Paid developers must recognize their obligation to deliver lasting value to others and that simply doing as they’re told is insufficient to the task.
The intricacies of programming can compound when applied carelessly, creating a burden for programmers that’s nearly impossible to shed. Agile methods in general, and this book in particular, describe a way to work within an organization respecting this reality.
This book revisits practices that have been proven over and over for two decades to be both effective and still surprisingly difficult to adopt.
The phrase “Agile in name only” describes organizations that go through the motions prescribed in countless books and then reap little benefit. This book dissects the motions and the reasons behind them. It is only with the logic of Agile firmly in hand that one can diagnose “in name only” disappointments.
The relentless fall in the cost of computing in turn raises the real value of well-made software. Where businesses respond, fortunes are made. As barriers to entry evaporate, every business must make software well to survive.
Strangely, the proliferation of cheap computers has made programming more difficult. The most Agile developers, the so-called “polyglot programmers,” know that their skills are rarely appreciated outside Agile organizations.
David Bernstein explains how and why Agile methods work. He digs deep into his own experience of this revolution to tell stories from his own experience that illustrates the value of these practices.
Beyond Legacy Code makes clear what has to happen in order to successfully adopt these practices and get the most out of them.