You need to get value from your software project. You need it free now and perfect. We cant get you there but we can help you get to cheaper sooner and better. This book leads you from the desire for value down to the specific activities that help good Agile projects deliver better software sooner and at a lower cost. Using simple sketches and a few words the author invites you to follow his path of learning and understanding from a half century of software development and from his engagement with Agile methods from their very beginning. The book describes software development starting from our natural desire to get something of value. Each topic is described with a picture and a few paragraphs. Youre invited to think about each topic to take it in. Youll think about how each step into the process leads to the next. Youll begin to see why Agile methods ask for what they do and youll learn why a shallow implementation of Agile can lead to only limited improvement. This is not a detailed map nor a stepbystep set of instructions for building the perfect project. There is no map or instructions that will do that for you. You need to build your own project making it a bit more perfect every day. To do that effectively you need to build up an understanding of the whole process. This book points out the milestones on your journey of understanding the nature of software development done well. It takes you to a location describes it briefly and leaves you to explore and fill in your own understanding. What You Need Youll need your Standard Issue Brain a bit of curiosity and a desire to build your own understanding rather than have someone elses detailed ideas poured into your head.