Don: The new rules come from the Agile Alliance, an organization of individuals united by a common goal of "uncovering better ways of developing software." Their definition of "better" is summarized in a Manifesto of four items, supported by 12 specific Principles. The four items of the Manifesto for Agile Software Development are:

Don: The 12 Principles can be organized by the Manifesto items they most directly support. When organized in this way, the Principles are:


Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

    Business people and developers must work
    together daily throughout the project.

    Build projects around motivated individuals.
    Give them the environment and support they need,
    and trust them to get the job done.

    Agile processes promote sustainable development.
    The sponsors, developers, and users should be able
    to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.

    The best architectures, requirements, and designs
    emerge from self-organizing teams.

    At regular intervals, the team reflects on how
    to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts
    its behavior accordingly.

Working software over comprehensive documentation

    Deliver working software frequently, from a
    couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a
    preference to the shorter time scale.

    Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer
    through early and continuous delivery
    of valuable software.

    Working software is the primary measure of progress.

    Continuous attention to technical excellence
    and good design enhances agility.

    Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount
    of work not done--is essential.

Customer collaboration over contract negotiation

    The most efficient and effective method of
    conveying information to and within a development
    team is face-to-face conversation.

Responding to change over following a plan

    Welcome changing requirements, even late in
    development. Agile processes harness change for
    the customer's competitive advantage.


Howard: Those Principles seem to make a lot of sense, Don. OK, can you tell us a little about the contenders?

Don: Sure, Howard. In the near corner we have eXtreme Programming, popularly known as XP, the current lightweight champion. Facing him today is Freedom, a 12 year veteran of the space program, trimmed down to compete in the lightweight category.

Howard: Under the new rules, victory will go to the most Agile. Which will that be -- the current industry champ XP, or the veteran challenger Freedom?