BACKGROUND HISTORY
In February 2001, 17 developers came up with a document formally known the “Manifesto for Agile Software Development”. This document briefly described the Agile Manifesto which is a declaration that clearly states 4 values and 12 principles. The authors of this Manifesto believe that the software developers must use them as they can serve as a guide to their work.
The developers, collectively known as the Agile Alliance, we’re looking for an alternative to the traditional software development processes which was considered to be very cumbersome, unresponsive and quite dedicated towards the documentation of the requirements.
WHAT IS AGILE DEVELOPMENT??
The Agile Software Development commits to the creation of software in increments. The developers who follow this approach usually provide the users with new versions or releases of the software after a short duration of time. This short duration of time is termed as SPRINTS.
This Agile process is completely opposite to the traditional approach of software development as for the traditional development, developers generally build the software complete at once. This software is developed after the compilation of all the needs and requirements of the user. Following this methodology, the project is released once itself after it has been completed and this release takes place at the end of the project cycle.
The Agile Software Development Process consists of a number of stages and they are:
• SPRINT Backlog
• Design
• Development
• Testing
• Maintenance
The Agile Alliance wanted an alternative to the typical waterfall approach, that is considered to be “documentation driven, heavyweight software development processes.”
VALUES OF AGILE
Agile Manifesto basically focuses on discovering better ways for the development of the software by pursuing it and by assisting others to do it. Through this the work they have derived FOUR Values:
- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
- Working software over comprehensive documentation
- Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
- Responding to change over following a plan
Each Agile methodology deals with the application of the four values in varied ways, however, all of them trust these values to guide the development and delivery of high-quality, working software.
Using the Agile Methodology the priorities can be moved from one iteration to another and this can be accompanied by the introduction of new features in the next iteration. The belief of Agile is that changes always lead to the improvement of the project as they provide additional value to the project.
PRINCIPLES OF AGILE
The principles of Agile are the guiding principles behind the methodologies used for Software Development. These principles are included in “The Agile Movement”. They throw light on the culture that always acknowledges the change and the only focus is on the customer’s requirements.
The twelve principles of the agile development process are:
- The satisfaction of the customers through early and continuous delivery of the software- Delivery of the working software at regular intervals of time makes the customers happy and contented. They discourage the software being delivered after extended durations of time.
- Make the delivery of working software frequently- The team is subjected to work in software sprints or iterations and this makes the delivery of the working software certain. This principle is accommodated by SCRUM.
- Keep it simple– Focus on developing just that much that makes the job done just for the moment.
- Business people and developers should collaborate daily for the entire duration of the project– The decisions come out to be good when the business people and developers work collectively.
- Progress should be measured by the delivery of working software– The primary measure of the progress can be done after delivering functional software to the customer.
- Follow a steady development speed– Agile process supports sustainable development. Hence, all the developers must be capable enough to maintain a constant pace throughout the development process.
- Start motivating, supporting and trusting the people involved– The results of the motivated teams come out to be better than the ones delivered by the unhappy ones.
- Opt for Face-to-face conversations– The most efficient and effective method for conveying the information is a face-to-face conversation.
- Accommodation of the changing requirements throughout the process of development– Avoid any sort of delay if any requirement or features need to be changed.
- Agility can be enhanced by paying more attention to technical data and design– The team can improvise the product constantly with the right skills and proper design.
- Great architectures, requirements, and designs can be encouraged by self-organizing teams- The teams that are motivated and have the required skills and have the decision-making power and good communication with the other team members are the ones that come up with quality products.
- After regular intervals, the team should reflect that how to become more effective– The team should find out ways to become more efficient and tune and adjust their behavior according to the same.
The only motive of Agile is to coordinate business needs and development. The success of Agile is optimum. The only focus of Agile developments is the needs of the customers and it accepts the guidance and participation of the customers wholeheartedly. As a consequence, Agile has grown as software development since inception all by itself.
At 01SYNERGY, the whole business development process is based on Agile Methodology to provide software development services to embrace the continuity, collaboration, and efforts of the project development team, the scrum master and the stakeholder. Our SCRUM Certified Project managers follow the agile methodology for each and every project. On a daily basis, a 10-minute stand-up meeting is conducted for the discussion of the progress of the project. This method provides help to the team to deal with the unpredictability of the construction of software.
Due to this Agile Development Process, Clutch and GoodFirms have listed 01SYNERGY as one among the top IT Service Providers.