I’ve worked as a software developer in Agile environments since around 2014 and have enjoyed the productivity and quality gains that this paradigm provides. This workplace loosely implements Agile and accomplishes amazing feats of productivity. In this book, Ashar distills Agile concepts into easy-to-read chunks that can be quickly implemented. This book empowers managers to organize their team’s work more effectively so that customers can benefit more readily.
Ashar begins this guide by stating that most software shops do not implement Agile and instead organize their work according to so-called “waterfall” principles. This causes significant problems in their management like delays in deadlines and cost overruns. Through iterative work, the Agile movement offers a way out of this morass, and this book presents a concise outline of the details. This movement has matured with success over the years, and multiple options exist for its implementation. The chapter on charting metrics provides especially strong suggestions that were new to me for managing work.
Although most software workplaces stand to gain significantly from Agile concepts, many other descriptions of Agile exist, and this book offers few new concepts to the movement. It simply offers a concise presentation in one place. It would have been nice to have read about how the movement has recently evolved with distributed workplaces under COVID. Here, Ashar presents little on-the-ground research or unique learning, and that is unfortunate.
The intended audience consists of IT project managers, but software developers (i.e., coders) can also gain from learning how to work under this paradigm. Readers should note that every component of Agile organization need not be implemented in every workplace. Books like this should be seen as a compilation of options rather than an exact checklist to work through. Through this book, teams can become self-organizing, and all their members, empowered.
Agile Essentials: You Always Wanted to Know
By Kalpesh Ashar
Copyright (c) 2021
Self-Learning Management Series
Vibrant Publishers
ISBN13 9781636510057
Page Count: 172
Genre: Business/Management, Software
www.amazon.com