Speaking of Sam, he talks today about one-week iterations and having a "shippable" version of the code every week. Reminds me of Jim McCarthy's classic book "Dynamics of Software Development". One of the many rules from that book is "Get to a Known State and Stay There" - I'm sure that sounds familiar to Sam. Other classic rules include "Don't Flip the Bozo Bit" and "When You Slip, Don't Fall".
I just noticed MS Press is putting Dynamics of Software Development back in print with a new cover and a DVD of the the original “21 Rules” presentation that begat the book. It's a great book - I highly recommend it as well as his other book "Software For Your Head". Also, Jim and his wife Michelle are doing a podcast called The McCarthy Show. Subscribed.