Agile Glossary and Reference Library

World’s Largest Opinionated Agile Reference Library. The content is created and the links are curated through the lens of Agile Pain Relief Consulting’s view of what is effective in the practice of Scrum and Agile. We don’t accept submissions, and emails to that effect are marked as spam. Book listings may use affiliate links that could result in a small commission received by us if you purchase, but they do not affect the price at all. From experience, this won’t amount to anything more than a cup of coffee in a year.

We’re always looking for all things Agile. As a result, we’ve amassed a large collection of information covering lots of practical topics, techniques, tips, and case studies which we believe may help you toward your Scrum/Agile goals. They have been curated and organized into one spot, to share with you to help you on your Agile journey. We routinely scan for broken links, but if you spot one before we do, please let us know.

• Acceptance CriteriaAcceptance Criteria are used to ensure that a feature (or User Story) the team is building meets the needs of the End User. The common practice is for(...)
• AgileAgile is a mindset for doing work in a team environment that improves teamwork, professional performance, and adaptability. The Agile mindset is focused(...)
• Agile Anti-PatternsIn software development work, a design pattern is a description of a solution to a recurring problem. It outlines the elements that are necessary to solve(...)
• Agile ArchitectsAgile Architect – An Oxymoron Agile Architects Reimagined? Not at the top of the pyramid, but perhaps aside Resource Links: Coaching the Agile(...)
• Agile Architectural PatternsResource Links: Catalog of Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture Event Sourcing Mistakes we made adopting event sourcing (and how we(...)
• Agile ArchitectureAgile Architecture emphasizes the minimum amount of design upfront, and focusing on building something and evolving the architecture as our understanding(...)
• Agile Branching StrategiesGit, Mercurial and other source control tools provide robust and easy to use branching capabilities. For work with OpenSource software —where anyone could(...)
• Agile Business IntelligenceBusiness Intelligence (aka BI) is the dark art of extracting knowledge from a database in a way that humans can understand it. Agile Business Intelligence(...)
• Agile ContractsTraditional fixed price, fixed outcome contracts don't fare well in an Agile world. The traditional approach puts the emphasis on getting the details(...)
• Agile DocumentationAgile Documentation. Is it an oxymoron? The Agile Manifesto says "Working Software over Comprehensive Documentation". It doesn't say no documentation, and(...)
• Agile Engineering PracticesIn my workshops, I often have people who are focused on the question: “How can I help my team go faster?”, or “How can we deliver this Product sooner?”(...)
• Agile for Embedded SoftwareEmbedded Software Development is about building software that is installed inside a device example: thermostat, car engine controller, planes, WiFi(...)
• Agile Game DevelopmentAgile Game Development is different from classical software development. Building a game from scratch will require a broader group of people than we're(...)
• Agile GovernmentAgile is about adapting to changing requirements and needs. Governments, just like anyone else, have to deal with dynamic issues as they arise and evolve,(...)
• Agile HardwareAgile approaches have taken over the world of software, because teams that deliver value sooner with higher quality beat the slow. Hardware teams face(...)
• Agile/Lean UXAgile or Lean UX (User eXperience) is about incorporating UX into the flow of work of a development team. Many try the approach of having the UX people(...)
• Agile Mainframe DevelopmentResource Links: Agile in a Mainframe and Cobol world Make Your Mainframe Systems and Technology More Agile: An Interview with Jay McFarling and(...)
• Agile Organizational StructureIt's strange to start becoming Agile and assume that Organizational Structure won't change. As Agile steers an organization to focus on Product and(...)
• Agile Outside of SoftwareIn the over 20 years since the Agile Manifesto was written, we've seen Agile approaches applied in a large variety of fields outside of software(...)
• Agile ProcurementTraditional fixed price, fixed outcome contracts don't fare well in an Agile world. The traditional approach puts the emphasis on getting the details(...)
• Agile Sales and MarketingSales and Marketing are challenged in the same way that software development was over 20 years ago. The work is often split over multiple groups, and(...)
• Agile SchoolsScrum in the world of work, allows teams to self-organize around a common goal (Delivering a Product). Scrum in education is about getting kids to self(...)
• Agile TheatreAgile's success is also its Achilles heel. Everyone wants to do Agile, but not everyone wants to make any changes to be Agile. There is a lot of focus on(...)
• Appreciative InquiryAppreciative Inquiry is an approach to team development and organizational change that works by focusing on the strengths and positive aspects of the(...)
• Approval TestsResource Links: Approval Tests Approval Tests with Llewellyn Falco Approval Testing Using ApprovalTests in .Net 17 Wpf See Also: Legacy(...)
• ARC Motivational ModelARC motivation model is part of Self Determination Theory, which shows there are two kinds of motivation: Intrinsic and Extrinsic. Intrinsic(...)