Software Engineering

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CHAPTER 6 
Impediments to Software Design
The Agile Manifesto identifies the convictions that the advocates value. These 
beliefs were revealed by their experiences in past software development efforts and 
are interpreted as follows:
1. 
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.
 Software personnel and 
the manner in which they work together are more important to the success of 
a software development effort than processes or tools. There is no underlying 
basis for this claim as most professional occupations have concluded that pro-
cesses and tools are vital to success, cost control, and quality results.
2. 
Working software over comprehensive documentation.
 This statement implies 
that Agile is based on a rapid prototyping methodology that produces work-
ing prototypes. The prototypes are evolved and enhanced to provide the final, 
deliverable software product. The belittling of software documentation infers 
that documenting the software design does not contribute to the development of 
the software product. If the software design is not documented, then how is it 
comprehended by the team of programmers? This suggests that software devel-
opment is best served by the development of software prototypes, which are not 
designed or documented.
3. 
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation.
 Within the ISO standard on 
software development processes there is a process for establishing an agreement 
that guides the software development effort. The agreement may be a formal 
contract between business entities or internal to an entity between management 
and the software development project. However, contracts or agreements are 
FIGURE 6.4
Agile Manifesto.
6
6 
See 
http://agilemanifesto.org/principles.html
.

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