Practices of an Agile Developer

Synopsis

Practices of an Agile Developer offers practical advice for developers who want to work in an agile way—whether their organisation is fully agile or not. Venkat Subramaniam and Andy Hunt (of The Pragmatic Programmer) focus on habits and practices you can adopt individually: how you approach work, collaborate, write code, and improve.

The book is organised into sections on development philosophy, feedback and iteration, keeping the codebase healthy, and working with others. Each practice is concise, with "What it feels like" and "What to do" guidance, making it easy to try one thing at a time.

Why I Recommend It

It bridges the gap between agile theory and day-to-day behaviour. Rather than prescribing ceremonies or roles, it focuses on what you can control: how you slice work, get feedback, refactor, and communicate. That makes it useful even in teams that aren't formally "agile."

Key takeaways:

• Feedback loops: Short cycles—from pairing to small releases—reduce risk and improve learning
• Technical practices: Good design, testing, and refactoring underpin sustainable agility
• Pragmatic attitude: Adapt practices to context; principles matter more than labels

Practical application: I've recommended it to developers who want to be more effective in iterative, collaborative environments. The practices are small enough to adopt incrementally—better naming, smaller commits, asking "what's the simplest thing?"—without needing permission or a big process change.

It pairs well with The Pragmatic Programmer for a solid foundation in craft and mindset.

Favourite Quote

"Agile is not a noun; it's an adjective. You don't 'do agile'—you work in an agile way."

The book keeps coming back to the idea that agility is how you think and act, not a checklist or framework. That perspective helps when introducing practices into teams that are sceptical of "agile" as a buzzword.