Software the Agile Way....

Tips for Effective Ice-Breakers ·          Keep it simple. ·          Make it fun. ·          Be creative. ·          Consider various types of Ice-breakers--don't just stick to "questions." ·          Consider your audience. ·          Be aware of time constraints ·          Keep in mind technology requirements. Consider using an ice breaker when: ·          Participants come from different backgrounds. ·          People need to bond quickly so as to work towards a common goal. ·          Your team is newly formed. ·        ...

For sustainability, the team really should own and evolve their standards instead of them being handed a bible. The coding standards can and should change over time. The key is clarity, testability, extensibility and maintainability of the code itself.   It is also important to establish from the beginning that the code base is shared by the whole team. No part of the code should be understood and maintained by only one team member.  Pair programming is the best way to get consistent adherence to standards. The key is the discipline of unit testing and refactoring