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Agile is not a way of making a software but rather is a set of beliefs as said by the Agile Manifesto as developed in 2001. As per Agile Manifesto, Agile is about the following four values –

• Individual and Interactions over processes and tools – It means good face to face chat should be preferred. So, when developing a software it is preferred to have conversations with team, interact and understand face to face, rather than just communicating over emails.
• Working software over comprehensive documents –   Earlier there were lot of software with many documentation, some good some bad. Imagine a person who when operating a computer, has to read over so many of the documents. With changing times, now the companies are insisting on less documentations and more on developing software.
• Customer Collaboration over – Instead of locking customers in a cage by defining the customer on contracts, teams and customers should collaborate. So, initially the idea of the product is decided upon and then the customers and the consumers collaborate to decide on what next should be done!!
• Responding to Change – It is better to make changes, then just stick to the perfect plan. Although it is good idea to stick to a goal, but accepting changes, is better!

Principles of Agile Methodology

Agile works on the following 12 methodology –

1. Customer satisfaction by rapid delivery of useful software.
2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in the development.
3. working software is delivered more frequently as compared to other models.
4. working software is the principal means of progress.
5. sustainable development able to maintain constant pace.
6. close, daily co-operation between business people and developers.
7. face-to-face conversation is the best form of communication.
8. projects are built around motivated and trustworthy individuals.
9. continuous attention is being given to the technical excellence and good design.
10. simplicity
11. self-organizing teams
12. regular adaption to the changing circumstances.

Now, when thinking of Agile, most of us think about Scrum, but the truth is that there are many other ways of achieving Agile as well! Apart from Scrum, the other Agile methodologies are – Extreme Programming (XP), Dynamic System Development Method (DSDM), Feature Driven Development (FDD) along with Lean and Kanban which can be adopted based on the scenarios in which Agile adoption is intended.

For implementing any of the agile methodologies, it is important to first know the business context before applying any of the agile methodology!

In the newer times, there is also the Hybrid Agile methods which have evolved over time.

Key Drivers for Agile Methodology

In simple terms, the questions is, why on Earth do we even need Agile technology?

The main reason for getting into Agile Technology is that the IT industry is becoming more and more user driven. The user changes their demands frequently and while developing software, one has to get feedback from the user again and again! The main reasons for adopting Agile Methodology are –

1. With more and more user involvement, Agile is trying to bring more synergy between the IT and the Business.

Happy Learning 🙂