Lance Dacy said
Mike Cohn is a great figure and force in the Software Development industry. He has once again taken his experiences and posted them in the form of a book for all to read and learn. I remember listening to Mike at the 2009 Scrum Gathering when we were asking him about Agile/Scrum Development and is it short lived (will the industry find something new). His response was, in the day of object-oriented programming, we used to say "we are doing OO". Today, objects won, we no longer have to say that, we just know that is the best way to program software. He hopes the same is true for Scrum. One day, we don't call it Scrum, we just call it Software Development.
This book is filled with ideas/suggestions that are concrete examples of his experiences. He shares what worked and what did not work. I think anyone can take any challenge they have with Agile and find some solution or idea in this book. It is a must read for organizations who have moved from learning Scrum to learning to do it well. Great job Mike as always. Thank you for your common sense and practical approach to software development. This book is among the staples that will not only serve as a book to read, but a repository of ideas and suggestions that we can always look to when we encounter challenges.
W. Menner said
Great content. Great layout. Extremely well-written.
This book is written for people who already have some understanding of Scrum or other agile methods. As such, the book is well-timed. Agile methods have been around long enough that many people and organizations have adopted them and now find themselves dealing with nuances not covered in other literature. So, Cohn fills this void, providing experience-based ideas and solutions for the difficult (but rewarding) efforts that must be made to successfully adopt agile methods.
Part I builds the case for agility by citing positive results from experience, research, and surveys. It goes on to provide "tools" (ideas) for developing the awareness, desire, and ability (skills) that are critical for successful agile adoption. How do you adopt agile methods throughout an organization? Do you "start small" with pilot programs and spread the wealth? Or, do you "go all in," converting your entire organization to agility at the same time? What factors are most important?
In Part II, Cohn contrasts traditional organization and project roles with the roles of Scrum and provides strategies for making the transition and overcoming potential resistance. He also draws from extreme programming to provide insight into the technical practices that developers must learn to maximize the benefits of agility. Cohn then extends his treatment of individual concerns to teams in Part III. How do you structure Scrum teams? What is the nature of teamwork in Scrum? How does leadership manifest itself on Scrum teams? What does a Scrum team's work flow look like? How do they plan? How do they address quality?
Cohn tackles organization-level concerns in Part IV. How do you scale Scrum to large, multi-team projects? What if your teams are distributed across significant geographic distances? How do you handle working with other non-agile teams? What changes might your HR, facilities, and program management staffs need to make? Cohn tackles all of these issues and more.
Also important to note is Cohn's community-driven approach to agile adoption that emphasizes methodology creation (organizations or teams fitting a process to the specific needs of their industry and projects, i.e., one size doesn't fit all) and continual improvement (not getting complacent with best practices). Another interesting book feature is the many "Things to Try Now" call-outs that concisely state Cohn's advice.
In my classroom at JHU, I teach the fundamentals of agile methods from an academic perspective. Also a practitioner, I share my agile experiences to help students apply the material to their projects and organizations. But, my experience pales in comparison to that of Mike Cohn, who has spent several years discovering the nuances of successful agile adoption through his hands-on work helping a large number of organizations transition to agile values, principles, and practices. This book allows me to pass these nuances along to my students. It will also allow all readers to achieve a deeper understanding of the success factors associated with agile methods.
(If you are completely new to Scrum and agile methods, I recommend starting with Ken Schwaber's "Agile Software Development with Scrum" and "Agile Project Management with Scrum." Then read Mike Cohn's "User Stories Applied" and "Agile Estimating and Planning." Follow this up with "The Art of Agile Development" by Shore and Warden. Then read Mike Cohn's "Succeeding with Agile." Of course, there are many other good books on agile methods, but this strategy should serve you well.)
S. Bahal said
Excellent book very well written, describes Scrum in refreshing detail.
Suitable both for beginners and seasoned professionals. The book convinced me that Scrum works and provides all tools and knowledge to practice Scrum.
Must read.
Clinton Keith said
Mike Cohn's latest book: "Succeeding with Agile" is a "must read" for any agile developer. It's not meant to be the first book for those considering Scrum, but if you've read that first book Agile Project Management with Scrum (Microsoft Professional), attended a Certified Scrum Master class or have applied Scrum for even a day, you need this book.
This book covers every angle of your organization from executives, HR, marketing, developers, IT and even facilities! It covers every aspect of what impacts agile teams and how to handle every conceivable challenge. It examines Scrum roles and practices in depth to help you find ways to find improvement regardless of your company's level or experience.
Synopsis:
Part 1: Getting Started describes a number of ways that Scrum can be introduced into all types organizations. It examines a number of patterns and introduces the ADAPT acronym for adoption, which is brilliant.
Part 2: Individuals focuses on overcoming resistance, examining the changes to roles inside and outside the development team and the influences on the technical side of development.
Part 3: Teams is the core of the book. It spends 150 of the 450 total pages on the roles, practices, dynamics and organization of teams. Solid gold advice on helping teams succeed.
Part 4: The Organization looks at the entire company structure, how it's influenced by and can continue to influence agile teams. It discusses ways that large scale and distributed Scrum teams work.
Part 5: Wrapping things up points the way forward. How do we measure how the teams are doing on a regular basis? How do we gauge how well the teams have adopted every aspect of agile adoption. This part shows us how.
Conclusion:
The writing is conversational and engaging. The figures and tables are numerous with an outstanding style. The layout of the book includes numerous sidebars that discuss common objections, quotes from developers in the field and practical things that you can try immediately.
This is the best agile book on the market I've read.
Michael F. Dwyer said
Keep this book close to you as you scale agile and scrum in your organization. It is too packed with insight, observation and options to be kept on a shelf with other great books on Agile and Scrum. This is one to look to for the good questions you need to consider and the options that might apply when the next 'interesting' challenge appears on your journey.
If you want to take full advantage of what Mike has done, read chapter 22 everytime you look up something, that way the message he is trying to impart.
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