SDLC 3.0: Beyond a Tacit Understanding of Agile [Paperback]

Mark Kennaley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 18, 2010

The world of software development methodology has become a bit of a cottage industry. Philosophical divisions and dogma laced with branding and driven by profit motive are commonplace. Re-invention replaces integration due to a lack of collaboration. A pragmatic perspective however would be to leverage all past experience in context when approaching modern software engineering challenges. For example, issues faced by the Agile community related to agility at scale and technical debt have already been addressed before by other communities.
SDLC 3.0 represents the rationalization of modern software engineering methods into a Complex Adaptive System of practices. It leverages Control Systems Engineering theory to explain Agile beyond a tacit and anecdotal basis such that the pace of modern practice adoption can accelerate. And because "more for less" is now as important as "being agile", it articulates blueprints of the Lean IT Enterprise.

Who should read this book:

• If you are an Agilist and tired of having to pause when asked the question "What is Agile?"
• If you are a Traditionalist and you would like to learn why Agile is a better approach - if someone would just explain "why it works" in a credible way.
• If you are an Executive and you are faced with a fiduciary duty to influence IT investment outcomes. A blueprint of a Lean IT Enterprise is valuable to you. 
• If you are a Researcher and you are tired of fads and brands, and want to ground Agile in applied science and rigorous mathematics.
• If you are a Methodologist and you believe that the cottage industry must stop, and that we must get past fragmentation and tacit or anecdotal evidence.
• If you are a Practitioner and you can't afford to pontificate on which "pure" wholesale method to leverage when faced with the "realities on the ground". 
• If you are an independent thinker, a centrist.
• If you are a pragmatist.

Winner - Dr. Dobbs 2010 Jolt Productivity Award

Editorial Reviews

Review

"It isn't very often that a software process book comes along that truly impresses me, and SDLC 3.0 is one of the few that has.  ... other such books include Extreme Programming Explained, Lean Software Development, ..."

--Scott W. Ambler, Chief Methodologist/Agile, IBM Rational

A refreshing view - Mark provides a balanced perspective across many methods and processes without coming across as a zealot...That objectivity and the diverse insights were well worth the time.

--Walker Royce, Chief Software Economist, IBM Rational

About the Author

Mark Kennaley is a senior consultant who provides services focused on improving the Enterprise IT Value-Stream. With over 20 years experience within the Information Technology industry, he has served clients as a trusted advisor on numerous engagements. He has delivered value in various roles including Mentor/Coach, Enterprise Architect, Project Manager/Lead, Process Improvement Analyst, Solution Architect and Management Consultant. Mark is President and Principal Consultant for Fourth Medium Consulting Inc., a Canadian IT Management consultancy.

His insights for this work come from broad and deep experience within large scale programs such as the US Department of Defense HR COTS acquisition program (DIMHRS) and the re-engineering program for the Japanese banking system (BankingWeb21). Additionally, Mark holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of British Columbia, and leverages his profession and its rigor to deepen industry norms and challenge popular views. (edited by author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 292 pages
• Publisher: Fourth Medium Press (January 18, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0986519405
• ISBN-13: 978-0986519406
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #538,497 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mark Kennaley is a senior consultant who provides services focused on improving the Enterprise IT Value-Stream. With over 20 years experience within the Information Technology industry, he has served clients as a trusted advisor on numerous engagements. He has delivered value in various roles including Mentor/Coach, Enterprise Architect, Project Manager/Lead, Process Improvement Analyst, Solution Architect and Management Consultant. Mark is President and Principal Consultant for Fourth Medium Consulting Inc., a Canadian IT Management consultancy.

His insights come from broad and deep experience within large scale programs such as the US Department of Defense HR COTS acquisition program (DIMHRS) and the re-engineering program of the Japanese banking system (BankingWeb21).

Mark holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of British Columbia, and leverages his profession and its rigor to deepen industry norms and challenge popular views.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Was Prepared To Dislike This Synthesis But..., August 22, 2010

By 

Maurice Hagar "Project Leadership Coach & Tra... (Raleigh, NC USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: SDLC 3.0: Beyond a Tacit Understanding of Agile (Paperback)

Kennaley is obviously a brilliant man and he's delivered a wide-ranging, sometimes technical, mostly brilliant work. I have to admit I was prepared to dislike any attempt at a Lean / Agile synthesis with the Unified Process (UP) but, like the author, I'm a pragmatist at heart so he won me over about halfway through.

The bottom line is that software development practitioners are far better served by a hybrid of best practices than the sectarian dogma of purists driven by profit. There were lots of hmm and ah hah moments for me, such as:

- Debates over what is "Agile" and what is "Scrum-but" are silly and unhelpful; every methodology has to be adapted to context and situation.

- The Agile community is plagued by "a lack of diversity:" "What is needed is not homogeneity of thought, but rather...people having differing knowledge backgrounds" who are willing to challenge "the established dogma."

- The Agile community has been less than forthcoming about the challenges of political and economic realities on the ground, distributed teams, and scale. Solutions may be derived by "leveraging the entire field of modern software engineering practices." I was hoping the author would also address the challenge of estimating large, fixed scope programs but didn't find it.

There is also a helpful discussion on optimizing the length of iterations by project phase, risk, and complexity.

In the end, Kennaley seems to favor Lean with an appreciation of UP's emphasis on architecture and risk mitigation and Agile's focus on human factors.

Towards a "SDLC 3.0" is an ambitious undertaking; I recommend this book as an important step in the right direction.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read for software professionals, June 6, 2010

By 

Scott W. Ambler "Author, Agile Database Techn... (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SDLC 3.0: Beyond a Tacit Understanding of Agile (Paperback)

I treat my books harshly, highlighting important ideas and writing my observations and thoughts in the margins as I read, and my copy of SDLC 3.0 is marked up severely. This book presents a realistic and reasoned view of agile software delivery. Note how I use the term delivery and not just development - this book goes far beyond the software development life cycle to consider the full delivery life cycle. It in fact, it goes further to consider how to apply agile and lean concepts at the enterprise level.

If you're a software professional and truly serious about understanding your craft, then this book is a must read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent summary of SDLC and directions for the future, April 16, 2010

By 

Jose Solera (Durham, NC USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: SDLC 3.0: Beyond a Tacit Understanding of Agile (Paperback)

When I first picked up SDLC 3.0, I was very interested in Mr. Kennaley's explanation of the various software development life cycles being used and how they could work together. With a perspective of "use what works" rather than the Scrum/XP/RUP/Lean/etc (pick your favorite) is the only way, Mr. Kennaley does an excellent job of explaining the various Agile methodologies, how to combine them, why waterfall doesn't work (if you are into mathematics, you will enjoy chapter 3, where he uses systems control theory to explain why Agile works and why waterfall does not) and then he looks forward to the next generation of SDLCs (hence the 3.0 title).

If you are looking for a book the explains the various Agile approaches without taking sides, as well as where things are going, this book is a great one for it.

At times, though, I felt that Mr. Kennaley could have delved deeper into some of the sections he painted with a broad brush. For example, while the diagrams are good (would have been nice for some of them to be bigger though) the explanations, at times, seem lacking. The last chapter, chapter 9, the one that paints the road ahead, seemed not to wrap the story enough. Hence four and not five stars.

These are minor issues in comparison to the work Mr. Kennaley has done in pulling all these methodologies together and pointing the way forward.