According to the 15th State of Agile Report, which provides key insights on techniques and practices in the approach, adoption of Agile in software development teams rose from 37% to 86% between 2020 and 2021.
This is probably in part due to the pandemic and its impact on work styles, but it is also a testament to the many benefits Agile brings to teams of all kinds. In fact, it is no longer confined to development teams — a range of other industries follow the approach in their project management processes, from marketing and advertising to finance to healthcare.
Why Was Agile Created?
In 2000, a group of 17 software developers convened to discuss how they could improve upon popular methodologies for delivering software at the time. Waterfall was the main approach during the 1990s, but many professionals in the field felt that a speedier, more flexible style was necessary.
The 17 developers agreed that rapid feedback and fewer delays in delivery were critical for improving the standard software development process. Shortly thereafter, they created the Manifesto for Agile Software Development.
Four Values of Agile Manifesto
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change by following a plan
Read What is DevOps to learn about improving collaboration and communication. Gain insight into how DevOps enhances software reliability and performance.
The 12 Principles behind the Agile Manifesto
The Agile Manifesto also lists 12 principles, which serve as the foundation of the philosophy:
Customer satisfaction through early andcontinuous software delivery: Agile teams prioritize delivering valuable software increments frequently, ensuring that customers receive tangible benefits early in the development process.
Embrace changing requirements, even late in development: Agile methodologies recognize that requirements evolve over time. Teams welcome change and adjust their plans accordingly to deliver solutions that meet evolving needs.
Deliver working software frequently, with a preference for shorter timescales: Agile teams aim to deliver functional software increments regularly, typically in short iterations or sprints, to demonstrate progress and gather feedback from stakeholders.
Collaboration between business stakeholders and developers: Agile emphasizes close collaboration between business stakeholders and development teams throughout the project lifecycle. By working together closely, teams can ensure alignment with business goals and priorities.
Build projects around motivated individuals, giving them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done: Agile teams empower motivated individuals, providing them with the autonomy, resources, and support needed to excel. Trust and collaboration are key components of agile team dynamics.
The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation: Agile values direct, face-to-face communication as the most effective means of sharing information and resolving issues promptly. While virtual communication tools are valuable, in-person interactions foster better understanding and collaboration.
Working software is the primary measure of progress: Agile prioritizes delivering functional software increments over documentation or other artifacts. Working software serves as the ultimate measure of progress and success, providing tangible value to customers and stakeholders.
Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely: Agile teams strive for sustainable development practices, avoiding overwork or burnout by maintaining a steady, sustainable pace. By prioritizing work-life balance and sustainable practices, teams can maintain productivity and quality over the long term.
Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility: Agile emphasizes the importance of technical excellence and good design principles in software development. By prioritizing clean code, automated testing, and architectural integrity, teams can adapt to change more effectively and deliver higher-quality software.
Simplicity: The art of maximizing the amount of work not done is essential: Agile teams prioritize simplicity and minimalism, seeking to deliver the most valuable features with the least amount of complexity. By focusing on essential requirements and avoiding unnecessary work, teams can maximize efficiency and effectiveness.
Self-organizing teams encourage great architectures, requirements, and designs to emerge: Agile teams are self-organizing, with the autonomy to make decisions and adapt to changing circumstances. By empowering teams to collaborate, innovate, and solve problems together, agile methodologies foster emergent architectures, requirements, and designs that meet evolving needs.
Regular reflections on how to become more effective, then tune and adjust behavior accordingly: Agile promotes continuous improvement through regular retrospectives and feedback loops. Teams reflect on their processes, practices, and outcomes, identifying areas for improvement and taking proactive steps to enhance their effectiveness over time.
These 12 principles form the foundation of agile software development, guiding teams in delivering value to customers, responding to change, and fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.
Agile quickly dethroned Waterfall and was the basis of numerous “spinoff” methodologies, such as Scrum and Kanban.
Why Is the Agile Approach So Popular?
Quick Project Turnaround
Because teams work in shorter cycles to complete different pieces of the project, the process reduces time to market. This is critical for software development, where businesses must always stay ahead of the competition and work quickly to ensure their product remains relevant — the market is ever-changing and evolving.
Teams will also realize gains more quickly, deriving value from their projects in a shorter period of time thanks to faster delivery.
More Client Involvement and Greater Satisfaction
Agile depends on feedback from consumers. Clients are able to deliver comments in real time, ensuring they are incorporated into the final product. This is far easier than with more traditional approaches, which tend to be less flexible and seek to gather feedback later on when more of the work has been already completed. Ultimately, this leads to greater client satisfaction.
Fewer Risks
With Agile, you are better equipped to identify issues earlier on in the software development process, which means that overall, the software development lifecycle (SDLC) is a less risky process. You won’t go in too deep before realizing there is a problem that needs to be resolved, and you will be able to nip it in the bud immediately.
Moreover, quality and customer satisfaction are more predictable due to constant customer feedback and a focus on continuous improvement.
Better Teamwork
Employing an Agile approach can also lead to better teamwork, team mentality, and team dynamics — thereby making for a more cohesive organization. Agile enhances the culture and contributes to stronger morale. People feel like they are working toward a larger purpose. What’s more, the approach means increased productivity, which, in turn, also means stronger working relationships and a more solid team.
Discover how to build a software delivery team with an agile mindset to reach your goals here.
Increased Flexibility
In contrast to other methods, particularly the rigid Waterfall, Agile is highly flexible. This is critical for software projects, which can change in terms of scope, requirements, customer needs and demands, company changes, and circumstances outside of our control.
Thanks to Agile, teams can adapt quickly and pivot whenever a new circumstance or condition arises with minimal disruption.
Higher Success Rates
Ultimately, project success rates are higher when you use an Agile methodology. The approach has fewer failure rates than its many alternatives — many of which had existed long before Agile was conceptualized. A focus on continuous improvement means that teams are always looking for ways to boost projects and improve their approaches, as well as deliver higher-quality software.
How Jalasoft Uses Agile Methodology in Development
Constant feedback cycles are critical for delivering great software products. That’s why we employ an Agile mindset and approach at Jalasoft.
Following an iterative approach, we combine planning, sprints, demos, and retrospectives to leverage Agile for your projects. All of our engineers are versed in Agile, and they will use this mindset to ensure collaboration and continuous improvement, amplifying your products and delivering them to market quickly and efficiently.
At Jalasoft, our engineers integrate with our clients' teams as one scrum team. This is how we adopt their agile methodologies and participate as active agile contributors.
We work against acceptance criteria, sprint objectives, and strive to show the objectives achieved in each demo. This active participation in retrospectives allows us to grow together sprint after sprint.
Contact us to learn more about how Jalasoft's nearshore agile development approach can enhance your process and how we can help you reach your goals.
Are you looking to enhance collaborations and automate your workflow? Read this to learn DevOps methodology. By integrating DevOps orchestration tools into Agile practices, your organizations can achieve quicker development cycles, higher-quality products, and a more responsive and adaptive development process!
