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Agile Development
Agile Development is a project management and product development approach that encourages frequent inspection and adaptation. It is a conceptual framework that promotes specific interactions throughout the development cycle.
The Agile approach has been highly influential in software development, leading to the widespread adoption of Agile methodologies and frameworks. Leading ones include Scrum and XP (eXtreme Programming), allowing for rapidly delivering high-quality software.
Over time, Agile has also found its way into other industries beyond software development, such as marketing, HR, and manufacturing.
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Origins of Agile
The roots of Agile development can be traced back to the 1950s and 1960s with the adoption of iterative and incremental development methods. These methods diverged from the traditional Waterfall model that was linear and sequential.
However, the term “Agile” was not used until the publication of the Agile Manifesto in 2001.
The Birth of the Agile Manifesto
The Agile Manifesto was developed by seventeen software developers during a meetup at Snowbird, Utah, in February 2001. These developers were looking for a new approach to tackle the increasingly complex software development landscape.
They were the creators or essential figures in methodologies such as Scrum, Extreme Programming (XP), DSDM, and more.
Key Values of the Agile Manifesto
The four values stated in the Agile Manifesto are:
- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.
- Working software over comprehensive documentation.
- Customer collaboration over contract negotiation.
- Responding to change over following a plan.
Interestingly, the Agile Manifesto does not dismiss the latter elements in each of these comparisons (such as documentation or following a plan).
Instead, Agile sees more value in the elements on the left, like working software and responding to change.
Key Features of Agile Development
Core elements of Agile development include:
- Customer Satisfaction: Delivering valuable software to the customers early and continuously is a core principle of Agile development. It focuses on the principle of delivering customer value and meeting their requirements.
- Iterations: Agile development works through short iterative cycles called Sprints in Scrum, where software is built incrementally. Instead of delivering everything at once, the development team delivers work in small but usable chunks.
- Adaptable to Change: Agile methods are built with change in mind. The aim is to provide flexibility to respond to changing customer requirements, even late in the development process.
- Cross-functional teams: Agile methods emphasize cross-functional teams where every member contributes, and everyone is responsible for the outcome. It’s built on people and their collaborations rather than processes and tools.
- Constant Communication and Collaboration: Frequent communication among the team members and stakeholders is essential to Agile development. The emphasis is on face-to-face interaction and working together towards a common goal. Tools and meetings like daily stand-ups, sprint planning, and retrospectives facilitate this.
- Working Software: Agile highly values working software over comprehensive documentation. The goal is to provide a functional piece of software that adds value and meets customers’ needs rather than focusing on extensive documentation.
- Sustainable Development: Agile methodologies promote sustainable development where developers can maintain a constant pace indefinitely. The team members are given a healthy work-life balance and are motivated to keep pace and deliver quality.
- Self-organizing Teams: Agile development encourages self-organizing teams that can organize around the work to be done. It empowers the team members to manage their work and make decisions.
- Continuous Improvement: Agile methods involve regular reflections on the team’s performance and ways to become more effective and then adjusting the team’s behavior accordingly. This is done through retrospectives at the end of each iteration.
These key details define Agile development and make it a powerful and flexible method for software development.
Agile allows teams to deliver value quickly, adapt to changes, and continuously improve their work processes.
Agile Development – 5 mins
What is Agile? – 12 mins
