Agile?

This is my third attempt at writing about agile and why I like it!  I find myself going on while explaining, and not in the best way.... so I've decided to start this blog with a link to someone who can explain it all far better than I can.  Who better than Uncle Bob to tell us about it....


Be Inspired by Robert C Martin

When I first watched that video, it almost sounded space aged, now it's the world I live in.


I work in a 2 week iteration - I have a clear picture of what is expected of me, I know what my colleagues are doing.  I get quick feedback if what I'm doing is what the customer really wants.

I do TDD - my code is derived from my test, I don't write code without having a failing test.  I have confidence in anything I change.

I pair program - I keep focused by discussing and communicating what I'm doing and why I'm doing it, while I'm driving, I ask and learn from my colleague while they are driving, whilst I add any suggestions.

I keep my code clean - I try to write my code so the next person to read it can understand it quickly and easily.  We read code 10 times more often than we write it.

I refactor - with the confidence of tests I feel I can improve the code without damaging it, sometimes only in a very very minor way.  Leaving it in a better state than when I found it.  The boy scout rule - leave the camp site cleaner than when I found it.

I'm improving - working in short iterations I can quickly learn from any mistakes and improve.

In summary, I'm becoming proud of my profession and any work I produce.  It's a very rewarding feeling, and I don't want to work any other way.... well not until they have found a better way... and isn't that the agile way anyway?  Keep improving and finding better ways that work for you, for your team and inevitably for the project.