How can you use agile methods for better systems design collaboration?

Systems design is the process of defining the architecture, components, interfaces, and behavior of a system that meets the functional and non-functional requirements of a problem domain. Systems design can be challenging, especially when it involves multiple stakeholders, complex dependencies, and changing requirements. How can you use agile methods for better systems design collaboration? Agile methods are a set of principles and practices that emphasize iterative, incremental, and adaptive delivery of value, feedback, and learning. In this article, you will learn how to apply some of the key agile methods to improve your systems design collaboration.

1 Scrum framework

Scrum is a widely used agile framework for software development. It is composed of roles, events, artifacts, and rules that guide the team in delivering potentially shippable increments of the system during fixed-length iterations called sprints. Scrum can help enhance the collaboration of your systems design by aligning the team on a common vision, goal, and scope for each sprint. This is done using the product backlog, sprint backlog, and sprint planning meeting. It also enables frequent and transparent communication, feedback, and adaptation through daily scrums, sprint reviews, and sprint retrospectives. Additionally, it empowers the team to self-organize, make decisions, and solve problems with the help of the scrum master role, definition of done, and scrum values.

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Harikrishna Patel

Certified Digital Transformation Consultant | Technical Project Manager | Business Process Consultant | Certified Solution Architecture | Data Analyst
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Agile methods, such as the Scrum framework, user stories, test-driven development (TDD), pair programming, and design patterns, can help enhance collaboration and improve the quality of the system. The Scrum framework aligns the team on a common vision and enables frequent communication and adaptation. User stories capture user needs and facilitate collaboration and prioritization. Pair programming enhances knowledge and skills, promotes creativity and productivity, and strengthens trust and cohesion. Design patterns provide reusable solutions for common problems in systems design. Article also mentions the importance of self-organizing teams and the role of the SM, and topics like mentorship, scalability, system testing & version control.

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Bharat Savaliya

Solutions Architect | Developer at heart | Learner | Problem Solver
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The Agile Manifesto outline a more effective approach to complex work. In this context, Agile Principle 11 underscores the importance of self-organizing teams having the necessary capabilities, including system design and architecture, to achieve their goals. It emphasizes that teams possess the skills and expertise required to make critical decisions regarding architecture. A team may lack maturity in system design, but it can develop this capability over time with guidance from a centralized architecture service in an organization. A Scrum Master can play a pivotal role in facilitating the acquisition of architectural knowledge within the team. Teams reduce external dependencies, maintain technical hygiene, and enhance technical agility.

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2 User stories

User stories are an effective way of capturing and expressing the user needs and expectations from the system. Written from the perspective of a user role, they describe what the user wants to do, why they want to do it, and how they will benefit from it. User stories can help improve your systems design collaboration by fostering a shared understanding of the user and the problem domain, encouraging collaboration and negotiation between the team and stakeholders, as well as facilitating prioritization and estimation of system features. This can be achieved through the use of the user story format, user story map, persona, INVEST criteria, acceptance criteria, three Cs (card, conversation, confirmation), MoSCoW method, story points, and planning poker.

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Bharat Savaliya

Solutions Architect | Developer at heart | Learner | Problem Solver
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The product owner and the architect should work ahead of scrum team in writing the user stories. A Definition of Ready (DoR), servers a good checklist from systems design perspective where the user story is evaluated before bringing it to the Sprint Backlog. The scrum team should have a enough clarity and technically aligned on the proposed systems design such that story is appropriately estimated and planned for.

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3 Test-driven development

Test-driven development (TDD) is a software development technique that involves writing automated tests before writing the code that implements the functionality. The tests serve as a specification and a verification of the system behavior. TDD offers several advantages, such as improving the quality and reliability of your system, supporting the alignment between the team and stakeholders, and promoting the modularity and maintainability of the system. Specifically, it can reduce defects, increase test coverage, enable refactoring, use tests as a common language and source of truth, and follow the red-green-refactor cycle and apply the SOLID principles.

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4 Pair programming

Pair programming is a software development practice that involves two developers working together on the same code at the same time. One developer acts as the driver, who writes the code, and the other acts as the navigator, who reviews the code and provides suggestions. This practice can help you improve your systems design collaboration by enhancing the knowledge and skills of team members, boosting their creativity and productivity, and strengthening their trust and cohesion. Through pair programming, team members can share expertise, learn from each other, generate more ideas, solve problems faster, resolve conflicts, build relationships, and have fun.

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5 Design patterns

Design patterns are reusable solutions to common problems that arise in systems design. They provide a common vocabulary and best practice for describing, communicating, and implementing the system structure and behavior. Utilizing design patterns can help simplify complexity and variability of the system, facilitate the reuse and adaptation of the system, and improve consistency and readability of the system. This is accomplished by abstracting and encapsulating key aspects and variations of the system, applying proven and tested solutions that can be customized and extended, as well as following a standard and recognizable format and notation for the system design.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How can you use agile methods for better systems design collaboration?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Scrum framework

2 User stories

3 Test-driven development

4 Pair programming

5 Design patterns

6 Here’s what else to consider

Systems Design

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How can you use agile methods for better systems design collaboration?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Scrum framework

2 User stories

3 Test-driven development

4 Pair programming

5 Design patterns

6 Here’s what else to consider

Systems Design

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