Nimble method

A nimble method is a method of development Informatique allowing to conceive software by implying to the maximum the applicant (customer), which allows a great reactivity its requests. The nimble methods want to be more pragmatic than the traditional methods. They aim at the real satisfaction of the customer requirement, and not for a contract drawn up beforehand. The concept of method nimble was born through a proclamation signed by 17 personalities (among which Ward Cunningham, the inventor of the Wiki), creators of methods or leaders of companies.

Values

To this end, they preach 4 fundamental values (between bracket, quotations of proclamation):

the team (“People and interaction rather than process and tools”): In nimble optics, the team is much more important than the average materials or the procedures. It is preferable to have a welded team and which communicates made up of average developers rather than a team made up of individualists, even brilliant. The communication is a basic concept.

the application (“functional Software rather than complete documentation”): It is vital that the application functions. The remainder, and in particular technical documentation, are secondary, even if a brief documentation and specify is useful like means of communication. Documentation represents an important workload, but can however be harmful if it is not up to date. It is preferable to abundantly comment on the code itself, and especially to transfer competences within the team (one returns from there to the importance of the communication).

collaboration (“Collaboration with the customer rather than negotiation of contract”): The customer must be implied in the development. One cannot be satisfied to negotiate a contract at the beginning of the project, then to neglect the requests of the customer. The customer must collaborate with the team and provide a continuous feedback on the adaptation of the software to his waitings.

the acceptance of the change (“To react to the change rather than to follow a plan”): Initial planning and the structure of the software must be flexible in order to allow the evolution of the request of the customer throughout the project. The first releases of the software often will cause requests for evolution.

Principles

These 4 values are declined in 12 general principles common to all the nimble methods:

“Our first priority is to satisfy the customer while delivering early and regularly useful software”.
“the change is welcome, even tardily in the development. The nimble processes exploit the change as favors competitive for the customer”.
“To frequently deliver a functional application, every two weeks in two months, with a tendency for the shortest period”.
“people of art and the developers must collaborate daily in the project”.
“Build the project around motivated people. Give the their environment and the support which they need, and believe in their capacity to do the work”.
“the most effective method to transmit information is a conversation opposite with face”.
“a functional software is the best measuring unit of the progression of the project”.
“the nimble processes promote a bearable rate/rhythm of development. Silent partners, developers and users should be able to maintain the rate/rhythm indefinitely”.
“a continuous attention with technical excellence and the quality of the design improves the agility”.
“simplicity - art to maximize the quantity of work not to be made - is essential”.
“best architectures, specifications and designs result teams which car-organize themselves”.
“With regular interval, the team thinks of the means of becoming more effective, then grants and adjusts its behavior in this direction”.

Methods

Adaptive software development (ASD)
Hook clear
Dynamic systems development method (DSDM)
Extreme programming (XP)
Feature Driven Development (FDD)
Process Urbanizing the Nimble Methods (PUMA)
Rapid Application Development (RAD)
Rational Unified Process (RUP)
Scrum

Evolution of the Nimble current of thought

In 1986, Barry W. Boehm presented a new iterative and incremental development model.

In 1991, James Martin (RAD), being based on this vision of a continuous evolution, proposed a method of fast development of application. Its structure, bases current approaches, determined the essential phasage and initiated an adaptive principle founded on the permanent validation of the users.

As from 1994, Jean-Pierre Vickoff in France, in particular with Process RAD2 published by Gartner Group, and Jennifer Stapleton in Great Britain, with DSDM, introduced complements such as:

- the specialization of the roles,

- instrumentation of the communications,

- the organization of the various types of meetings,

- the group of facilitation and report/ratio,

- “methodological short cuts” of modeling,

- the architecture of realization (overlap of the iterations),

- the formalization of light processes of implementation.

In second half of the Nineties, a wave of ten methods (of which extreme Programming and Scrum are principal representing) pushed to the extreme some practical of quality of applicative construction as well as the adaptive techniques of estimate, planning and piloting of project.

It will have been necessary nearly twenty years for the Agile movement, parallel to the pressure of universalization, to really hustle the traditional project control. From now on, the future of the methodological agility is certainly, on the one hand, in the instrumentation and personalization " 2a la carte " of the essential practices for a specific context and, on the other hand, in its widening with all the aspects of the organisational Agility.

See too

nimble Principles of management

Internal bonds

Development cycle

External bonds

the Nimble Community of Quebec
Portail of the DSI and project managers IF & NTIC
nimble Alliance
the proclamation of the nimble methods
Site of the method xp

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