Manifesto for Agile Software Maintenance

I think that there should be a Manifesto for Agile Software
Maintenance.  This could offer a practical route into large
organisations for agile methods.

I am a Maintenance programmer.  I enjoy maintaining software more than
develping it, in a commercial environment anyway.

I admit that initially I moved into maintenace for security.  I have a
family to support and maintenance programming is more secure.  Even
when all projects are cancelled, maintenance goes on.  My plan was to
find something everybody hates doing, and do it well.  However, since
then I've grown to love this area of programming.

I think that one of the reasons I prefer the maintenance phase is that
it already resembles the agile manifesto:
  * You are usually dealing directly with the customer, 
    focused on customer satisfaction.  
  * Releases are made regularly, usually every few months.
  * Documentation is light weight, usually just reports in 
    a bug tracking system and the release documents.
  * In maintenance the accepted golden rule is that the best fix 
    is the smallest change.
  * Maintenace teams are usually small, multi-disciplinary
    and self organising.

I know that not every mainteance team is like this, but you are much
more likely to find these conditions in a production environment than
you are in development.

Now, you may say that there is no production, there is no development.
 These is only the ongoing development of software, maintained at a
constant pace indefinately.  I agree, this is how things should be. 
Unfortunately, there is a big gap between the way things are and the
way things should be.

As I was saying, the maintenace phase more closely resembles the agile
approach.  This is mainly because the maintenace phase has always been
ignored in the world of Big Methods.  Maintenance teams were left to
there own devices and in most places they have settled into something
close to the optimum conditions.

So far I've been painting a rather rosy picture of software
maintenance, which everybody knows is far from the reality.

The problem is that maintenance programming is viewed as a form of
purgatory by most developers.  Maintenace is rately carried out by
motivated individuals with the environment and support they need.  

All too often it is a sink hole into which the least talented or burnt
out fall into.  When it all hits the fan, as it often does, the 'real'
developers are parachuted in to do the distasteful work of a quick
clean up.  Then the regulars go back to their shovelling.

Over the past few years I've been working hard in my workplace towards
doing things differently.  I've been trying to apply everything I've
been learning about agile development and applying it to the
maintenance of existing software.    The profile of the maintenance
team is slowly being raised.  There is still a long way to go, but I
am making progress.

As the approach succeeds in maintenance, then people start to consider
the benefits of using it in production.  For example, some of the
development projects now have a wiki set up for capturing information.

Now I want to take things further, formalise the approaches that I am
using.  Find other link minded individuals to discuss and develop
ideas with.  Put something on the web for others to benefit from.

Does anybody know if such a group exists?  If not, is it practical to
try to start one?

A separate Manifesto is probably overdoing it, perhaps a programme
within the AM would be a better idea?

This is really the first time I've vocalised my thoughts on this
subject, so I really would appreciate your comments.



------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> 
Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar.
Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/nhFolB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~-> 

 
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
     http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pragprog/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
     pragprog-unsubscribe-hHKSG33TihhbjbujkaE4pw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
     http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/