" Agile development techniques and strategies entered the fray based out of real-life experiences of software and IT professionals who were frankly sick and tired of the many fallacies of the traditional waterfall development. The Agile development is a stark contrast of the orthodox software development practices in terms of philosophy and execution. Before we get to the nitty-gritty, let’s delve into what Agile Methodology actually is: "
What is Agile Methodology?
By default, Agile methodology implies an incremental and iterative management process. Ever heard of an evolving landscape? That’s what Agile is! Some of the methodologies in question include the likes of Scrum, Kanban, XP, etc. All in all, it signifies practices that result in consistent improvement, proper team involvement, flexibility and the final result delivery without compromising on the quality, delivering business value in heaps and bounds. Here’s why you need to pay more attention:
Transparency in Abundance
An Agile approach provides a rare opportunity for clients and customers alike to be involved in the project in ways more than one, right from the start. Right from review sessions to iteration planning to finalizing features and prioritizing them, the clients get access to absolutely everything. However, this calls for a lot of patience and trust on their end as well to know that is a project in its development phase and not the final product.
Mapping of Schedule and Funds
Because every ‘Sprint’ cycle is of a specific duration, the cost of the project and the overall schedule cab be pre-determined based on the efficiency and the working hours of the team at hand. Estimates from the client further boost this process and enable you to deliver the project after a dedicated period, which is something which stays ambiguous during conventional practices. This is what helps in early delivery as well; releasing a beta model based on the features that the client has prioritized so that everything falls into place development-wise and expectation-wise.
Room For Change
This is where a lot of the orthodox techniques don’t fit the bill. Because every iteration is dissected and worked upon separately, there is room to review and analyze the entire process bit by bit. This helps mitigate any errors and leaves ample room for change as the product backlog is transparently in front of everyone to gauge. Optimizing Business Value Since a priority list of features is rolled out at the beginning, the working team can then optimize the product at best and get the maximum juice out of it, enhancing the overall business value. Knowing what’s important to the client makes all the difference. Focus on What Matters Agile methodology incorporates real-life user stories catering to a business-concentric acceptance criteria in order to roll out and pin down product features. Because the needs of real users are always under considerations, the business value shoots up by focusing on what’s important.
This also leaves room for constructive feedback, which can then be acted upon during different sprints without hampering the overall deadline or cost. Quality Improvement Agile methodology brings a lot more to the table than what has been discussed here. All that when executed in tandem results in a substantial rise in quality. Breaking down a big complex project into manage-able units, effective collaboration, client involvement, review sessions, iteration testing, error detection; all these little bits come together to generate a wholesome product/project. Agile methodology thus proves to be a boon for not just the clients, but the working team as well, making it a win-win situation for everyone involved.
