Agile and Crystal Methodologies
Agile and Crystal methodologies
Crystal is a family of methodologies for a flexible and lightweight approach to software development. The family of methodologies is color coded to differentiate its members (e.g., clear, yellow, orange, red.) The color chosen depends on the level of effort required.
On one end of the spectrum is crystal clear, which is for smaller efforts, while crystal red is for larger efforts.
Life cycle :
The Crystal development process is cyclical/iterative. Its primary components are chartering, delivery cycles, and project wrap-up.
Chartering involves creating a project charter, which can last from a few days to a few weeks. Chartering consists of four activities: 1) Building the core project team, 2) performing an Exploratory 360° assessment, 3) fine tuning the methodology, and 4) building the initial project plan. [Agile Software Development: The Cooperative Game – 2nd Edition. Alistair Cockburn.]
– 4 activities
1) Building the core project team
2) performing an Exploratory 360° assessment
3) fine tuning the methodology
4) building the initial project
Crystal Clear :
Regardless of color, the crystal framework is cyclical and has three fundamental processes: chartering, delivery cycles, and wrap-up.
Crystal chartering includes building the team, doing an Exploratory 360, defining standards of practice for the team, and building the project plan.
In the delivery cycle, the crystal team iteratively develops, integrates, tests, and releases the product in iterations that last from one week to two months.
Like other agile frameworks, crystal includes collaborative events, like stand-up meetings and reflective improvement workshops.
In wrap-up the team concludes the project and holds a completion ritual where the team reflects on the entire project. [Agile Software Development: The Cooperative Game – 2nd Edition. Alistair Cockburn.]
Collocation
A high-performance agile team is one that is ideally collocated for osmotic communication and face-to-face interaction.
However, collocation isn’t always feasible in today’s multinational environment.
For distributed teams, several practices are available to provide the best form of effective communication in the absence of being collocated: team intranet sites, virtual team rooms, and video conferencing over e-mail when possible.
Geographic separation, especially on a world-wide scale, causes the team to consider language and cultural differences, and time zone differences. [The Art of Agile Development. James Shore.]
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