Agile methodologies are approaches to development that are aligned with the values and principles described within the Agile Manifesto for software development. Agile methodologies aim to deliver the accurate product, with incremental and frequent delivery of small chunks of functionality, through collaboration between small cross-functional self-organizing teams, enabling frequent customer feedback and course correction as needed.
The authors of the Agile Manifesto chose “Agile” as the label for this whole idea because that word represented the adaptiveness and response to change which was so important to their approach. It’s really about thinking through how you'll understand what’s occurring within the environment that you’re in today, identify what uncertainty you’re facing, and work out how you'll adapt thereto as you go along.
In doing so, Agile aims to address the challenges faced by the standard “waterfall” approaches of delivering large products over long periods of time, during which customer requirements frequently change, leading to the wrong products being delivered.
Agile Manifesto
The Agile Manifesto is a statement of core values and principles for software development. The Agile Manifesto for software development was created in 2001 and it is a declaration of 4 vital rules and 12 principles that function as a guide for people in agile software development. It was set by 17 professionals who already practiced agile methods like XP, DSDM, SCRUM, FDD, etc, gathered within the snowy mountains of the US state of Utah in 2001.
Why It Works
Agile methodology enables working teams to figure out various environments that need evolved solutions and organization systems. It is ideal for teams that are working towards a common goal, but with different functional expertise. And here are 5 reasons why it works:
- Iterative and incremental development
Iterative development breaks down large tasks into smaller pieces that may be repeated, refined, and researched throughout the software development cycle. The agile iterative approach allows development teams to plan, design, check and adjust iterations. The approach provides an area for customers to be involved during the process. Instead of delaying feedback until final delivery when time and resources have already been spent, incremental development ensures that teams can use feedback to form changes early and often.
- Teamwork
Agile relies on cross-functional teams to make communication easier between the various stakeholders within the project. The original text states this situation as; "business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project".
Motivated teams generate the foremost value for the customer when given freedom. Projects are completed faster and with better quality by reducing micromanagement and empowering motivated team members.
- Customer Collaboration
Using an agile approach in practice, you experience a partnership between the customer and development team within which discovery, questioning, learning, and adjusting during the course of the project are routine, acceptable, and systematic. Customer review is constructed into the method and therefore the customer gets to determine the merchandise at the end of each iteration. Agile projects create a chance for increased customer satisfaction and return on investment by handling change effectively.
- Feedback - Continues Improvement
Continued improvement for the way the team works and the product the customer requests are provided with the systematic routine partnership we mentioned above. Continuous process improvement looks at the way the team approaches the project to spot things that will be added, removed, or changed to extend efficiency and reduce waste. The goal may be a better experience for everybody involved and a far better output through self-improvement.
- Simplicity - Quality
Simplicity doesn't mean simplistic. To attain simplicity, the team will purify all the functionalities to the maximum amount possible to retain only the essentials and offer their client a functional environment. We want to specialize in the features that will help the customer enjoy the “result”, and which can ultimately not correlate with the number of features producing the “output”. In other words, simplicity for the customer must be supported by a coherent set of high-quality functionalities.
What are Agile Methodologies?
The most popular and customary examples are Scrum, Kanban, eXtreme Programming (XP), Lean Software Development (LSD), Crystal, Feature Driven Development (FDD), Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM), and Adaptive Software Development (ASD). The foremost widely used methodologies are Scrum, Kanban, and XP.
- Scrum
emphasizes accountability, teamwork, and iterative progress towards a well-defined goal, with transparency and adaptation as a basis. It starts with what is known at the instant moment, then allows for tracking progress and tweaking when needed.
Everyone plays a role in Scrum; and in development, Scrum roles include product owner, who maintains the backlog, Scrum master who helps maintain the agile environment, and the Scrum development team. Communication happens via daily scrum meetings to align everyone and see how best to implement the sprint.
Scrum fits the first phase of a commercial product life cycle, during which the customer is placed in the marketplace for the first time; uncertainty is high, while the focus is on on-time delivery of the first market-ready product.
- Kanban is quite another style of visualized workflow. It cuts work into small pieces and directly shows the progress of every task. It is perfect for indicating the source of problems, delays, and things which don’t work. It measures and well manages all the working methods so you are able to find bottlenecks. Kanban also includes a limit on the quantity of work which you'll take without delay. That rule makes sure that teams won’t take an excessive amount of work for every cycle before they end others. It promotes collaboration with the client and therefore the team,
nonstop learning and finding the most effective workflow.
- Extreme Programming focuses on principles and ensuring that delivered products are of the best quality. In XP teams work also short cycles, very closely. They can adapt and alter structure adapting to a new reality/situation/plan. It means the team and client can deliver products frequently, and faster with higher effectiveness.
Benefits Of Agile Methodologies
Agile methods help teams manage work more efficiently and do the work more effectively while delivering high-quality products within the constraints of the budget. Here is a list of advantages of agile methodologies explained in detail:
- Quick on the market
Most market leaders in various sectors were the first to bring their products or idea to the market. It is absolutely crucial to stay up with the ever-changing, fast-paced economy. Agile encourages early releases followed by regular releases after getting feedback from customers.
- Happy customers
Throughout a project, there is an energetic involvement of everyone engaged in the project. The project is in a position to be adjusted and altered to satisfy the customer.
- Motivated team
When a team works together to deliver valuable work and quality projects, their morale increases, thus they feel more motivated within their team. Political dysfunctions and project transparency reduce plenty of pressure. The working team is more connected as all of them have an influence within the team when it involves planning throughout a project and taking responsibility for his or her role within the team.
- Improved quality
Agile methodologies use an iterative approach to project management, meaning processes are improved upon every time an interval is repeated. This consistent specialization in the improvement and internal control is one of the core principles of Agile, and it helps to form superior products.
- Reduced risk
Developers regularly assess progress during sprints, meaning they get better visibility into the project and have a chance to spot potential obstacles quickly. These minor issues are tackled before they escalate, creating an efficient risk mitigation process thus giving the project a greater chance of success.
Tools
Agile is absolutely a way of thinking and dealing. It is a technique out of the many that a team can organize itself when approaching certain tasks and projects. Agile relies on harnessing adaptability, flexibility and clear communication. This helps teams face the chaotic and exciting world of development to deliver cost-effective, user-friendly products.
When choosing a tool to use for your agile process, you must take the subsequent into account:
- What size team do you have?
- Are you a development agency or does your company provide a software tool or service?
- What types of projects do you work on and what is the variety of clients you predominantly work for?
- What form of data do you need on an everyday basis? What styles of reports?
- What’s your team’s agile adoption level? Are they new agile?
- What’s your budget?
Whatever your answer to the above questions is, the foremost important aspects that you should look for in every agile project management tool are:
- Good backlog management
- Project planning and tracking
- Roadmapping
- Release planning
- Good collaboration features
Atlassian's Jira Align does a great job at unlocking agility. Jira Align connects business strategy to technical execution. With Jira Align, you get real-time visibility, the ability to align every team to a strategy, and can effectively optimize for customer value.
Agile methodology overcomes the risk of paying a lot of your time if there are any changes required. It allows teams to figure directly with clients, rather than working with other teams. This provides a transparent outcome with a focused goal and in an incremental way.
Organizations found Agile more useful than the waterfall method from various perspectives. except for the IT industry, Agile is additionally popular in the manufacturing, FMCG, and automobile industries.
Read about Jira Align and how it can help your company become more agile by clicking the following link: Jira Align Overview PDF
As Atlassian Silver Solution Partners - we leverage Jira Align to connect the work that IT, Dev, and business teams are doing with the organization’s goals and objectives, enabling executives to fund, manage, and execute their portfolio of projects with an outcomes-based approach.
To Learn how CirrusLabs can help you implement Jira Align within your organization and guide you on your tracks to becoming a more agile organization check out our Jira Align landing page.