Reviews for Agile Software Development: The Cooperative Game

1. Useful but too much waffle

   Rated 3 out of 5 stars, July 12th, 2008

   Open this book at a random page and read it. You'll find it well-written, easy-to-read and to some extent entertaining. The page you read will no doubt contain reflections on some past project done many years ago, issues in that project, some common sense reasons for those issues, some theories about how software should be developed, and a list of things for the reader to think about in their own project.
   Which sounds great !
   But carry on reading and you'll get more of the same, on the next page, and the page after that....etc.
   
   1. Too much waffle.
   He uses lots of clever words without saying very much. He repeats himself many times.
   
   2. Not very objective
   He seems to gather evidence to support his argument rather than look at things objectively. He tells stories of how projects using other methodologies have failed and how agile would have succeeded.
   He ignores successful non-agile projects. He doesn't reflect on failed agile projects.
   His acceptance of extreme programming is particularly unjustified.
   
   3. Not practical enough
   He doesn't say "this is how you do agile development, this is how it works, this is how you can implement it in your projects, these are its good points and points, don't use it here! ".
   
   I like the idea of developing theories and user stories, and common sense says that you should not try to use the same patterns and practices for every project. Beyond this there is little real-world practical advice.
   
   If you're in the Agile cult you will love it. If you like theorising you will love it. If, like myself, you're a seasoned pro you will recognise many of the highlighted issues, agree with most of the suggestions, be annoyed at some of the leaps of faith made, and be frustrated at his inability to get to the point and map out concrete, practical solutions.
   
   
   

2. If you only ever buy one "how to build software" book, this should be it

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, June 12rd, 2008

   This isnt a "techniques" book. It's more like a meta-methodology book i.e. it shows you what processes your team should consider using.
   There's a lot of psychology in here as agile is more of an "ethos" than a set of techniques.
   But, nonetheless, this is required reading for anyone in the software industry.