XPDAY2006: Love in the Age of Software

For the past two days I've been at XP Day 2006. This morning I arrived at Ironmongers Hall on autopilot and took a seat for the keynote speech, not yet fully awake. I was woken sharply by noise; a lot of it. The session, Love in the Age of Software by Robert Biddle and James Noble had started.

It was a truly bizarre session in terms of its style. Lots of noise, music, presenters talking over one another, repeating what the other had said to simulate some kind of echo. I was confused at times and just couldn't figure out what was being said, but I eventually tuned in and was able to follow along. That said, credit goes to the presenters for doing something different. It played out as a tumultuous conversation between the two presenters, who dropped in and out of different characters. I thought getting us all to stand up and recite the Agile Manifesto, like the Lord's Prayer, was worth a chuckle. As was the short dialogue about which is more macho, a train wreck or a death march.

I liked the direction they were taking when they declared their distaste for wimpy agile:

• System metaphor: Most neglected practice - EXPUNGED.
• Onsite customer: Apparently impractical and unrealistic - EXCUSED.
• User stories: Promise to have conversations - AUTOMATED.
• Planning game: Embrace change .. but not for us - RESISTED.

Red bar, green bar was a recurring theme as they explored the relationship between the customer and the developers, and how their perception of events and outcomes differ. For example, developers may see project results as technical success while the customers see business failure.

The essential message was this: If the customer and the developers don't love one another then the agile magic cannot happen.

Tags: xpday

posted by Simon Baker @ permalink
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