Agile Development

Introduction

Agile development is an iterative approach to software development that emphasizes flexibility, customer collaboration, and rapid delivery of working software. This guide covers key agile methodologies and practices.

Agile Values:

  • Individuals and interactions
  • Working software
  • Customer collaboration
  • Responding to change
  • Continuous improvement
  • Sustainable development

Scrum Framework

Sprint Planning

{
  "sprint": {
    "number": 12,
    "goal": "Implement user authentication system",
    "duration": "2 weeks",
    "startDate": "2025-08-25",
    "endDate": "2025-09-08",
    "team": {
      "productOwner": "Jane Smith",
      "scrumMaster": "John Doe",
      "developers": [
        "Alice Johnson",
        "Bob Wilson",
        "Carol Brown"
      ]
    },
    "ceremonies": {
      "planning": "Monday 9:00 AM",
      "dailyScrum": "Daily 10:00 AM",
      "review": "Friday 2:00 PM",
      "retrospective": "Friday 3:30 PM"
    },
    "velocity": {
      "previousSprint": 25,
      "average": 23,
      "commitment": 24
    }
  },
  "stories": [
    {
      "id": "AUTH-1",
      "title": "User Registration",
      "description": "Implement user registration with email verification",
      "points": 8,
      "acceptance": [
        "Email validation",
        "Password strength check",
        "Duplicate email prevention",
        "Verification email sent",
        "Account activation flow"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "AUTH-2",
      "title": "User Login",
      "points": 5,
      "description": "Implement secure login with JWT",
      "acceptance": [
        "Email/password authentication",
        "JWT token generation",
        "Remember me functionality",
        "Failed login handling"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Daily Scrum Template

# Daily Scrum - [Date]

## Team Updates

### Alice Johnson
- Yesterday:
  - Completed user registration API
  - Started email verification service
- Today:
  - Complete email verification
  - Start password reset flow
- Blockers:
  - None

### Bob Wilson
- Yesterday:
  - Finished UI mockups review
  - Started registration form implementation
- Today:
  - Complete registration form
  - Start validation logic
- Blockers:
  - Need API documentation

### Carol Brown
- Yesterday:
  - Completed test framework setup
  - Wrote integration tests
- Today:
  - Add more test coverage
  - Review PR feedback
- Blockers:
  - CI pipeline issues

Kanban Method

Kanban Board Configuration

board:
  name: Development Kanban
  columns:
    - name: Backlog
      limit: none
      description: Upcoming work items
      
    - name: Ready
      limit: 5
      description: Ready for development
      
    - name: In Progress
      limit: 3
      description: Currently being worked on
      
    - name: Code Review
      limit: 2
      description: Pending review
      
    - name: Testing
      limit: 2
      description: QA verification
      
    - name: Done
      limit: none
      description: Completed items

  swimlanes:
    - name: Expedite
      color: red
    - name: Standard
      color: green
    - name: Non-Critical
      color: blue

  policies:
    pull:
      - Finish current task before starting new one
      - Respect WIP limits
      - Pull from right to left
    
    done:
      - Code reviewed
      - Tests passed
      - Documentation updated
      - Deployed to staging

Estimation Techniques

Story Point Calculation

interface Story {
    id: string;
    title: string;
    complexity: number;
    uncertainty: number;
    effort: number;
}

class StoryPointCalculator {
    private readonly fibonacciSequence: number[] = [1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21];

    calculatePoints(story: Story): number {
        const rawPoints = this.calculateRawPoints(story);
        return this.mapToFibonacci(rawPoints);
    }

    private calculateRawPoints(story: Story): number {
        const weightedSum = 
            (story.complexity * 0.4) +
            (story.uncertainty * 0.3) +
            (story.effort * 0.3);
            
        return weightedSum * 10;
    }

    private mapToFibonacci(points: number): number {
        return this.fibonacciSequence.reduce((prev, curr) => {
            if (Math.abs(curr - points) < Math.abs(prev - points)) {
                return curr;
            }
            return prev;
        });
    }

    estimateVelocity(
        previousSprints: number[],
        sprintCount: number = 3
    ): number {
        const recentSprints = previousSprints
            .slice(-sprintCount)
            .filter(v => v > 0);

        if (recentSprints.length === 0) {
            return 0;
        }

        const sum = recentSprints.reduce((a, b) => a + b, 0);
        return Math.round(sum / recentSprints.length);
    }
}

Agile Metrics

Metrics Tracking

interface SprintMetrics {
    completedPoints: number;
    committedPoints: number;
    defectsFound: number;
    defectsFixed: number;
    cycleTime: number[];
}

class AgileMetricsAnalyzer {
    calculateVelocity(sprints: SprintMetrics[]): number {
        const completedPoints = sprints.map(s => s.completedPoints);
        return this.calculateAverage(completedPoints);
    }

    calculatePredictability(sprint: SprintMetrics): number {
        return (sprint.completedPoints / sprint.committedPoints) * 100;
    }

    calculateDefectDensity(sprint: SprintMetrics): number {
        return sprint.defectsFound / sprint.completedPoints;
    }

    calculateAverageCycleTime(sprint: SprintMetrics): number {
        return this.calculateAverage(sprint.cycleTime);
    }

    generateReport(sprints: SprintMetrics[]): string {
        const velocity = this.calculateVelocity(sprints);
        const lastSprint = sprints[sprints.length - 1];
        const predictability = this.calculatePredictability(lastSprint);
        const defectDensity = this.calculateDefectDensity(lastSprint);
        const cycleTime = this.calculateAverageCycleTime(lastSprint);

        return `
Sprint Metrics Report
--------------------
Velocity (avg): ${velocity.toFixed(1)} points
Predictability: ${predictability.toFixed(1)}%
Defect Density: ${defectDensity.toFixed(2)} defects/point
Cycle Time: ${cycleTime.toFixed(1)} days
        `;
    }

    private calculateAverage(numbers: number[]): number {
        if (numbers.length === 0) return 0;
        return numbers.reduce((a, b) => a + b, 0) / numbers.length;
    }
}

Best Practices

Team Practices:

  • Daily stand-ups
  • Sprint planning
  • Regular retrospectives
  • Continuous feedback
  • Team empowerment
  • Cross-functional teams

Technical Practices:

  • Continuous integration
  • Automated testing
  • Code reviews
  • Pair programming
  • Technical debt management
  • Documentation updates

Process Improvement:

  • Metrics tracking
  • Regular reviews
  • Process adaptation
  • Knowledge sharing
  • Skill development
  • Tool optimization