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A personal narrative is presented which explores the author's experience of training people about agile software development through storytelling in presentations. The article further discusses guidelines for crafting a story by discussing two stories entitled "The Castle Fairy Tale" and "A Soviet Economist in Rotterdam." Information about the author of the article is also presented. INSETS: CRAFTING A STORY: GUIDELINES FOR DOING IT YOURSELF;EXAMPLE 1: THE CASTLE FAIRY TALE;EXAMPLE 2: A SOVIET ECONOMIST IN ROTTERDAM.

The article examines an empirical study which focuses on the requirements engineering (RE) practices employed by agile software developers and the benefits and challenges posed by these practices. It discusses an analysis of data from 16 software development organizations which reveals seven agile RE methodologies. The study has two phases including the carrying of case studies in 10 organizations involved in high-speed software development and the taking of data from six organizations which used Extreme Programming and Scrum. The study analyzes the difference between agile RE and traditional RE and suggests that the intensive communication between the developers and customers is the most important RE practice.

The article focuses on the reasons why software developers are not following agile or formal methods as traditionally conceptualized. It cites the challenges faced by organizations in switching to a purely formal approach and a purely agile one. It mentions the increasing demand for the so-called agile tools to meet the needs of top management. According to emerging empirical evidence, most agile teams utilize some upfront design while most formal methods are iterative.

The author discusses the importance of thinking through numerous work ideas instead of settling on the first one that comes up. He says that software developers who use agile development rarely think about other possibilities once they have begun their work. He suggests having a team meeting in which team members use sketchboards to draw and think through their ideas.

The article offers information on the Better Software Conference West and the Agile Development Conference West to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada from June 10-15, 2012.