I have never been a big fan of software development processes. Ok, I hated them. To me, they have always felt like slave-driving overlords who wanted nothing more than to make my life miserable through mundane and trivial busywork. I could never understand why it had to take an hour or more of mostly administrative tasks just to change a static copyright at the bottom of a web page. Really, how bad could I screw up changing 2006 to 2007?
Then into my life floated the Rational Unified Process (RUP). It was my first introduction to interative development, and as I learned more (The Rational Unified Process Made Easy by Kroll, Kruchten, 2003), RUP started to feel more like the anti-process. Sure, there are still processes to be followed, but not a strict, weighted-down set of process requirements like most of the waterfall organizations I had experienced.
RUP is not a single concrete prescriptive process, but rather an adaptable process framework, intended to be tailored by the development organizations and software project teams that will select the elements of the process that are appropriate for their needs.(1)
The basis of RUP is eight fundamental principles, called the "Spirit of the RUP." These principles closely reflect those of the Agile Manifesto. These principles are:
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Attack major risks early and continuously… or they will attack you.
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Ensure that you deliver value to your customer.
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Stay focused on executable software.
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Accommodate change early in the project.
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Baseline an executable architecture early on.
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Build your system with components.
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Work together as one team.
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Make quality a way of life, not an afterthought.
I liked it so much that today I took and passed the 839 RUP exam from IBM. I am now an IBM Certified Solution Designer - Rational Unified Process 7.0. Who would have thought? Process that!
More info: Key principles for business-driven development
(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rup