What Is Agile In Software Development?

Introduction

Agile is an iterative approach to software development that focuses on collaboration, customer feedback, and responding to change. It is often seen as an alternative to the traditional Waterfall methodology, which follows a linear, sequential approach. Agile is supported by the Agile Manifesto, which outlines the core values and principles of the Agile process. There are many frameworks that use Agile principles, including Scrum, Kanban, and Extreme Programming (XP).

What Is Agile?

Agile is a software development methodology that emphasizes iterative development and collaboration between self-organizing teams. It focuses on customer feedback and adapting to changes in the development environment. Agile is based on the idea that requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between cross-functional teams.

What Is The Agile Manifesto?

The Agile Manifesto was created in 2001 as a set of principles to guide the development of software. It emphasizes the importance of responding to change, delivering value to customers, and working collaboratively. The Agile Manifesto consists of four core values:

1. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
2. Working software over comprehensive documentation
3. Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
4. Responding to change over following a plan.

What Are Examples Of Agile Frameworks

Agile frameworks are tools and techniques used to execute the Agile methodology. Scrum is a popular Agile framework which emphasizes self-organizing teams, sprints, and retrospectives. Kanban is another Agile framework that focuses on visualizing workflows and limiting work in progress. Finally, Extreme Programming (XP) is an Agile framework that emphasizes coding standards, refactoring, and test-driven development.

Is Agile Actually A Methodology?

Frequently we hear people talk about the Agile methodology. But many think the word methodology is problematic and try to avoid it. The agile manifesto is not dictatorial. It doesn’t pretend to be a methodology. It is not a formalized project management template. Which is the point.

What agile tries to accomplish is to get you to stop thinking that if you find some process in some external methodology and then follow it to the letter, all your problems will be solved and all your projects will execute successfully. Agile tries to get away from that approach but still emphasizes that structures and processes are important. These can provide consistency, clarity, and clarity around expectations, and promote transparency.

Agile frameworks like Scrum, Extreme Programming, or Crystal all support the values and principles in the manifesto, but then add specific guidelines and practices around things like planning, facilitating meetings, managing communication, distributing workloads, or keeping track of feature requests. Notice that these are called frameworks and avoid the word methodology because it suggests the right focus. Thus we are trying to find a framework that is flexible and supports building something and not trying to find a methodology to follow.

Conclusion

Agile is a popular alternative to the Waterfall methodology of software development. It is supported by the Agile Manifesto and is implemented through various frameworks such as Scrum, Kanban, and Extreme Programming. By following the Agile methodology, teams can collaborate more effectively, deliver value to customers, and respond to change quickly.