Once in a while you come across something that is really excellent; an article that strikes a chord and captures your imagination. James Shore’s Change Diary is a candid and well-balanced account of how he tried to bring agile methodologies and processes to a company where he had been taken on as a developer. It is well written, in an engaging, flash-back style. You can empathise with James’s ups and downs as he describes his 19 week journey. Thanks to Jeff Atwood for the heads up.
The really scary thing is not that the company he describes had problems (most do), but they are by no means the worst out there. I’ve worked in a ‘service based’ environment not dissimilar to the one described, and I’ve actually had senior management tell me “What’s the point of doing it faster? We bill the client for all the time we expend.” Go figure…