Agile techniques to avoid firefighting at a start-up
Joseph A. Blotner · 2002
This paper documents the creation and evolution of the (modified) agile methodology implemented at Sabrix, Inc., a start-up enterprise-class software company. The company was delivering alpha quality software to early adopter customers on a weekly basis, using urgency as the primary driver for product development. New features and bug fixes were completed in a manner similar to a soccer game between two teams of five-year-olds, with everyone on the team chasing down the latest emergency. This paper discusses the agile software development discipline that enabled Sabrix to evolve from that chaotic environment to the point where the company was balancing both urgency and importance to drive product direction. This discipline enabled the company to actually deliver a "Release", and move forward into a new product architecture.