One of the hardest daily tasks developers, QA, ScrumMasters, and product owners encounter is effective communication with others. Sound implausible? According to many articles, research, and personal observations, the main cause of project failure is not technology or hardware, but inefficient communication stemming from lack of effective communication between team members, incomplete business analysis, imprecise requirements, and vaguely formulated business objectives.

Your applications need to meet business needs, overcome complex processes, and provide instant results to customers. And, ideally, they’ll require minimal rework on your part. The first step to success is requirements definition. Here, Filip Szymanski offers some tips from agile methods that will improve your requirements—even if you haven’t otherwise adopted agile.

Daryl Kulak explains that if we don't ask the right question at the beginning of the project, then no matter how well we answer, it won't be helpful. Perhaps the biggest difference between agile and waterfall is the question being asked. The scope of the project and any judgments of progress are related to this very fundamental question.

Matthew Gelbwaks writes that rather than applying a strategy to agile, you should apply the principles and values of agile to business or organizational strategy. Agile is the new way to compete and the new way to win at every level of the organization—from development to strategy.