Rob Grady

From the Wikipedia entry on Dogma

“Dogma (the plural is either dogmata or dogmas, Greek δόγμα, plural δόγματα) is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, ideology or any kind of organization, thought to be authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted or diverged from.”

Have you ever noticed that when it comes to development methodologies some people treat it like dogma? Here are some obvious benefits of adopting a methodology:

1.) It helps us know what to do
2.) How to talk with each other
3.) Helps get new folks up to speed

Methodologies are tools and as the saying goes, “Pick the right tool for the job.” Every organization and team is different and you should pick the methodology that best fits the need. From Waterfall to RUP to Agile and every variant in between, each methodology has it’s own merits. The real question is what methodology works for you and your organization, not that Agile is the best or Waterfall is the only way to go.

There is rarely one ‘right’ way to do things or what your doing now will always be the best. A lot of smart folks are constantly evolving software methodologies and the next ‘best’ methodology is right around the corner. While I find that agile methodologies have been more in-line with the companies, teams and products that I’ve managed I may look at integrating waterfall if I started a two-year banking project. Keep your options open and while you may not adopt the latest or the oldest you may learn something that you can apply today.