructure, Small Projects, Refactoring and others
- IT cannot be treated like a “black box.”. IT deserves a seat at the management table. IT must work collaboratively with the rest of the organization.
- IT Governance: Consider both the long and short term.
- Reuse engineering: fund reuse directly
- Product management: Rolling wave planning
- “Teal is the new Black” for Enterprises: Adaptive, Self-Organization. Cellular, living organism; Awareness, Fulfillment; Evolutionary purpose.
- Marketing: Customer discovery over static prediction
- Sales: Reward sales people for long-term, delighted customers.
- Finance: Fund three growth horizons (operational, entrepreneurial, venture)
- Contracts: Prefer incremental delivery contracts over big-bang contracts.
- Transformation: Continuous improvement – the true strategy is to become a learning, adaptive organization.
- Transformation: Becoming self-sufficient, moving from external to internal coaching.
- Business agility requires true agility across all of IT, not just software development
AGILE & LEAN 