30 August 2016 – Cloudstaff’s Velvet Lounge. Senior IT Professional, Software Development Leader, and Agile Evangelist; Paul Nielson met with Cloudstaffers for an intimate presentation about Agile software development, its best practices, and Paul’s very own experiences with Agile. The great thing about this? It was all done over beer, pizza, and chips; plus an introductory performance by CS Muzik Club’s very own Marie Grace Pacudan.
The night started with an introduction to Agile, its history, its objectives, and the way it’s used today. It was discussed that while Agile is originally a software development management solution, it evolved to be more than that. BUT WAIT! You might be wondering “What IS Agile?” For the sake of convenience, we did a quick google search.
According to google, Agile is: …a method of project management, used especially for software development, that is characterized by the division of tasks into short phases of work and frequent reassessment and adaptation of plans.
Sounds like a mouthful. But what it simply means is that Agile is a set of principles and guidelines that allow teams to easily digest projects by dividing said projects into smaller chunks and by reassessing said chunks on a daily basis.
So let’s say, you have a 300-page document containing the step-by-step actions needed to complete a huge project… With agile you can take that plan, split it into little bite-sized chunks and start from there!
A great example of Paul’s is how he used Agile to help renovate a whole SKYSCRAPER. Think on that. A skyscraper! A project typically done on a step-by-step basis, a project that was estimated to be completed in over two years, was finished using Agile in just 12 months! That’s a year’s worth of time saved!
A huge project is like Pizza. Unsliced, you’ll choke on it. Sliced, you’ll have no problem finishing it!
As the presentation reached its end, Cloudstaffers were given the chance to do a little Q&A with Paul Neilson, and much to their surprise a little token of appreciation was given to every Cloudstaffer who asked a question!
On that day curiosity didn’t kill the cat, curiosity paid the cat!
A great big thanks to Paul Neilson, for opening our eyes to the world of Agile. Have a safe trip back to your homeland good sir!