As a result of working for a business instead of a small software shop, I often have to play all roles in a project. I am one of two developers, and we hardly do work on the same projects simultaneously. As a result, I can be seated as the project manager, the architect, the developer, the tester, QA, DBA, or any other role that is required.
Sometimes it’s an intimidating position. I’m an army of one and sometimes the stakeholders outnumber me greatly. It’s a battle to ensure quality and that the product I deliver is what they want without compromising quality or myself.
As a result, I’ve been toying with the idea of tackling the next project I have as a lonely agilist. I’ll be the only team member, but I’ll try and follow the practices of XP (to the limits that I have). This means user stories, delivering demo-able products every iteration and continuously adding value to the application.
I hope to document how this project goes on my blog. I will be talking about the obstacles of being a one-man team playing all roles in an agile environment. The project is still probably a month or more away, so I will provide updates as they come. I wanted to start out with my concerns as I prepare for the endeavor:
- As the PM, will stakeholder interruptions keep me stagnant?
- As the only member of the team, will I be able to deliver a demo-able product in 2-4 weeks?
- Will stakeholders see the value in user stories? Will they understand why I need them weighted?
So here is a new path in my journey as a developer. For those who’ve been down this path before, can you truly be a lonely agilist?
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