Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Agile development can reduce risk, but not every kind of risk.

Agile development does reduce risk. Agile is a form of the spiral development created by Barry Boehm (okay, scream now). Spiral was created to reduce risk and, if used properly (loaded words), it does reduce risk.

So, let’s consider Agile:

Agile development reduces product risk.

By this I mean that using Agile reduces that chances that the user will look at the delivered product and say, “That’s not what I had in mind.” This is because the user is sitting with the development team everyday and telling them the users’ desires.

Product risk, however, is not the only type of risk:

Agile development does not reduce process risk.

Process risk expresses the chances that the development team is using the wrong process. Agile development is not the best process for every type of project. Blindly using Agile carries with it the risk that Agile is the wrong process for the project. Agile development can be the most inefficient type of development in some situations.

And let me continue with:

Agile development does not reduce solution risk.

The solution is the answer to the problem we are attempting to solve.  The solution comes if smart people work on a problem and find a solution.  For example, let’s cure cancer. Agile development won’t find a cure for cancer. The right people with the right technology and the right circumstances might find a cure for cancer. Then again, there is the chance that no one will ever find a cure for cancer. That chance is the solution risk.

Now where are we?

We are still in the situation where we should consider the situation. ooops, that word “consider” means THINK. Think before choosing Agile development or any other type of development or whether or not you attempt a project. THINK.

Perhaps, one day, we shall be in a situation where thinking is not required. We aren’t there yet.