PHP development for large agile projectsOverview and hints for developers

Grzegorz Godlewski

PHPCon 2016, Ossa, Poland

October 2, 2016

Introduction The problem at hand Possible solutions Summary

Agenda

1 Introduction

2 The problem at hand

3 Possible solutions

4 Summary

What does agile mean anyway?

According to Cambridge Dictionary :

Physically: able to move your body quickly and easily

Mentally: able to think quickly and clearly

Management: used for describing ways of planning anddoing work in which it is understood that making changes asthey are needed is an important part of the job

What is a large project?

Can something large be agile at all?

Introduction The problem at hand Possible solutions Summary

The fundamental problem

One thing is sure about software development...there will be change

Introduction The problem at hand Possible solutions Summary

To do list...

Display product

Products in the cart

Order placement

Vouchers

Introduction The problem at hand Possible solutions Summary

... after 2 weeks

[DONE] Display product

Product comparison

[DONE] Products in the cart

Product sets

[IN PROGRESS] Order placement

Other’s bought also...

Discount codes

Invoices

Vouchers

...

Introduction The problem at hand Possible solutions Summary

Agility limitation

The programming language

Organization culture

Business model

Processes / methodologies / work-flows

Requirements for the product

Implemented solutions

Teams

People

Introduction The problem at hand Possible solutions Summary

Solution dimensions

The dimensions are:

PRODUCT: I want to build the right product

TEAMS: I want to built the software in a right way (fromtechnical perspective)

INDIVIDUALS: I want to do a great job in a greatenvironment

Introduction The problem at hand Possible solutions Summary

THE PRODUCT

Introduction The problem at hand Possible solutions Summary

Introduction The problem at hand Possible solutions Summary

Introduction The problem at hand Possible solutions Summary

Introduction The problem at hand Possible solutions Summary

Problems in Scrum

Organizational level:

Weaponization: Whip & Shield

”Dark Scrum” by R. Jeffries [1]

Development level:

Feels like constant deadlines

Narrowed perspective

And many others... [2]

Introduction The problem at hand Possible solutions Summary

THE TEAMS

Introduction The problem at hand Possible solutions Summary

Extreme Programming Practices and values

Practices are divided to two categories:

Primary

Corollary

XP values the following:

Communication

Feedback

Simplicity

Courage

Respect

Introduction The problem at hand Possible solutions Summary

Coding Practices

Code and Design Simply

Refactor Mercilessly

Develop Coding Standards

Develop a Common Vocabulary

Introduction The problem at hand Possible solutions Summary

Developer Practices

Adopt Test-Driven Development

Practice Pair Programming

Adopt Collective Code Ownership

Integrate Continually

Introduction The problem at hand Possible solutions Summary

Business Practices

Add a Customer to the Team

Play the Planning Game

Release Regularly

Work at a Sustainable Pace

Introduction The problem at hand Possible solutions Summary

THE INDIVIDUALS

Introduction The problem at hand Possible solutions Summary

The tools at hand

Various principles

Best practices (coding, development process, publishing,deployments, automation)

Knowledge of patterns [3, 4, 5, 6]

Powerful programming languages

Literature (starting from previous century)

Manifests ;) [7, 8]

Knowledge of anti-patterns [6, 9]

Initiatives: PHP in the ”right” or ”wrong” way

Introduction The problem at hand Possible solutions Summary

The industry standard acronyms

SOLID

KISS

DRY

YAGNI

Introduction The problem at hand Possible solutions Summary

Summary

There are no silver bullets in software development

Be pragmatic, balance is everything

The tools are already there, learn them

Browse http://www.thedailywtf.com/ ;)

When introducing change, do it step by step, avoid big bangs

Learn, apply, repeat

Stay open minded and always be ready for change

Introduction The problem at hand Possible solutions Summary

But I’m working with legacysoftware!

Questions?

Introduction The problem at hand Possible solutions Summary

Thank you!

http://linkedin.com/in/ggodlewskiMail: grzegorz@sorcerystudio.com

Twitter: @GGodlewski

Introduction The problem at hand Possible solutions Summary

References

[1] R. Jeffries. (last accessed 2016) Dark scrum. [Online]. Available:http://ronjeffries.com/articles/016-09ff/defense/

[2] (last accessed 2016) 24 common scrum pitfalls summarized. [Online]. Available:http://www.agileadvice.com/2011/12/05/referenceinformation/24-common-scrum-pitfalls-summarized/

[3] E. Gamma, R. Helm, R. Johnson, and J. Vlissides, Design Patterns. Addison-Wesley, 1994.

[4] M. Fowler et al., Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture. Addison-Wesley, 2003.

[5] K. Beck, Implementation patterns. Addison-Wesley, 2006.

[6] (last accessed 2016) Source making website (design patterns, anti-patterns, refactoring). [Online]. Available:http://sourcemaking.com

[7] (2001) Manifesto for agile software development. [Online]. Available: http://www.agilemanifesto.org/

[8] (2009) Manifesto for software craftmanship. [Online]. Available: http://manifesto.softwarecraftsmanship.org/

[9] Cunningham and Cunningham. (last accessed 2016) Category anti pattern. [Online]. Available:http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?CategoryAntiPattern