Chapter 3. Complex Systems Theory

Wonder is what sets us apart from other life forms. No other species wonders about the meaning of existence or the complexity of the universe or themselves.

—Herbert W. Boyer, professor of biochemistry (1936–)

Many Agile software development experts agree that a software development team is a complex adaptive system1 because it is made up of multiple interacting parts within a boundary, with the capacity to change and learn from experience. [Highsmith 1999:8] [Schwaber 2002:90] [Larman 2004:34] [Anderson 2004:11] [Augustine 2005:24]. And who am I to claim otherwise?

1 http://www.mgt30.com/cas/.

The magazine Emergence: Complexity & Organization once conducted an extensive study of management books referencing ...

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