Agile Development And Variation In SCRUM Sprint Information Technology Essay

Agile Development And Variation In SCRUM Sprint Information Technology Essay In Agile development SCRUM is highly acceptable approach. And main body of SCRUM is driven by the sprint. Activities in the SCRUM sprint are sprint meeting, sprint review, sprint backlog, development, acceptance testing, scrum meeting, sprint retrospective, and final shippable work product. it is observed that there are still missing activities that can be accommodated to improve the sprint. The research suggests some more activities that can be accommodated from other agile methodologies such XP, DSDM, and RUP/EUP. The new approach will enhance the sprint capability. KEYWORDS: Agile development, SCRUM, Extreme Programming, Rational Unified Process, Dynamic Systems Development Method INTRODUCTION Agile development is a group of methodologies where requirements and solutions develop through collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional, cohesive teams. The main focus is on creating working software that could be handed over to the customer quickly rather than spending a lot of time writing specifications up front. Agile focuses on rapid iteration, with continuous customer input throughout the development lifecycle. In this paper we introduce a development process, in this process we have identified the missing activities in the SCRUM and collaborated the activities that are available in other Agile methodologies such as XP, DSM and RUP RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The methodology selected for this research is based on the qualitative analysis of the agile frameworks available in the industry. AGILE Agile has evolved as a light weight software development methodology against the legendary heavy weight software development methodologies such as waterfall, spiral, rapid prototyping, incremental. Agile methodology is based on iterative and incremental development that break tasks into small increments with nominal planning called iteration. Iterations are short time frames that typically last from one to four weeks. Each iteration involves a team working through a full software development cycle. AGILE ALLIANCE In spring of 2001, 17 software developers met at UTAH to see whether there was anything in common between the various light methodologies such asAdaptive Software Development, XP, Scrum, Crystal, Feature driven Development, Dynamic System Development Method (DSDM). AGILE MANIFESTO We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value: Individuals and interactions over processes and tools Working software over comprehensive documentation Customer collaboration over contract negotiation Responding to change over following a plan [Martin C. Robert , Agile Principles, Patterns, and Practices in C#, Martin Micah, 2006] SCRUM Scrum is an incremental iterative process. In Scrum, product development is done in iterative cycles called Sprints. Sprints are typically 1-4 weeks in length, and the time box is not extendable, i.e. the backlog items that could not be completed in one sprint are catered in the next sprint. Once a sprint date is committed it is never extended. At the start of a Sprint, there is a sprint meeting in which priority items of product backlog are selected and team calculates the efforts and commits to complete them in the Sprint. Every day there is a daily standup meeting in which team reports the progress to each other and update simple visual representations of work remaining in sprint burn down chart. [The Scrum Papers: Nuts, Bolts, and Origins of an Agile Process Jeff Sutherland, Ph.D. Ken Schwaber Co-Creators of Scrum, 2007] [Deemer.P and Benefield.G, SCRUM PRIMER, 2006] EXTREME PROGRAMMING Extreme Programming is an agile development methodology that focuses on the critical activities required to build software. Like other agile methodologies it also supports the development in little iterations after a work product is available to be released. Unlike traditional SDLC, extreme programming does not support different phases of requirement gathering , analysis, design and development rather it advocates a environment where the client is the part of the team and all the phases of SDLC are executed simultaneously in iterative incremental order. DSDM Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM) is a software development method originally based on the methodology for rapid application development. DSDM is an incremental and iterative methodology that focuses on continuous user collaboration. Its goal is to deliver software systems on schedule and according to the financial plans while adjusting for requirement changes along with the development process. Among all agile methodologies DSDM is a fundamental methodology of Agile Alliance. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DSDM ] RUP The Rational Unified Process (RUP) is an iterative software development process framework created by the Rational Software Corporation, a division of IBM since 2003[http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Desktops-and-Notebooks/IBM-Acquires-Rational/]. The RUP is a four-phase (inception, elaboration, construction, transition), prescriptive process whose scope is software development. The EUP extends the RUP to make it a full-fledged IT process. The EUP adds two phases, production and retirement. Not only do you need to develop systems, you also need to run them in production and potentially even remove them from production at some point. [The Object Primer, Third Edition,Scott W. Ambler 2004] COMPARISON Although there are many other agile methodologies such as Feature Driven Development, ICONIX, PRINCE2, Lean Software Development and Crysatal but for the comparison of the activities we have selected four most used agile methodologies which include Extreme Programming, SCRUM, DSDM and RUP. eXtreme Programming is a revolutionary methodology which focuses on the cross functional software development process and addressing the core software engineering practices such as analysis, development and testing. It makes XP a substantial difference to the quality of the end product. SCRUM is also an agile framework, which focuses mainly on how to manage tasks within a cross functional team environment. Before AGILE there was a light weight methodology called DSDM. When Agile was devised many of the DSDM principles were integrated in the agile development methodology [http://www.agile-software-development.com/2007/02/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-agile.html] Planning And Requirement Gathering In extreme programming, in order to plan a project, we must know something about the requirements, but we dont need to know very much. For planning purposes, we need to know only enough about a requirement to estimate it. In SCRUM same is being handled by Product Owner And Team mutually agreeing on the development of the planning of the items based on the product backlog. In DSDM there is a separate Elaboration phase to gather the requirement and plan the phases accordingly. RUP has an Inception Phase, Business process re-engineering is a very complex endeavor, and the RUP only provides techniques for business modeling, not for the supporting process. If, however, the business process is simple or well understood, its possible that work on it may be undertaken in the inception phase. If this is the case, a more complex inception phase will be required. [www.scribd.com/doc/41162/Planning-a-project-with-RUP] Specification Artifacts The test cases and code evolve together in extreme programming, with the test cases leading the code by a very small fraction as a result; a very complete body of test cases grows along with the code. These tests allow the programmers to check whether the program works. Major artifacts in SCRUM are Sprint backlog, Product Backlog, Sprint Burn down Charts. Product backlog contains [Deemer.P and Benefield.G, SCRUM PRIMER, 2006] features (enable all users to place book in shopping cart), development requirements (rework the transaction processing module to make it scalable), exploratory work (investigate solutions for speeding up credit card validation), and known bugs (diagnose and fix the order processing script errors). DSDM has a number of artifacts that are created and evolves with the project. These artifacts include Feasibility Reports, Non-Functional Requirements, Business requirements, Review meeting records, Systems Architecture Definition, Development Plan, Functional Model, Implementation Plan, Test records, User documentation, Project Review Document. In RUP Use case model, Supplementary requirements, Use case (Describes a service provided by the system), User interface prototype (Simulates the user interface, as defined and testable by users) Functional test (Tests the functionality needed to meet a particular requirement), Development environment (Sets up the development environment and manages changes to this environment) Progress To measure the team progress in extreme programming there is a steering team, record progress chart is used. SCRUM meeting, burn down chart in SCRUM, Big visible charts in DSDM and in RUP defined sources for project indicators. Defined thresholds for the project indicators. coding In extreme programming Code is written by pairs of programmers working together at the same workstation. One member of each pair drives the keyboard and types the code. The roles change frequently. In SCRUM same is done according to the willingness And Commitment Of Team. In DSDM initially a Design Prototype is created which is tested by the customer after the validation of Design the tested System is handed over to the next phase. In RUP Coding is done on the bases of the available use cases, lengthy use cases may be divided in to several iterations [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DSDM#Stage_3:_Design_and_Build_Iteration http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RUP] Testing As discussed earlier in extreme programming All production code is written in order to make a failing unit test pass. Write the code that makes that test pass. For SCRUM Acceptance testing is done at the end of each SPRINT. In DSDM, throughout project life-cycle Testing is done regressively. And same goes for RUP. Review The details about the user stories are captured in the form of acceptance tests specified by the customer. The acceptance tests for a story are written immediately preceding, or even concurrently with, the implementation of that story. The review meeting in SCRUM is called Sprint Retrospectives. In DSDM test records are developed according to the user documentation and checks the correctness of the designed system. For review purpose testing and reviewing are the main techniques used. Reviews are not available in RUP Iterations In XP iteration is usually 2 weeks in length and represents a minor delivery that may or may not be put into production. The iteration plan is a collection of user stories selected by the customer according to a budget established by the developers. In Scrum it is called Sprint Cycle which is usually of the length of 4-6 weeks and does not vary. In DSDM there is only one iteration in which complete build is developed. In RUP iterations are not time oriented rather there are use cases that help in determining the timeframes of iteration. Release Management XP teams often create a release plan that maps out the next six or so iterations. That plan is known as a release plan. A release is usually three months worth of work. In SCRUM 2 -3 sprints and as decided by product owner. In DSDM there is a single release concept that is sent to the customer in the entire project as it is adept in SDLC. DSDM is also unique in that it categorizes time boxes depending on their function: Investigate, Refine, Consolidate. The activities of RUP include Release handover, training the end users and to facilitate in User acceptance testing of the system. Customer Collaboration In XP customer is the part of the team. Customer is virtually present in the vicinity and he is always present to facilitate or elicitation of the requirements. [Kent Beck, Extreme Programming Explained, First Edition September 29, 1999 ]. In SCRUM product Owner can be Customer, in DSDM Executive Sponsor is called the Project Champion. It is a vital position from the user organization since it has the responsibility to facilitate all the requirements in the requirements elicitation. In RUP Customer collaboration is done throughout the project phase Project Management In XP Project management is done through Inter team coordination, A pair has the right to check out any module and improve it. No programmers are individually responsible for any one particular module or technology. Everybody works on the graphical user interface. In SCRUM Product Owner and Scrum Master are the facilitators. In DSDM there is a project Manager who can be a in-house IT Staff or a client. In RUP the Project manager plans the phases of the entire project along with the iteration plan which describe the iterations. Deployment: In RUP the purpose of deployment is successful delivery of the working software to its end users. It includes packaging, distributing and producing external releases of the software,. Support In RUP: Software release installations and technical support to the client or end user Architecture DSDM makes an architecture phase compulsory. In Business Study RUP make it able to agree on development priorities and a SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE DEFINITION are developed ACTIVITIES BENCHMARK Following is the benchmark of all the above discussed agile development project lifecycle activities PRACTICES XP SCRUM DSDM RUP PLANNING/REQUIREMENTS User stories product owner Product Backlog Elaboration Phase and feasibility studies Inception Phase and Business modelling ARTIFACTS Test case Archives Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, burndown charts Feasibility Report, Outline Plan, Business Area Definition Use case model, User interface prototype, Functional test PROGRESS steering team, record progress scrum meeting, burn down chart Big visible charts Defined thresholds for the project indicators. CODING Pair Programming commitment of team Prototype designing and evolution commitment of team TESTING write the code that makes that test pass. Acceptance Testing Throughout the project life-cycle. Testing occurs throughout the project REVIEW acceptance tests for a User story sprint restrospective correctness of the designed system by review and testing Not Available ITERATION 2 weeks in length 4 -6 Weeks in length Single Iteration Iterations are not time based RELEASE Release consists of 6 Iterations 2 -3 sprints and as decided by product owner Single release Single release CUSTOMER COLLABORATION Part of the team Product Owner can be a customer Executive sponsor; This role has an ultimate power to make decisions collaboration throughout the project phase PROJECT MANAGEMENT Project manager is Big Boss Product Owner Could be client or any one from the staff Phase plan by the team DEPLOYMENT Not Available Not Available Not Available Software Packaging and Distribution SUPPORT Not Available Not Available Not Available Software release installations and technical support to the client or end user ARCHITECTURE Not Available Not Available Architecture phase compulsory In Business Study architecture is defined ACTIVITIES COVERED IN SPRINT Sprint is a complete cycle of activities. This activity is time boxed, which means that the time allocated for a sprint cannot be varied and team has to provide a tested and working work product at the end of the sprint. The sprint backlog items that could not be completed in the sprint are catered in the next sprint. The activities in SPRINT are as follows Sprint burn down chart Design Development Testing Daily stand up meeting WHAT COULD BE ACCOMODATED IN SPRINT Things that could be added in sprint could be more customer collaboration, focus on the system architecture

How media affects us Essay

Media affects everyone’s life that comes Into contact with It. There are many disadvantages and advantages to media and advertising. This essay will talk about the advantages and disadvantages evolving around the media. A few advantages that this essay will talk about is that media can target a global audience as they can reach outto us and that it can be used tor educational purposes to help people learn all around the world. A few disadvantages are that It can be manipulated very easily and hat it can easily tell us exactly what to want. hat to wear, how to think. taking away our freedom. An advantage Is that the media and advertising can reach a global audience, informing anyone. anywhere and anytime. Most people read or see advertising and media on the internet, which is mostly accessible to a large audience, allowing more and more people to be exposed to it. This can be useful as it can inform a lot of people around the country and world If there Is a disaster, allowing t hem to give aid o the unfortunate victims. For example, the typhoon in the Philippines that happened mid-2013 and the mega earthquake in Japan were able to show images, videos and stories to people in other countries that otherwise have known nothing about It and would not have been able to help. A disadvantage of media and advertising however, is that the media and be manipulated extremely easily. For example, if you look to the right you can see an example of this. It Is Just one Image, yet can give the audience a very different viewpoint. From one side It looks like they are giving aid and water to a poor man and on the other it looks as if they are going to kill him or take him as hostage. Another example of this would be in magazines that are trying to sell. Some might write about a couple’s night out as a lovely story, whilst another might write about how they were fighting the whole time. They will usually Just write a story that will grab the reader’s attention.

Health Law and Regulations Essay

Health care is high on the list of the most regulated entities. Regulated by the government, the health care sector is also regulated by different private bodies. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO) together with the National Committee on Quality Assurance (NCQA) and different medical specialties form part of the private health care regulatory entities that collaborate with the government. Health care regulation is focused on three main roles; cost control, quality control, and access expansion and control. These three functions are subdivided into objectives covering each aspect pertaining to the health care area. While the regulatory program exists to accomplish the three above-mentioned objectives, the implementation of each objective affects one another. Example, quality control causes a reduction of access, and increases the cost because of an increase in demand. Despite the interdependence of these objectives, health care regulation does not indulge competition amongst the regulatory bodies. Important in the regulatory industry are those who engage each other with the same goal towards improving the health care. A majority of the health care regulatory federal agencies in America are comprised within the Federal Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The American constitution directs all health care regulators to obey the set legal process as their activities contain the potential to limit or breach the rights of health care. Health care is a high level of bureaucracy and extensive legal procedures. Regulators are provided a notice for their proposed regulation with findings to support it, after which the sector under regulation is allowed to contest or appeal the proposal. The legal process is appealed in every health care procedure, whether if it’s to test a new drug, suspend a practitioner’s license, or a regulation on  environmental standards. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a health care regulation signed into law on the 23rd of March, 2010. The law’s main focus had been to increase the affordability and quality of American health insurance. Its policies were focused on lowering the rates imposed on the uninsured through the expansion of both the private and public insurance covers. It had also aimed to reduce the health care costs incurred by the government along with citizens. Barely seven days after its enforcement had a new health care law come into effect with amendments to the ACA. On March 30, 2010, the president of the United States signed into law the Healthcare and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. The law had been enacted by the 111th US congress (Blackman, 2013). The ACA has advantages as disadvantages, and has been at the forefront of political criticism since its enactment. Its strongest opponents have cited it to be punitive of the high-end earners to cushion the middle and lower classes. It has also been reported to weigh heavily on the nation’s wage bill. In a nutshell, the ACA is designed to cover the majority of American’s health care insurance. However, the regulation’s cost factor has proven unsustainable without economically hurting the high earning entities. The effect of ACA’s implementation has caused an overall negative economic realignment as various entities strive to remain afloat; working hours have been significantly downsized by various corporations in anticipation of unsustainable insurance compliance. The ACA regulation is seen as an economically crippling element in America’s overall economic composite. The enormous tax burden shouldered by high earning entities is evidenced to trickle down to the middle and low income earners which resultantly deduces the benefits intended for these groups in an even more severe way. To begin with, although the ACA provides affordable or free health care insurance to tens of millions of American populations, funding is raised through taxes. With a hike in taxes for health care funding, earning populations are left with less to spend. The American middle and low income groups are even more affected by the adverse effects as inflation sets in to recover the growing deficit induced by the regulation’s implementation. The ACA had been endorsed as an affordability initiative but the repercussive costs have indicated the regulation as a costly affair across the board. Insurance players report certain clauses in the regulation as detrimental to the process. An example is the regulations directive for insurance to extend their coverage even to sick uninsured people at no extra cost. The resultant effect has been the rise in insurance premium costs which further complicates the insurer’s role in the initiative. Nearly all the beneficial aspects within the regulation are countered with contradictory challenges that undermine its purpose. While Medicaid is expanded by the regulation to cover an estimate 15.9 million citizens below 138% of the property level, the cost is met by state and federal funding which further imposes an immense measure of tax escalation. The regulation however features more benefits than limitations with regard to women initiatives. The ACA grants up to 47 million women access to health care services comprising wellness and preventative care. Additionally, the law prohibits women paying more than men for health care services as had been the case prior to enactment (Blackman, 2013). The ACA regulation started 157 new agencies, boards and programs to oversee the efficient implementation of the law alongside regulating health care spending. Although there are negative cost implications associated with the huge oversight entities provisioned in the regulation, proponents argue these costs to be necessary in controlling the unaccounted health care expenditure (Blackman, 2013). Employment in America is currently readjusting to comply with the regulation’s 2015 implementation phase requiring all employers to provide an insurance cover on their employees. The resultant effect to this change has been two faced; small business have been employing part time employees full time to comply with the 2015 mandate while large businesses have been reducing part time working hours to avoid paying the employees insurance when the phase is implemented. The ACA is illustrated as a complex employment factor with many jobs feared to be lost as many new ones are created. Notably, the regulation projects an  outcome where employees will freely leave their respective jobs without fear for losing retirement benefits affiliated to health care. Accordingly, the regulation aims to decrease employees working hours while maintaining and creating new employment opportunities. Despite the employment benefits highlighted within the ACA, many citizens remain skeptical of the upcoming 2015 employer-insurance phase. Dissenting political sentiments are pitching the impending reforms as a negative aspect of the ACA enactment set to diminish numerous job opportunities. Federal and private health care regulation remains as an important component in the broader sense of the health industry covering every single aspect entailed in human health. The quality, cost and access control objectives are characteristic to every health related industry. With regard to personal experience, I have on several occasions observed medical licenses revoked for certain practitioners following a legal process to dispute the quality displayed by the practitioners in context. The two mentioned above 2010 health care regulations contain a complex and mostly long term agenda aimed at bettering the quality of health care services in America. The current challenges are largely short-term and should not be invoked to undermine long-term benefits. A healthy debate is however essential to ensure minimized negations throughout the implementation process. References Top of Form Blackman, J. (2013). Unprecedented: The constitutional challenge to Obamacare. Bottom of Form

How Express Opinions in French

If you want to have a debate in French or discuss your opinions, you need to know the relevant vocabulary and expressions. This page offers suggestions for offering, supporting, asking for, and avoiding opinions in French.Of course, the subject pronoun je, object pronoun me, stressed pronoun moi, and possessive adjective mon in these expressions can all be replaced to express other opinions than your own. Offering an Opinion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ãƒâ‚¬ mon avisIn my opinionCest du moins mon opinion.At least, thats my opinion.Daprà ¨s moiIn my viewEn ce qui me concerneAs far as Im concernedIl est / Cest certain queIts certainIl est / Cest clair queIts clearIl est / Cest à ©vident queIts obviousIl est / Cest impossible queIts impossibleIl est / Cest injuste queIts unfairIl est / Cest juste queIts fairIl est / Cest possible queIts possibleIl est / Cest probable queIts probableIl est / Cest sà »r queIts surelyIl est / Cest vrai queIts trueIl me semble queIt seems to meJai lidà ©e queI have the impressionJai limpression queI have a feelingJe considà ¨re queI feelJe crains quil ne soitI fear that it isJe crois queI believeJe dois dire queI must sayJestime queI consider itJimagine queI imagineJe pense queI think (that)Je suppose queI supposeJe ne pense pas.I dont think so.Je ne peux pas mempà ªcher de penser queI cant help thinkingJe suis certain queIm certain thatJe suis convaincu queIm convinced thatJe suis davis queIm of the opinionJe suis persuadà © queIm convinced thatJe suis sà »r queIm sureJe trouve queI find, I feelMoi, je...As for me, I...PersonnellementPersonallyPour ma partFor my partPour moiIn my viewQuant à   moiAs for meSans vouloir vous contredireWithout meaning to contradict youSelon moiIn my viewSi vous voulez mon opinion/avisIf you want my opinionTelle est mon opinion sur...Thats my view of/on... Supporting an Opinion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Jai entendu dire que dependent clauseI heard thatJai entendu parler de nounI heard aboutJe sais / Nous savons queI / We know thatOn dit queOne says, They sayPar exempleFor example Asking for an Opinion   Ã‚  Ãƒâ‚¬ votre avisIn your opinionAvez-vous une opinion surDo you have an opinion aboutComment percevez-vousHow do you viewJaimerais connaà ®tre / avoir votre avis / opinion surId like (to know) your opinion onJaimerais connaà ®tre / avoir votre rà ©action face à  Id like (to know) your reaction toJaimerais / Je voudrais savoir ce que vous pensez deId like to know what you think aboutJe voudrais connaà ®tre / avoir votre avis / opinion surId like (to know) your opinion on/aboutJe voudrais  connaà ®tre / avoir votre rà ©action face à  Id like (to know) your reaction toPourriez-vous me donner / faire  savoir votre avis/opinion surCould you give me your opinion aboutPourriez-vous me donner / faire  savoir votre rà ©action face à  Could you give me your reaction toPourriez-vous me dire ce que vous pensez deCould you tell me what you think aboutQuelle est votre attitude à   là ©gard deWhat is your attitude toward/toQuelle est votre opinion/avis surWhat is your opini on aboutQue pensez-vous deWhat do you think aboutSelon vousIn your opinion Avoiding Expressing an Opinion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Cela dà ©pend deThat depends onCest une question de point de vue.It all depends on your point of view.Il est / Cest difficile deIts hard toIl mest impossible de donner un avis (dà ©finitif) surI cant express a (definite) opinion onJe nai jamais vraiment rà ©flà ©chi à  I have never really thought aboutJe nai pas dopinion bien prà ©cise à   / arrà ªtà ©e surI dont have strong feelings aboutJe ne me le suis jamais demandà ©.Ive never wondered about it.Je ne me suis jamais vraiment posà © la question.Ive never asked myself that question.Je ne suis pas à   mà ªme de dire siIm not in a position to say whetherJe prà ©fà ©rerais ne pas (avoir à  ) me prononcer surId rather not commentJe prà ©fà ©rerais ne pas mengagerId rather not commit myselfJignore tout deI know nothing aboutTout dà ©pend deIt all depends on