BPUF: Big picture up front

Abstract

XP recommends that developers focus on the software product ignoring issues that do not contribute directly to its construction. All wider issues are assumed to be the responsibility of the customer representative. This paper argues that there is benefit in the full development team considering the 'big picture' before beginning implementation as long as this can be undertaken in a suitably agile way. Evidence of the need for this wider approach is presented. Aspects of Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) are then proposed as a means of performing the necessary analysis. Two analysis techniques of SSM, rich pictures and conceptual models, are evaluated against agile criteria defined by Ambler. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.