1. Get oriented

The agile approach evolved from proven practices that proved effective in organizing teams and the work that they do. Agile software development processes can be scaled to for large organizations, distributed teams, and other complex situations. Before you proceed in adopting agile practices, get oriented through these sources.

Watch: Agile. Everyware and IBM agility@scale whiteboard video(length 3:41, by Scott Ambler, Chief Methodologist for Agile and Lean Development for IBM Rational software)

Read: Agile software development: A tour of its origins and authors(by Gary Pollice, Professor of Practice, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; The Rational Edge, 2007)

Read: Leadership in an (almost) agile world(by Gary Pollice, Professor of Practice, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; The Rational Edge, 2009)

Read: Demos: The Achilles Heel of Agile Projects(by Theodore F. Rivera, Software Group Strategist, IBM; developerWorks, 2008)

2. Adopt agile approaches

Organizations around the world in every sector of the economy are adopting agile approaches on development projects and, in some cases, across their entire technology departments. These articles help you learn why it works, how to persuade your colleagues to try it, and what it takes to adopt agile processes incrementally.

Read: Staying agile in an uncertain economy(by Roger Dunn, CEO, SourceIQ, Inc.; developerWorks, 2008)

Read: Adopting agile development, Part 1: Is agile development right for your organization?(by Mikko Kontio, Director, Softera; developerWorks, 2008)

Read: Enable the agile enterprise through incremental adoption of practices(an IBM white paper that describes an incremental, measured approach to adopting agile strategies across an organization)

3. Learn about Disciplined Agile Delivery and IBM agility@scale

The Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD) process framework is a people-first, learning-oriented hybrid agile approach to IT solution delivery. It has a risk-value lifecycle, is goal-driven, is scalable, and is enterprise-aware. DAD is the formulation of many strategies and practices from both mainstream agile methods and other sources. The Agile Scaling Model (ASM) provides the contextual framework to tailor agile approaches, such as Scrum. Together, they provide the solid foundation required to scale your agile approaches.

Read: Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD): An Introduction(the DAD Process framework provides the foundation from which you scale agile processes)

Read: The Agile Scaling Model: Adapting Agile Methods for Complex Environments

Watch: Scaling Scrum: Lessons from the Trenches(shows how to apply the Agile Scaling Model (ASM) to tailor Scrum practices)

Read: Scaling Agile: An Executive Guide(gives an overview of the DAD process framework and the ASM, the heart of IBM agility@scale)

Read: Lean development governance(a white paper about practices that can be applied to scale agile methods)

Read: Improving Software Economics: Top 10 Principles of Achieving Agility at Scale

Read: Agility@Scale: Become as agile as you need to be(an IBM Rational e-book)

4. Explore agile methods for embedded or systems engineering

Agile techniques are being applied successfully in the embedded software development and systems engineering domains, although in a different manner than in the IT domain.

Read: Real-Time Agility: Agile Methods for Real-Time and Embedded Systems(by Bruce Powell Douglass, of IBM Systems Engineering; Addison-Wesley Professional, 2009)

Watch: Agile development for real-time: Embedded applications(a six-part video demonstration series by Justin Dyer, Systems Solution Architect, IBM)

5. Research software for agile development

IBM offers many great tools which support agile solution delivery, particularly Jazz-based tools, such as Rational Team Concert collaborative change and configuration management software.

Read: Rational agile software(listing on IBM.com)

Read: A practical guide to choosing the right agile tools(an evaluation guide, PDF)

Read: Adopting and Scaling Agility(on the Jazz.net website)

Read: Planning tools in Rational Team Concert(on the Jazz.net website)

Read: How to use the Scrum project management method with IBM Rational Team Concert Version 1 and the Jazz platform(by Millard Ellingsworth Software Developer, IBM; developerWorks, 2008)

Read: The IBM Rational Workbench for Systems and Software Engineering(from the IBM Redbooks series)

Read: IBM agility@scale e-kit

Watch: Optimizing agile development with automated code quality reviews and processes(a demonstration by Matthew Holitza, Marketing Engineer, IBM)

Read: How mainframe software development teams benefit from using Rational Team Concert for System z(by Chris Trobridge, Product Line Manager for Rational Team Concert for System z, IBM; developerWorks, 2009)