Archive for the ‘books’ Category
The Things They Say
Here is a compilation of summaries of Amazon reviews on the Kindle edition of The Concise Executive Guide to Agile:
If you are such a decision maker, and like most are hard-pressed for time, then you must read this book. Dr. Gat cuts right to the chase and gives pearls of wisdom – that come from having “done it himself” when it comes to the daunting task of TRANSFORMING an organization into successfully applying Agile methods. If you’re a team leader and you need executive support and buy-in, then buy this book for the key people whom you value the most. Give it to them as a gift. They will thank you for it!
“The Concise Executive Guide to Agile” by Israel Gat is a must-read for enthusiasts of agile methods at all levels of the organization. Israel has well over 30 years of industry experience, has his PhD in Computer Science, and has helped manage an agile rollout involving 1,000 software developers. While there are many technical and managerial treatises on agile methods emerging in increasing frequency all of the time, Israel’s new guide is meant to explain the essence of agile methods to R&D, Marketing, Sales, Program Management, Professional Services, Customer Support, Finance, or IT folks.
Dr. Gat goes beyond the traditional software development process literature and broadens the case for the Agile organization, with effectiveness, efficiency, and integrity – much like the Agile development process described by Israel.
A must read for any organization leader dependant on software whether it be for software for internal operations or software features built for customer sales. Israel’s breadth and depth of both knowledge and experience shine through as he provides practical advice to help you understand what Agile can and can not do for your organization.
For me, this book provided something unique, which is a look into the way high level executives think about Agile.
This book rapidly cuts through the layers of confusion surrounding Agile development and focuses on what you “NEED” to know. Dr. Gat’s vast experience shines through as he elegantly simplifies the process.
Israel’s experience and wisdom in transforming a software development culture in a very large multi-site virtual team environment is well captured… Israel has done a great job in transforming his experience into a guide. That is the beauty of the book.
This is the “must-read” book if you’re an executive charged with Agile transformation, product development, or business strategy. The insights from Gat cover all three. Most companies talk a good Agile game. If you want results, however, please pay heed to the advice in this book.
The book will help you to flexibly navigate the hurdles inherent in selling and succeeding with Agile in your business: i.e. existing methodologies, outsourcing, diverse geographies, resistance to change, and the rest. They are all explained here by someone who has apparently already successfully fought the battles. A great read!
He has been there, and this book shares the unique insights of a senior manager who guided a large organization through the change process. If you are in this seat in your organization then this book is for you.
Israel distills his broad experience and many years of wisdom rolling out Agile into a succinct overview that is deep in knowledge, but accessible.
I’ve been a fan of Israel’s “The Agile Executive” blog for some time and had high hopes for this book… and the book didn’t disappoint!
While I was looking for answers; what I found instead was much more interesting. Israel was able to collect all the wisdom of doing large scale agile rollouts into one document, highlighting the geographic features along the way. That is a lot harder to do than simply proclaiming one correct path, and, speaking from experience, more helpful to the reader than they know.
You can read the full reviews here.
First IEEE Computer Society Guidebook on Kindle
A Kindle edition of The Concise Executive Guide to Agile is available now through Amazon. It is the first IEEE Computer Society guidebook designed for and issued on an electronic reader. My sentiments about being the IEEE pilot project for Kindle are expressed in the following quote from yesterday’s press release:
“How appropriate it is that a book on Agile software methods was chosen as the pilot Kindle project by the prestigious IEEE Computer Society,” said Israel Gat. “The reach and richness of Kindle make it an ideal vehicle for effectively disseminating the Agile message to audiences that so far have not been touched by it.”
I am indebted to Kate Guillemette and Linda Shafer who made this IEEE pilot project happen.
The Concise Executive Guide to Agile
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The IEEE Computer Society Press published today a ReadyNote[1] that I authored entitled The Concise Executive Guide to Agile. It is available through the IEEE Computer Society Store. A Kindle version will be published in June.
I had two main objectives in writing the guide:
- Provide the know-how for approaching Agile in a concise manner that requires minimal investment of time and effort by the reader. The ReadyNote does so by summarizing most Agile topics in a page or two. Detailed coverage of a topic is left for follow-on reading in the selected references that accompany each topic and in the Further Reading appendix.
- Be accessible to any executive — R&D, Marketing, Sales, Program Management, Professional Services, Customer Support, Finance, or IT. The only assumption I make is that the reader has a conceptual grasp of software and software engineering as well as an interest in learning about Agile. No deep knowledge, let alone technical knowledge, about software engineering is required for comprehending the guide.
There is no fluff in the guide. Every paragraph has been written to satisfy the “And therefore what?!” criterion. It is my intent to drive a point home and make it clear to the reader what he/she could do with the information in as few words as possible.
A simple acid test for the guide is your successful assimilation of it in entirety during a flight in the continental US. Something has not quite worked if you need to fly all the way from the US to Europe or vice versa in order to comprehend the guide…
I would like to express my sincere thanks to Michael Cote, Michael Mah, Hubert Smits and to the fourth reviewer (whose identity I don’t know) for their many helpful insights and suggestions. I am also deeply indebted to Linda Shafer and Kate Guillemette of the IEEE Computer Society who got me to write the guide and supported the writing and editing process along the way.
Enjoy reading!
Footnotes:
- “ReadyNotes are short e-books that are tightly focused on specific topics” [IEEE Computer Society Press].
Preface from The Concise Executive Guide to Agile
The good folks at the IEEE Computer Society are just about ready to publish my e-book The Concise Executive Guide to Agile. It will be available for purchase in the Computer Society store in May. A Kindle version will follow in June.
Here is the preface from the guide:
Preface: Connecting the Agile Dots
“The closer one listens to it, the more distantly one hears it.”[1] These insightful words about Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony apply equally well to the art of Agile software methods. The nuts and bolts of Agile methods are not likely to be very relevant to the executive. Instead, he or she needs to stand back and focus on the mindset, values, and principles that make Agile methods so powerful, and on harnessing their power to create business value.
It is the objective of this guide to provide the know-how for approaching Agile in a concise manner that requires minimal investment of time and effort by the reader. It does so by summarizing most Agile topics in a page or two with minimal use of geek jargon. Detailed coverage of a topic is left for follow-on reading in the selected references that accompany each topic and in the Further Reading appendix.
The guide targets executives as the primary audience. It gives them the principles they need to comprehend and apply in order to become effective with an Agile initiative. These executives are not necessarily software engineering experts. They come from any function that Agile affects — R&D, Marketing, Sales, Program Management, Professional Services, Customer Support, Finance, or IT. Nor are the executives restricted to companies whose business is software; they are as likely to reside in companies that embed software in their products or utilize software in implementing business initiatives. Nowadays one can hardly think of a company that would not be included in at least one of these three categories.
Four broad topics are covered in The Concise Executive Guide to Agile: rationale for Agile, implementing it, fitting it into your company, and scaling it to the enterprise level. The rationale explains why Agile is so appropriate for our time, summarizes the state of the art in Agile, and sets realistic expectations with respect to its business value. Implementing addresses critical “real life” issues such as risk assessment and mitigation, off-shoring and outsourcing, governance, and sustainability of the Agile initiative. Fitting connects Agile to the hard realities of introducing a new software method into an environment in which various processes already exist — multiple software methods as well as planning and budgeting processes. Scaling is primarily about the numerous benefits to be attained through end-to-end implementation, such as enabling new business designs that fully utilize the power of Agile.
In the course of covering these four topics, the guide puts special emphasis on the operational, financial, and business benefits of Agile methods. The overarching message is clear and simple: Agile is the most productive technology your business is not using.
[1] Giuseppe Sinopoli. “Dream and Memory in Schubert’s ‘Unfinished.’” Program Notes to his recording of the symphony with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Deutsche Grammophon 410 862-2, 1984.
The Agile Executive 