Software "best" practices: Agile deconstructed

Abstract

Software "best" practices depend entirely on context- in terms of the problem domain, the system constructed, the software designers, and the "customers" ultimately deriving value from the system. Agile practices no longer have the luxury of "choosing" small non-mission critical projects with co-located teams. Project stakeholders are selecting and adapting practices based on a combina tion of interest, need and staffing. For example, growing product portfolios through a merger or the acquisition of a company exposes legacy systems to new staff, new software integration challenges, and new ideas. Innovation in communications (tools and processes) to span the growth and contraction of both information and organizations, while managing the adoption of changing software practices, is imperative for success. Traditional web-based tools such as web pages, document libraries, and forums are not suf ficient. A blend of tweeting, blogs, wikis, instant messaging, web-based confer encing, and telepresence creates a new dimension of communication "best" practices. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.