Agile Developer’s Survival Guide: Practical Tips for 2020

Executing agile properly is challenging, but following the advice in this article can make it easier.

The original piece was published on medium.com as “The Agile Developer’s Survival Guide for 2020” and has been translated and shared by InfoQ.

Agile is often compared to teenage behavior – everyone claims to have done it, yet few truly understand what it is.

Many software teams adopt agile frameworks like SCRUM, aiming to deliver small, clean code increments and improve projects quickly. Some follow certified consultants, others rely on books, but the key is to understand the purpose behind the rules rather than blindly applying them.

Agile requires rituals such as meetings (often virtual), tools, and teamwork etiquette, which not everyone fully appreciates.

To survive the agile jungle, especially during the COVID‑19 era of virtual collaboration, the author presents a list of recommendations for agile teams.

1. Avoid disrupting life with team “stand‑up” calls

Stand‑up calls are meant to be brief (around 15 minutes) and conducted while standing, encouraging participants to keep their updates concise.

Typical stand‑up scripts involve each member stating what they did yesterday, what they plan today, and any blockers. Stay on topic and avoid digressions.

Only hold these meetings when necessary, keep them fast, and if they start expanding to 30 minutes or more, redirect specific issues to targeted meetings.

2. Attend Sprint planning meetings

Sprints are short periods (usually two weeks) focused on achieving a small goal. Full team participation ensures alignment and surfaces hidden issues.

Even if a team member isn’t directly implementing a task, their perspective can uncover obstacles that affect others.

Having an external viewpoint during planning and testing is crucial for uncovering hidden dependencies.

3. Keep track of Sprint remaining time

Know exactly how many days are left to deliver the work committed during planning.

Finishing tasks on the last day is undesirable; managers should not rely on last‑minute miracles.

Experienced teams can self‑manage without micromanagement, but they still need to deliver on time.

If problems arise, raise them early rather than waiting until the Sprint ends.

4. You are not working alone

Consider who depends on your work – front‑end developers, back‑end services, QA testers, etc.

Delivering on the last day often means others cannot test or integrate your code in time.

Plan with the broader team in mind, accounting for QA cycles and downstream dependencies.

5. Task tracking matters, even if you dislike it

Tools like JIRA or Trello may feel burdensome, but they provide visibility into project status and help managers answer stakeholder questions.

Updating task status daily (e.g., To‑Do, In‑Progress, Blocked, Done) adds significant value.

Adding brief comments for blocked items further improves communication.

6. Story points are not random numbers

Story points help estimate how much work a team can complete in a Sprint, forming the basis for velocity calculations.

Consistent sizing across Sprints enables reliable forecasting for future work.

7. In summary

Keep daily updates minimal and consolidate other discussions into focused meetings.

Participate actively in planning meetings.

Remember the Sprint’s fixed timebox and consider others waiting on your work.

Maintain task tracking to give the team and managers clear insight.

Respect story points and avoid assigning arbitrary numbers.

When you collaborate well with your team, agile becomes a productive methodology rather than a nightmare.

Have you seen similar behaviors in past projects? Share your experiences in the comments.

Original link: https://medium.com/agileinsider/the-agile-developers-survival-guide-for-2020-be6621560188