Code needs continuous improvement. Technology wants continuous improvement. Process wants continuous improvement. Agile / lean are the latest improvement. Concepts and patterns want names - buzzwords if you will - so we can agree what we are talking about.
Agile and lean were wildly successful methodologies long before they anointed with a buzzword. Is it crap? Evidenced by the rampant success of Toyota (lean) vs GM (conventional methodology), it is not crap. Agile and lean are not "new" at this point - they are now the minimum bar in most industries. Processes even better than the agile / lean methodologies sure exist. Those companies will thrive and a new buzzword will come into play.
Fortunately for you, you don't have to be interested in process improvement to be a programmer (only code improvement). You do have to be interested to be a successful manager or lead, though.
Double amen.
The article was beautifully insightful - where the rags are just inciting. It actually addresses many of the rags against agile.
Agile thrives when people get past the initial learning curve (past the checklist, as Cockburn points out in the article), re-read the agile manifesto, and intelligently apply the principals.
I have better things to do then write in this journal, but it seems like a fun feature.
The flow chart is a most thoroughly oversold piece of program documentation. -- Frederick Brooks, "The Mythical Man Month"
