What Agile is and How to Approach it

Agile is a system of repetitive and incremental development of software and project management that involves the effective collaboration of different teams. It relies on the stepwise contribution of teams rather than a bulky, one-off satisfaction of customer demands. This system allows for the proper evaluation of demands, processes and outcomes in response to swift changes within a project.

Unlike the waterfall model of project management where each stage of a project depends solely on the final outcome, or completion of overall work, by the team before its delivery, each stage in the Agile system is accomplished by the collaborative effort of different teams and the work can be delivered incrementally in usable deployments until the project is completed. The system is largely characterized by effective communication, cooperation, reliance and prompt adjustment to changes among the members of every team. And while the project manager or final consumer dictates the specifications of the product, the teams involved decide the entire process including specific jobs and operations within the project.

Agile does not comprise any fixed process or method of achieving outcomes, but it is rather a compilation of procedures and methods that are reflective of appropriate changes and advancement throughout a project.

From the onset, Agile policies do not accommodate any given set of iteration, neither do they dictate any given number of members for teams. Instead, they prioritize the interest of team members in line with the values of the project. And as a result, teams can decide to carry out their duties using any method they can be effective with.

Reasons Agile is a Great Option

Agile is Cost Effective and Time-Saving

When teams use the Agile method, they can effect changes in the process or product based on customer reviews or market trends without jeopardizing the entire process. These changes could also be made on later stages of the same project without distorting the progress of the entire project.

Nevertheless, Agile goes beyond ordinary numbers and figures, it is rather focused on the people involved. Based on the initial Agile principles, adequate cooperation and interaction between team members and customers have more value than unbending procedures; and customer satisfaction is esteemed far above prim and precise records.

For every Agile team, visions happen to be the focal point of its members and the actualization of these visions is dictated by the team’s preferences while the entire process is determined by what the team defines as ‘complete’.

In fact, when firms allow Agile teams dictate the project process, they bestow a sense of responsibility on the teams which in turn makes them able to meet the expectations for the project.

The Future of Agile

Since the launch of the Agile method in 2001, a good number of Agile frameworks have come into existence. They include Feature Driven Development (FDD), Crystal and Lean Software Development (CLD), Scrum and eXtreme Programming (XP) among others.

Each of these platforms consists of platform-based iterative and continuous process modifications for project management. While platforms like XP harness teams on software development to satisfy customers’ immediate needs, frameworks like Kanban are favored by service-oriented organizations, for example in human resources or IT.

Nevertheless, a whole lot of Agile teams now combine a number of platforms as well as processes that are unique to them to achieve desired results.

In the future, Agile teams will likely pay even greater attention to capacity and implementation impact, rather than strict adherence to processes. Companies are equally going to start channeling their resources into effective communication, transparency and independence in a bid to get the very best from productive teams.

Does Anyone Practice Pure Agile?

Finally, it is quite impossible to find two teams with precisely the same Agile methods. Different teams adopt methods and processes that are unique and appropriate for their project based on their particular situation and availability/skill-sets of team members.

While most teams usually implement Agile using its standard principles such as iterations based on Sprints, backlog prioritization and management and cross-functional operation between teams, it’s unlikely that every team follows a particular Agile platform to the very last instruction. Teams have operated by exercising the freedom to choose whatever style works for them, and they should be allowed that freedom in every company.

To illustrate with an example: if your team is a software development company with implementations for, say, a manufacturing company,  employing Kanban would be an appropriate method as part of your Agile implementation. This can also be done while still using aspects of traditional Scrum practices doing demos for stakeholders or having retrospectives.

The most important thing in Agile is that team members be committed to improving on a continuous basis. Teams can then discuss openly and be allowed a certain degree of freedom to adopt whatever method is best for them while dispensing with things that don’t work.