Exploration Through Example

Example-driven development, Agile testing, context-driven testing, Agile programming, Ruby, and other things of interest to Brian Marick

191.8

⇒

167.2

⇒

186.2

183.6

184.0

183.2

184.6

Sun, 02 Nov 2003

A new role within the Agile Alliance

Completely to my surprise, I was elected vice-chair of the Agile Alliance nonprofit at the recent board meeting. I think this marks the definitive tipping point: I'm no longer a testing person interested in agile methods. I'm an agile methods person interested in testing.

I'm an odd duck, in that I am both attracted to the revolutionary, the iconoclastic, yet also want to be - and be seen as - reasonable and sensible. My first main task will be one that combines the two desires.

The agile methods are, I think, well-established among the enthusiast and visionary segments of the technical communities. Left to themselves, the agile programmers, testers, and line managers would keep successfully pushing agile methods into the mainstream.

Where the agile methods are not established is among the ranks of the CIOs, CFOs, CEOs. That's sad, because one of the things that first struck me about the agile methods was the fervor with which rank techies seemed to care about things like ROI and making the "gold owners" truly happy. That was certainly something I'd not seen before. And yet the CxOs don't know that. The message they hear from the heavyweight competitors to the agile methods is that agile projects are havens for mad hackers who can't be trusted. Or they hear the message that no kind of development really works, so you might as well get the inevitable dissatisfaction for 1/5 the salary cost by going offshore. So the technical communities are not being left to themselves.

We have to counter those messages. The agile methods need better PR directed at the executive suite. I'm the chair of a committee within the Agile Alliance board. Within a month, we are to deliver a proposed approach and budget for better PR. If you have ideas to suggest, please send them to me. Lord knows that speaking to CxOs is not my strong suit.

## Posted at 11:25 in category /agile [permalink] [top]