Mort Still Isn't Agile!
The debate goes on ... but Mort still isn't Agile!
I appreciate Nick's clarifications, they have helped clear a few misunderstandings, and I'm sure Sam appreciates the apology :)
I think Nick's problem started with the boxes.
Nick puts working software over comprehensive documentation. But how do you define working software?
Nick seems to define it as 'something that appears to work right' ... in which case Mort can sit in the agile box, tapping away with his drag and drop interfaces.
The only problem with Nick's definition is, Mort can't prove it he has working software.
Firstly, Mort is dependent on his services. He gets his services written by 'clever people' - and the clever people tell him the services work right. But he really has no evidence to that effect, and as he doesn't know about testing, he can't be sure.
Secondly, his own code has snippets here and there, and he can't even prove to his boss that his code works. As long as he is only linking services a la Popfly, then he may get away with it. But if he starts using MS Access to provide a stock control system, with a few dozen macros and some VBA, and a couple of .NET addins he downloaded off the Internet, it's anyone's guess what will happen.
To me, working software is not the appearance of working, but the proof of working (as far as possible).
So fundamentally, using Nick's boxes... I don't put Mort in the Agile box.
He didn't produce documentation either - so actually he can't really be placed according to that axis.
Can Mort even be aligned on the vertical axis? He uses tools for everything - his job is just using other people's tools. He may not have any processes though. He certainly values people and interactions, he believes he is working in the interests of his users, and his people skills will come in handy on his job applications.
I don't think Nick's box contains Mort at all - because all of the boxes have at least some well defined standards of good practice, levels of documentation, levels of testability or evidence of testing scenarios. And Mort doesn't really want to be bothered by all of that - he just wants to get on and code something. He is the archetypical hacker.
I just want to get on and code something too. No, I *really* do. Sometimes however I'm smart enough to stop, think about things, draw some things out on paper or a whiteboard, discuss options with colleagues, spike a few unknowns, and all that other boring stuff that Mort doesn't concern himself with.
I think Mort has his own box. It has REST services on one side, it has VS wizards on another side, it has VBA on another side, and on the last side it has a blender. Mort's job is to pull all of those things together into the middle, power up the blender, and start preparing his CV for his next contract when he is unable to bluff his current employer any further that he knows what he is doing.
Mort is Bad! Mmmmmmkay!