The meaning of Agile is swift or versatile.” Agile process model” refers to a software development approach based on iterative development. Agile methods break tasks into smaller iterations, or parts that do not directly involve long-term planning. The project scope and requirements are laid down at the beginning of the development process. Plans regarding the number of iterations, the duration, and the scope of each iteration are clearly defined in advance.

Each iteration is considered as a short time “frame” in the Agile process model, which typically lasts from one to four weeks. The division of the entire project into smaller parts helps to minimize the project risk and reduce the overall project delivery time requirements. Each iteration involves a team working through a full software development life cycle including planning, requirements analysis, design, coding, and testing before a working product is demonstrated to the client.

Main factors of Agile

• It enables teams to deliver value to their customers with ease
• Agile teams deliver work in small but usable increments
• The evolution of the requirements, plans, and results takes place continuously. This allows teams to respond to changes quickly

Phases of Agile Model:

Following are the phases in the Agile model are as follows:

1. Requirements gathering
2. Design the requirements
3. Construction/ iteration
4. Testing/ Quality assurance
5. Deployment
6. Feedback

Agile Manifesto

Agile manifesto details of the value and principles of agile process

Some of the values mentioned in the Agile Manifesto are

Individuals and Interactions OVER Process and tools

Process and tools are important in software development and cannot be skipped however this model is more focused on the individuals and interactions

Working products OVER Comprehensive Documentation

The main goal is to achieve the output rather than putting too much effort into writing documentation like in the waterfall model

Customer Collaboration OVER Contract Negotiation

A project must have contracts and negotiations, however, customer collaboration is also considered very important to keep them updated with the current progress

Responding to Changes OVER Following a plan

we might not have a rigid plan like in waterfall methodologies, but based on scenario changes, we may required to change our directions and move faster.

Agile Principles

principles in agile model needed to be followed

1. Customer Satisfaction You need to satisfy customers through early and quickly delivery of the product
2. Welcome Change Changes need to be addressed even late in the development process
3. Deliver Frequently Ensure software is delivered frequently, focusing on a shorter timescale
4. Work together Developers and business individuals need to work together through the course of the project
5. Motivated Team Project needs to be built around motivated individuals and they must be trusted to get the job done
6. Face to Face Face to face conversation is the most efficient means of communication
7. Working Software Working software is the primary measure of progress
8. Constant pace The Agile process promotes sustainable development
9. Good Design Agility can be improved by focusing on technical excellence and good design
10. Simplicity The amount of work that’s not being done needs to be minimized. Simplicity doesn’t mean less, extra processes should be minimized
11. Self-organization Self-organized teams provide the best architecture, requirements, and design. Coming together, discussing, and resolving together is the key factor
12. Reflect and adjust Effectiveness can be improved by the team regularly affecting it

Advantages of Agile

• Large amounts of interaction between the client and the project development team
• Improved transparency to clients in every phase of the project
• The delivery of the output is predictable and can sometimes be earlier than expected
• The costs of the project are predictable and follow a rigid schedule
• It allows changes to refine and reprioritize the product backlog
• The client can provide the priority of the features allowing the team to ensure maximum project value
• By focusing on the needs of the users, the team can deliver the value to the customers
• The project is broken into smaller units with high-quality of development, testing, and collaboration

Agile Methodologies

1. XP (extreme programming)
2. It is a framework that enables teams to create high-quality software and improves their quality
3. It enables software development with appropriate engineering practices
4. When is it applicable? Changing software requirements handle risks caused by new technology work with a small, extended development team to use technology to allow automated unit and functional tests
5. Kanban
6. The method is used to design, manage, and improve the flow of the systems
7. Organizations can visualize the flow of work and limit their work in progress
8. When is it applicable? It can be used in situations where work is arrived in unpredictable fashion. It is also used to deploy work immediately without waiting for work for other work items
9. Lean In Lean, values are always based on the customer’s perspective.
10. Lean is a set of tools and principles that aim to identify and remove waste to increase the process development
11. It focuses on maximizing value to the client ensuring waste is minimized
12. When it is applicable Lean’s principles apply to any sector where there’s waste of any form
13. Scrum
14. Scrum is a framework that is used by teams to establish a hypothesis, try it out, reflect on the experience, and adjust
15. It is used to enable teams to incorporate practices from other frameworks depending on the team’s requirements.
16. When it is applicable It is used when cross-functional teams are working on product development when work is split into more than one 2-4 week interactions
17. Crystal
18. Crystal is an approach to software development that focuses on people and their interactions, rather than tools and processes
19. It is aimed at streamlining processes and improving optimization
20. It works on the principle that projects are unique and dynamic. Each requires its specific methods
21. When is it applicable? It focuses on strengthening team communication also focuses on continuous integration, active user involvement, and configurable processes