This serious book from a serious author is intended for managers and technical leaders seriously interested in improving, maturing, and scaling the practice of agile methodologies in their enterprises.

The book is organized into a substantive introduction and three parts. The introduction first defines agile software development (ASD), its history, and the current state of practice. A comparison of four prominent agile methodologies--extreme programming (XP), Scrum, the dynamic systems development method (DSDM), and the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)--is then made. A discussion of two important underlying competencies, systems thinking and lean thinking, follows. Like wine and chocolate, agile and lean are a good pairing. Namioka reports on a recent experience of adding Kanban to an agile team [1].

Part 1 explores agile strategy in two chapter: “Strategy and Innovation” and “Financial Management.” Part 2 (six chapter) addresses implementation: “Agile Project Management,” “Agile Program Management,” “Governance,” “Quality and Test Management,” “Risk Management,” and “Configuration Management.” Part 3 consists of two chapters: “Organization” and “People Factors.” The book concludes with four handy appendices: “Agile Manifesto and Principles,” “Agile Techniques,” “DSDM Roles,” and “Five-Factor Model Facets.” Oddly, there is no conclusion. Throughout the book, well-crafted figures support the concepts being discussed.

The author makes a carefully constructed and convincing case for improving, maturing, and scaling agile practices in an organization. Readers interested in another perspective on how to mature software development will want to review the progressive outcomes framework [2].

This book lives up to its title. It provides solid management strategies and guidance for organizations to create more value by moving from little “a” agile to big “A” agile (agile across the enterprise).