Название: Wild West to Agile: Adventures in Software Development Evolution and Revolution (Final)
Автор: James Highsmith
Издательство: Addison-Wesley Professional/Pearson Education
Год: 2023
Страниц: 304
Язык: английский
Формат: epub (true)
Размер: 10.2 MB

Wild West to Agile: The evolution and revolution of software development, drawn from personal experience, from the Apollo moon mission to digital transformations.

In 2023, "technology is your business--no matter what your business." But how did we get here and how could a historical perspective prepare us for the future?

Jim Highsmith tackles the evolution and revolution of software development, embellishes them with personal experiences, from the Apollo moon mission to modern digital transformations, and introduces the adventurous pioneers--from structured era developer Ken Orr to Agile methodologist Kent Beck--who strived to make the world a better place, by building better software.

Jim's six-decade career has encompassed the Wild West (1966-1979), to Structured Methods and Monumental Methodologies (1980s), to the Roots of Agile (1990s), to the present Agile Era (2001-present). In each era, he explores the evolution of software development methods, methodologies, and mindsets.

Whether you are from the 1970-1980's generation looking for an "I was there too" moment, a newer generation interested in the evolution of software development, the Agile generation interested in how Agile methodologies were born and evolved, or have a general interest in information technology, Wild West to Agile has something for you.

What defines software? First, it is, well, soft, as illustrated by the 1970s-era story “Weighing Software.” Misunderstandings about software persist to this day. You can literally kick hardware. You can’t even see software (although you can see the results from it). This confusion has not just flummoxed the public at large; business leaders have floundered because they poorly understood technology in general and software development specifically.

Software is to hardware as words are to actors. A script of words tells an actor what to say and how to move about. A script of code tells a computerized robotic arm in an automobile plant where to attach the next part to an assembly. You don’t see what drives the actor to move, you just see the movement. Likewise, you don’t see what drives the robotic arm, you just see the movement.

Software instructions tell a computer which tasks to perform. Software can be categorized into various types, from operating systems (Unix, Windows, Linux) to applications (Google Maps, Microsoft Word). Based on a computer’s hardware design logic, computer-specific machine code interfaces higher-level languages to the hardware. At the core, a “gate” controls the flow of electric current through a circuit. It has two states—on and off. The gate consists of transistors that alter the current flow by the arrangement of AND, OR, XOR, NOT (and a few others) logic gates, giving a computer its capabilities. Machine languages, such as binary, are derived from the gate structures. Luckily, few developers today need to know machine language because a line of code today might translate into hundreds or even thousands of lines of machine language code.

Software development is script writing—but for a computer, not an actor. But think of the script for an entire movie. Movies have themes (good versus evil, family drama, romantic comedy), characters, plots, action sequences, conflicts, and plot twists. Software development has desired outcomes, the feature requirements, data design, and coding in a specific language (COBOL, Java, Python). Making a movie is a collaborative effort; so is software development. At its core, software development is about people—their creativity, organization, knowledge, motivation, and skill.

Software development eras:
• Wild West (1966–1979)
• Structured Methods and Monumental Methodologies (1980–1989)
• Roots of Agile (1990–2000)
• Rapid Application Development (RAD)
• RADical Application Development
• Adaptive Software Development
• Agile (2001–2021)
• Rogue Teams (2001–2004)
• Courageous Executives (2005–2010)
• Digital Transformation (2011–2021)

"Jim Highsmith is the Forrest Gump of software development. What made the 1994 movie so entertaining was how frequently Forrest found himself in the right spot as history was being made. Unlike Forrest, though, Jim's actions influenced that history." --Mike Cohn, cofounder of the Agile Alliance, and the Scrum Alliance; author of Succeeding with Agile

"If you want to understand the shape of software development today, this is the book for you. If you want to understand how to navigate a turbulent career with grace & style, this is also the book for you. If you enjoy memoirs, ditto. Enjoy his story." --Kent Beck, Chief Scientist, Mechanical Orchard; author, Extreme Programming Explained

"This entire journey--beginning with the Wild West era of software development through the Agile Era to today's Digital Transformation era--is entirely empowered by people. Thank you, Jim, for sharing these beautiful stories and honoring the people that were a part of this amazing journey." --Heidi J. Musser, Vice President and CIO, USAA, retired

"I've always felt that understanding history is important, because it's hard to understand where we are unless you understand the path that we took to get here. Jim's memoir is an entertaining and astute odyssey through this history." --Martin Fowler, Chief Scientist, Thoughtworks