An Introduction to Agile Methodology

Introduction to Agile Methodology, What is Agile?, Various Agile Methodologies, Agile Manifesto, and Advantages of Agie Software Development.

Introduction to Agile Methodology

What is Agile?

Agile is one of the world’s most widely used and recognized software development models.

Agile software development refers to a group of software development methodologies based on iterative development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing cross-functional teams.

Developing software incrementally using short iterations of 1 to 4 weeks so that the development process is aligned with the changing business needs. Instead of a single-pass development of 6 to 18 months where all the requirements and risks are predicted upfront, Agile adopts a process of frequent feedback where a workable product is delivered after 1 to 4-week iteration.

Agile Sofware Development

Generally in traditional software development models like the Waterfall model and V Model whole software is developed once. But in Agile Software Development model whole software is not developed at once, develops in multiple iterations, software requirements divide into multiple iterations, and develops software.

Example: We have a thousand requirements to develop software, first divide thousand requirements into ten to twelve iterations then develop the software.

First, take 100 requirements approximately and develop software, deploy it, and get customer feedback.

Update the software and add one more hundred requirements, develop software, deploy it, and get customer feedback.

Like this increment the requirements in multiple iterations, and develop the whole software.

Note: In Agile Development working software is developed in every iteration and gets customer feedback. It may take more time and be expensive but the success rate is very high.

The roles in the Agile Methodology

User

Agile processes always begin with the user or customer in mind. Today, we often define them with user personas to illustrate different roles in a workflow the software is supporting or different types of customer needs and behaviors.

Product owner

The agile development process itself begins with someone who is required to be the voice of the customer, including any internal stakeholders.

Development team members

The people who create the product. In software development, programmers, testers, designers, writers, data engineers, and anyone else with a hands-on role in product development are development team members.

Types of Agile Methodologies

There are several agile methodologies in practice across the world, in which four methodologies are popular,

1. Scrum

The term ‘Scrum’ is much considered synonymously to ‘Agile’ by most practitioners. But that is a misconception. Scrum is just one of the frameworks by which you can implement agile.

Scrum methodology is used in the development of Software based on iterative and incremental processes. Scrum is an adaptable, fast, flexible, and effective agile framework that is designed to deliver value to the customer throughout the development of the project.

2. Extreme Programming (XP)

Extreme Programming (XP) is an agile software development framework that aims to produce higher quality software and higher quality of life for the development team. XP is the most specific of the agile frameworks regarding appropriate engineering practices for software development.

2. Kanban

Kanban methodology is nothing but a Board, which is called ‘Kanban Board.’ This board plays a vital role in displaying the task workflow. It helps to optimize the flow of tasks between different teams. It is a method for defining, managing, and improving services for delivering knowledge work.

4. Lean Development

Lean-Agile is a set of principles and practices for working that aims to minimize waste whilst maximizing value. This enables organizations to make quality a priority in their products and services.