Chapter 3. Comparing Processes: The RUP, Agile Methods, and Heavyweight Government Standards

Chapter 3. Comparing Processes: The RUP, Agile Methods, and Heavyweight Government Standards

In this chapter, you'll get a better understanding of how you should apply the Rational Unified Process. We'll discuss characteristics and differences between the RUP approach and

• Other agile approaches such as Extreme Programming (XP), ^[1] Scrum, ^[2] Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM), ^[3] Crystal, ^[4] and Adaptive Development. ^[5]

  ^[1] See Beck 2000.

  ^[2] See Schwaber 2002.

  ^[3] See Stapleton 1998.

  ^[4] See Cockburn 2002.

  ^[5] See Highsmith 2000.

• Process assessment frameworks such as the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) Capability Maturity Models (SEI CMM and SEI CMMI) and ISO/IEC 15504.

• More heavyweight development approaches often linked to standards such as DOD-STD-2167a and MIL-STD-498.

These processes and process assessment frameworks are compared using a "process map" with two dimensions: Low Ceremony/High Ceremony and Waterfall/Iterative. We'll use this map to understand what you should strive for in terms of process improvements, so that you can apply the RUP with the right amount of Ceremony and with the right level of iterative development to fit the specific needs of your project or organization.