Agile in a Flash: Speed-Learning Agile Software Development (Pragmatic Programmers) 1st Edition

by Jeff Langr (Author), Tim Ottinger (Author)

16 ratings

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ISBN-13: 978-1934356715

ISBN-10: 1934356719

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Real agilists don't weigh themselves down with libraries of books, they keep their important information handy with them at all times. Jeff and Tim pack over two decades of experience coaching and doing agile into Agile in a Flash, a unique deck of index cards that fit neatly in your pocket and tack easily onto the wall. Agile in a Flash cards run the gamut of agile, covering customer, planning, team, and developer concepts to help you succeed on agile projects. You can use cards from the deck in many ways: as references, reminders, teaching tools, and conversation pieces. Why not get sets for your entire team or organization?

This comprehensive set of cards is an indispensable resource for agile teams. The deck of Agile in a Flash cards teaches leadership, teamwork, clean programming, agile approaches to problem solving, and tips for coaching agile teams. Team members can use the cards as reference material, ice breakers for conversations, reminders (taped to a wall or monitor), and sources of useful tips and hard-won wisdom. The cards are:

Bite-sized! Read one practice or aspect at a time in a couple of minutes.

Smart! Each card has years of practical experience behind it.

Portable! Cards fit easily in your pocket or backpack.

An indispensable tool for any agile team, and a must-have for every agile coach or Scrum Master.

The Agile in a Flash deck is broken into four areas: planning, team, coding, and agile concepts. The front of each card is a quick list - a summary of the things you want to know and remember. The back provides further detail on each of the bullet points, and offers sage nuggets of knowledge based on extensive professional experience. Tape the cards to your wall, stick them on your monitor, and get agile fast.

From the Publisher


	Agile Coaching	Agile Retrospectives	The Agile Samurai	Create Your Successful Agile Project
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Editorial Reviews

Review

I have only one major issue with your cards, which is that I didn't think of them and do them first. That wouldn't be so bad if you were screwing them up, but unfortunately they're great.

Ron Jeffries

Coauthor, The Agile Manifesto, XProgramming.com

Agile in a Flash is the only place to find a concise summary of all things agile. I recommend my customers buy it for all their programmers.

Mike Cohn

Author of Succeeding with Agile, Agile Estimating and Planning, and User Stories Applied

About the Author

Jeff Langr has been building software for over a quarter century. He is the author of Agile in a Flash, Agile Java and Essential Java Style, plus more than 90 articles on software development and a couple chapters in Uncle Bob's Clean Code. He runs the software development training and consulting company Langr Software Solutions from Colorado Springs.

Tim Ottinger has over 30 years of software development experience including time as an agile coach, OO trainer, contractor, in-house developer, and even a little team leadership and management. He is also a contributing author to Clean Code. He writes code. He likes it.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pragmatic Bookshelf; 1st edition (February 15, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 110 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1934356719
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1934356715
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.61 x 7 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,308,662 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #100 in Flash Web Design
- #3,596 in Business Project Management (Books)
- #7,122 in Business Decision Making

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16 ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

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Rogfit229

Flash of Agile

Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2011

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We've been an agile shop for over 7 years. These cards help me communicate to those outside the department how we operate. I too will be using these when the auditors arrive, giving them an quick understanding. For those working ona a project, (5 teams going), being a Business Analyst, DBA, Developer, Tester, Project Lead, Security Analyst, there is something "in the cards" for them all.

2 people found this helpful

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Bryan

I highly recommend it for all Agile teams

Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2016

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I highly recommend it for all Agile teams.Tim and Jeff have a lot of great info paxjef in a unique format.

One person found this helpful

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Anyelisa

Was a surprise for me!!!, in ...

Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2016

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Was a surprise for me!!!, in this instante i began to uses this card with my team and help us in our situation.

One person found this helpful

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Doug Pratt

Save your money

Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2013

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This "book" consists of several cards addressing various components of the agile software development framework. I was looking for a solid introduction to agile and this book had some good reviews. After browsing through the 52 numbered cards, I identified 13 that bear a second look.

One of cards skipped (#39) has the title "How to stay valuable" and three points: 1) stay positive, 2) stay engaged, and 3) stay professional. Really? A full card dedicated to this? Either agile is so incredibly simple and intuitive that you don't need references on it (my fault then for purchasing this book) or this book oversimplifies the concepts. Many of the cards are similar to #39.

Another aspect to consider is that this is NOT A BOOK. It is a collection of loose 5x7 index cards. I was aware of this but had hoped the content would make-up for the format, which I find to be cumbersome. How do you store a stack of index cards?

I am now heading back to search for a better agile book or online references.

4 people found this helpful

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Andrés C. Quintian - Co-Founder & Senior QA Analyst

Wondrous Collection of Agile

Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2011

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Not only is it a fantastic collection of guidelines, warnings and excercises, but also, of tremendous value for anyone and everyone involved in the software industry for working towards truly being agile.

3 people found this helpful

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Lisa Crispin

Super resource for teams of all skill levels

Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2011

I've worked on agile teams for more than ten years. I'm amazed at the quality and quantity of information in this concise little deck of cards. You really could learn how to implement agile principles and values from these cards. My current team has been doing Scrum, XP and Lean practices since 2003, so I thought there wouldn't be anything new for us in these cards, but I was wrong. There are nuggets of information to drive new discussion and improvement, such as the Toyota Production System Principles.

The first day we had the cards, one of our programmers refactored some code to reflect a change in business terminology and got rid of the old code. Lesser programmers might have just hacked in the terminology change, but he did it the right way - harder in the short term, but keeping our technical debt low for the long term. Our ScrumMaster pulled out card #6, Courage, which includes "To always deliver quality work" and "To throw away unneeded code and tests". It was nice affirmation that we did the right thing.

We put cards that interest us up on the task board to think about, and we plan to read and discuss a card at each team retrospective. They're a great learning tool for everyone from agile newbies to high-functioning, experienced teams.

11 people found this helpful

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George Dinwiddie

There's more in here than you might think.

Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2011

When Jeff and Tim first asked my opinion on turning their Agile in a Flash blog posts into physical cards for sale, I was pretty lukewarm. What was the value in cards with short pithy lists about various aspects about Agile? Some of these lists were not even new, but things in common use on the email discussion groups. I regretfully told them I didn't think there was much market for them.

But I continued to read their blog--not regularly, but dipping in and out either on a whim or triggered by some comment made on the discussion groups. And I found myself shifting focus from the pithy lists that are now on the front of the cards, to the thoughtful and nuanced interpretation that is now condensed to fit the back of the cards. I found descriptions that were some of the best treatments of the /heart/ of Agile (rather than just the theory or mechanism) that I have ever heard. And I found insights that were valuable to me, an experienced Agile coach, yet still accessible to those new to Agile.

Jeff and Tim bring an uncommon clarity of expression to this work. They demonstrate an uncommon simultaneous depth and breadth of understanding. I have often, since they first asked, wished their cards were available so I could hand one to a client.

And now I can.

5 people found this helpful

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Juhola Tomi

Simple and cheap cards with priceless tips

Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2011

I've been working with agile development and agile teams for a bit over 5 years now. I've taught the same lessons to hundreds of people and coached some of them through the transition. The thing that I always have to concentrate on is to remember to repeat the same basic principles again and again, as well as make sure that they understand the underlying values. I also usually give the teams a list of useful books, and pray for at least someone of them would read some of those books. The Agile in a Flash cards are a perfect tool to ease this.

The simple cards with very central instructions can be used various ways. Use them as guidance in agile trainings, help out teams with the cards, discuss the cards with your team, learn a new aspect daily, spread the cards around organization and at the same time spread agile thinking.

I'm looking forward for the extension set to this deck of cards from Tim and Jeff. Maybe a deck of coaching & facilitation tools...?

2 people found this helpful

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R. J. Jepps

A quick introduction to Agile

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 17, 2011

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This deck of cards has most of what you really need to get started using Agile software development. The basics are on the front of each card, and the details are in the fine print on the back. Despite the industry that has grown up around agile methods, the concepts are straightforward. The main problem is that some of the existing culture has to be unlearned for the methods to work. You don't have to be a guru or have a certification to use agile methods effectively. Those things mainly help you with the first step: getting permission to try. To start to implement your agile process, read one of the slim volumes by Ken Schwaber or Mike Cohn. That will put you ahead of most. Then find a way of explaining the concepts to your agile team. These cards can help you create a cheap and fun way to achieve that. You'll probably find that you leave the cards behind very quickly. Like any entry-level tool, that will show that they worked.

2 people found this helpful

renaud phelizon

Agile in a Flash

Reviewed in France on December 27, 2012

Verified Purchase

une excellente sélection des concepts clefs de l'agilité

des explications claires et concises

à placer dans toutes les mains, au delà des équipes Scrum

One person found this helpful

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Agile in a Flash: Speed-Learning Agile Software Development (Pragmatic Programmers) 1st Edition

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