For some recent time, many of the professionals involved in innovation projects, me included, have claimed to follow the guidelines of the Agile methodology. However, at the same time, they have often been aware that such claims were partially true. In his excellent book, David Asch provides an enlightening description of how the Agile Manifesto, originally founded on a theoretical basis, apparently tricky to apply, can be put into practice in simple and effective ways. Asch shows how Agile can really become a tool to improve the efficiency of a working group, be it the Engineering core team of a new startup looking for its place in the business or the HR department of a large company struggling to keep up with an increasingly competitive market. Through simple and clear language, made up of examples, checklists, quizzes, and tutorials, the author intrigues you as a reader, and stimulates to review your way of dealing with daily work challenges, starting from the awareness of your own room for improvement. By overcoming the Waterfall model, instinctively and widely adopted, especially when under pressure, he shows how the more meticulous Agile approach based on broad overview, organization in micro tasks, strong synergy between teams and real-time evaluation of results through objectively measurable parameters, can effectively take your performance to a next level. You will discover the importance of deeply comprehending one question and accurately estimating the effort for its possible resolutions. And you will appreciate the value of analyzing failures and raising red flags to prevent problems in the future.
The Agile managerial mentality that Asch proposes is illuminating, not aimed at purely providing directions, instead more focused on understanding problems and paving the ways to teams' operations, according to a deep knowledge of collaborators and work context.--Alessandro Ossoli, Chief Operating Officer, KoolSpan, Inc. If you're a CEO, executive, or employee at a firm that wants to be more agile or that is already in the process, but things are not quite working out, this book is for you. Also, if you're interested in Agile, but think it's only something for tech companies or for people in IT, this book is also for you. David Asch explains that much of what Agile is about, has nothing to do specifically with software, but rather an approach and philosophy of how to tackle work. One of the most notable aspects of this book is its accessibility. Even if you have no prior knowledge of Agile methodologies, the book does an exceptional job of explaining the basics in a way that is easy to understand. The case studies and real-world examples included in the book are also incredibly helpful.
They provide a clear understanding of how Agile methodologies can be applied to a range of business functions, from marketing to HR to sales. I had honestly never thought about Agile for other business functions the way Asch does and he manages to do so with a great sense of humor. I wish David Asch had written this book seven years ago and handed it to me. It would have saved me many headaches.--Javier Ferraez, Product Management, Amazon.com Over the years, I have read multiple books on Agile methodologies. Some were quite good, but none was particularly entertaining. David possesses a unique gift.
Not only does he make a compelling case for the use of Agile methodologies across departments in an organization, he does it through relatable examples and with immense humour. I continually found myself excited to move on to the next chapter, both for the educational value and for the raw entertainment. This is far and away the best book on Agile I have ever read.--Pete Devenyi, (Retired) Senior Vice President, Global Products and Solutions, Dematic, Author, Decoding Your Stem Career.