More and more companies are switching over to the Agile process of business. Yet, for many people it is hard to know what the real details of this are and if it will fit with their company or project requirements. It is tried to help you decide whether Agile will fit with your startup’s culture and approach to software development.

What is agile?

An agile is an approach to project management and software development which helps teams to deliver value to their customers faster. In agile, work is delivered in small, but consumable, increments. The team is able to respond quickly to changes as they happen because of the continuous evaluation of requirements, plans and results. The idea behind this methodology is that instead of seeking for perfection and wasting time in an overly detailed planning, people should engage in weekly sprints focused on making progress on their most important tasks.

Agile is a term used in software development that describes a group of software development methods based on iterative and incremental development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams. Agile methods are a way of developing products quickly, with the product owner as a key player in the delivery process. Agile is a philosophy, not a technique, and should be a part of your overall system management strategy, which must include your existing development processes.

Agile software development

The Agile software development is a project management framework that has significantly changed the way companies approach big-scale developments. The benefits of Agile lies in reduction of time and expenses on software development projects and better customer satisfaction. To make your next software development more efficient, use an Agile approach to manage it.

What is the history of agile?

The history of agile is a story of continuous improvement. The agile approach was first developed in the early 1990s, and has been refined over the years through experience and feedback from practitioners. One of the principles that emerged during the early stages of agile was that it is not enough to produce software in an iterative way. Software needs to be designed and developed in a flexible way that allows for changes to be made at any time, based on the needs of the business.

What is the agile manifesto and principles?

The agile manifesto is a document that describes the values and principles of the agile software development methodology. It was created in 2001 by a group of software developers who were looking for a more efficient way to produce software. The agile principles are a set of values that guide the agile methodology. They emphasize collaboration, feedback, and adaptation to change. The values outlined in the manifesto are 4 values and 12 principle which are outlined below.

Its four values 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

12 principles behind agile are:

·         Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.

·         Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer's competitive advantage.

·         Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.

·         Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.

·         Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.

·         The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.

·         Working software is the primary measure of progress.

·         Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.

·         Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.

·         Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount of work not done--is essential.

·         The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.

·         At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

Advantages of Agile

It is an advancement of the waterfall software development lifecycle. Agile allows you to improve your product or service as it is being developed by sending incremental updates to investors, users and end-users. The advantages of Agile are the following:

·         It gives a boost to your product or service and makes it successful because people change their perception of it as a result of their work with it. They become interested in it and want to develop further. This is one of the great advantages of Agile methodology because it allows you to improve your project as you go, not having to compromise the quality of its development process.

·         Agile methodology provides a variety of roles to project teams, including: product owner, scrum master, development team, user representative, QA experts, business analysts, etc. All of these roles are necessary to make the product or service successful and meet the expectations of the customer.

·         The project is divided into small, frequent and predictable parts that should be easy to understand for the customer. This helps to control and improve the quality of the product, its implementation and delivery. The project is always divided into a fixed number of tasks that are essential for its development. This is the final element of your project, the one that is controlled and coordinated by you as a team.

·         The project is based on the principles of teamwork, transparency and collaboration.

·         The project delivers results as a result of its development and it must be measurable. The development should be examined periodically to verify the quality of the product and to make sure that it meets the expectations of the customer.

What’s Agile methodology?

The Agile methodology is a popular software development approach that emphasizes collaboration and feedback. It consists of the following steps:

·         Get everyone involved in the project; invite anyone to the discussions and meetings who might be interested or have any input. It can be the stakeholders, their teams or even non-functional personnel.

·         Get everyone involved in creating a product backlog; also use a lean approach and document each step that has been taken so far.

·         Establish a set of tools and standards; use Scrum methodology and create a team-based product development cycle.

·         Get everyone involved in testing the product; implement an iterative process that allows for flexibility and continual improvement of the product.

·         Get everyone involved in managing and working with the product.

What is Scrum?

A scrum is a rugby term that has been adopted by software development teams. It is a term for a way of organizing a team around a piece of work. So what is a scrum? A scrum is an agile project management framework that is designed for the team to use to develop, deliver and sustain complex products for better results. Many teams such as HR, marketing, design and more can use Scrum, however it is the most common for software developers and engineers. Scrum has some beneficial features since it embraces changes, reduces risk and costs and is a tangible process. All these features increases team engagement and satisfaction, make complicated and huge projects more manageable and faster to solve since it is broken into bite-sized pieces. There are some tool like Jira that are used for scrum.

In general, the development of a methodology allows you to:

·         Increase your productivity;

·         Save time and money;

·         Prevent risks;

·         Reduce costs;

·         Improve quality;

·         Increase quality assurance;

·         Decrease the number of mistakes.

What is Kanban?

Kanban is a system used to organize workflow. It allows companies to identify what products should be worked on next in order to maximize efficiency and effectiveness. It is easy to create workflows using Lean concepts when you use the Kanban method because it will help you develop a strategic plan that aligns with your unique mission as a business owner. You can visualize your work on your Kanban Board. Like any other workflows, Kanban and Scrum follow similar methods that manage project operations. These processes ensure that the entire project is managed efficiently. The first step of a Kanban workflow is product development and Scrum starts from creating and prioritizing the product backlog and then moving to other sections like today, doing, blocked and done. Kanban Board and Kanban Cards can help you to make sure about the flow of work and lead time. Kanban Board can be developed on a piece of paper, window, whiteboards or even on software like Jiro.

What is the future of agile?

Agile is currently the most widely used method of process optimization. In this age of fast-changing conditions, it has been proven to help teams get work done quickly and effectively. Agile helps ensure that businesses adapt as needed, provide timely updates and give immediate feedback to its clients on design changes. Both Kanban and Scrum share common principles to help organizations progress forward. Agile has already been accepted as a viable alternative to the traditional waterfall approach, resulting in more innovative processes. Agile has changed the way businesses do things and is highly likely to continue to change.

What are the characteristics of the agile mindset? How does one become an agile leader? The attitude of the agile mindset is collaborative, flexible and a builder of success.