17 - Agile Modeling

Summary

Agile Modeling (AM) (Ambler 2002) is a chaordic (Hock 2000), practice-based methodology for effective modeling of software-based systems. The AM methodology is a collection of practices guided by principles and values that can be applied by software professionals on a day-to-day basis. AM is not a prescriptive process. It does not define detailed procedures for creating a given type of model, but it does provide advice on how to be effective as a modeler. It's not hard and fast—think of AM as an art, not a science.

Values

The foundation of AM is its five values, the first four adopted from eXtreme Programming (XP) (Beck 2000):

1. ■ communication,

2. ■ courage,

3. ■ feedback,

4. ■ simplicity,

5. ■ humility.

Principles

The principles of AM, which are based on its values, define the basis for its practices. The principles are organized into two collections: the core principles, which you must fully adopt to be able to claim you are “agile modeling,” and the supplementary principles, which support the core. Table 10 lists the principles of AM.

Practices

The practices of AM define effective techniques for modeling. As with the principles, the practices are organized into two groups, core and supplementary. Table 11 lists the practices of AM.