In 2009, Larman and Vodde published Scaling lean & agile development [1], an introduction to the theory underlying agile methods, particularly Scrum, with a special focus on large-scale software development. That book promised a companion volume presenting action tools--practical tips for making the method work. This latest book fulfills that promise.

The authors cover a wide range of practices and techniques, in separate chapters: testing (mainly varieties of test-driven development), product management (not project management, which they deplore), planning, coordination between teams, requirements analysis and realization in Scrum, design and architecture, handling legacy code, continuous integration, inspect and adapt (process improvement, in other words), and development in multi-site and offshore organizations. There is also an interesting chapter (written with a lawyer) on contracts for agile work. Two very short introductory chapters and a summary chapter about Scrum feature teams, along with recommended readings, a bibliography, a list of experiments (the tips presented in the book), and an index, complete the book.

There are other books on large-scale development with agile methods, but this one is unique in that it’s informed by the foundational companion book and it covers topics other books typically do not. The book is packed with suggestions (more than 600), most of them quite reasonable--unfortunately, more can’t be said on this because of the dearth of real research on agile methods and their effectiveness. The sheer size of the book makes it overwhelming to read from start to finish. It might be better to dip into various chapters when dealing with particular sorts of problems.

The book contains the material promised in the companion volume, but does not meet the standard of quality set by it. There is a great deal of redundancy both within and between chapters, despite the practice of using marginal notes to refer to related material. Some chapters are peppered with footnotes that should be incorporated into the narrative. Some examples are incomprehensible, and others are understandable but overdone, going on for several pages when one page would do. The last chapter summarizes a small portion of the first book, unnecessarily. The first page of the bibliography is in the wrong font. The overall impression is that the editing process was skipped or rushed, and the result is a book that could be shorter and better than it is.

The first volume of the pair can be read without the second, though having the second at hand to illustrate specifics is useful. The second volume cannot be read easily without the first because it makes too many explicit references to it, and it relies too heavily on the fundamental principles and approaches laid out in the first volume. Readers interested in a foundational treatment of agile methods and Scrum are advised to obtain both volumes and concentrate on the first. Readers also facing day-to-day problems using Scrum will find the second volume valuable as a source of insights and practical suggestions, but only after digesting the first volume and adopting its mindset.