Florida's Budget Woes

It's a rough time for the US Economy. Duh. Who doesn't know that.

It's been rough for State Government in Florida this year, too.

Training $ have been hard to come by this year. They're never really easy to come by, but this year is especially bad.

Shifting the team from a disciplined approach to an agile approach would certainly be easier if there was money in the budget for ongoing mentoring and training. Hopefully, things will improve next fiscal year!

In the mean time, we learn by doing!

Balance

Successful software projects require a balance of discipline and agility.

Becoming Agile

Moving from a disciplined software development approach to an "agile" software development approach is difficult, but not impossible!

Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Understand the current process before you try to change it
• Look at the whole process
• Don't think of any new method or tool as a silver bullet
• Remember to set boundaries
• Start small
• Existing processes may only need to be streamlined and not replaced completely but...
• Sometimes you just need to completely stop doing what you have been doing and try something totally different
• Shifting people out of their comfort zone carries a risk, but it can also be very rewarding both for the team and the individual
• Give people the freedom to learn from each other and self-organize
• Involve your customer at every step for buy-in
• Keep an open mind
• Adopt and adapt
• Mentor and teach
• Review and improve