Years ago, we heard about a movement in software development that was more about individuals and interactions than processes and tools. It was about responding to change and not a rigid plan. Of course, I’m quoting from the Agile Manifesto.

Agile development didn’t spring to life overnight, but slowly and over time we’ve adapted as an industry a more agile approach to how we develop software. A similar change is happening in the way that we communicate, and it’s happening in the same fits and starts that agile development initially had. The change is about collaboration, not negotiation. It’s about getting things done rather than having documentation. The changes that we’re seeing in communication follow the same openness and transparency that created agile nearly 15 years ago.

One of the tools that stands to change the way that we communicate is Yammer. Microsoft purchased Yammer in 2012 and has been integrating it into its products and services, creating a future that includes Yammer integrated into the Office applications we use every day.

But the question is how does a mass-market enterprise social tools help developers write better software? Clues are in how Yammer aligns to the direction we’ve been headed for years and what we’re already doing in person for agile development. Clues can also be found in the way that we collaborate outside our enterprise, despite Yammer being described as the enterprise social network.

Read more at: http://sdtimes.com/yammering-development/