What is Agile Methodology: Concepts, Process, & Benefits

What is Agile Methodology?

Enhancing the method of project handling through a well-developed framework and iteration, the agile methodology process is among the most effective ones used in MNCs. Focusing on collaboration, flexibility and customer satisfaction, the positive impact of this project management approach makes it an essential inclusion at Amazon, Facebook, Google and other places.

Agile methodology involves segregating the project into several phases, called sprints, which involve iteration until the required results are obtained. Devoted professionals document and handle the project to ensure quality reflection on overall tasks and improve them by modifying the strategy according to dynamic scenarios.

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How Does the Agile Process Work?

The Agile software development process is a set of steps that must be performed in order. The importance of sequence is as follows:

1. Requirements

The companies here gather information on customer’s requirements and prioritize them based on different factors. It is an initial factor to understand the project's direction and progress.

2. Planning

Developing a plan is essential to delivering the complete software comprising all the features. The plan includes time for the development and delivery of each iteration.

3. Development

The development team carries out the software development using frequent and rapid iterations.

4. Testing

It involves software testing to make sure it meets the quality delivered by the organization and expected by the customer 

5. Deployment

Here, the organization serves the ultimate aim of allowing software usage.

6. Maintenance

The software is regularly maintained to meet customers' needs and expectations.

Core Principles of Agile Methodology

• Achieving customer satisfaction by timely and regular delivery fitting the customer requirements 
• Delivering working software with minimal or no errors 
• Earning a competitive edge by adapting to the changes in the market 
• Sticking to the shortest time delivery with quality 
• Including motivated and passionate individuals in building and developing the project
• Accepting change in requirements and deliveries despite nearness to delivery date 
• Choosing the face-to-face communication method for efficient and effective information disbursal 
• Embracing excellence while estimating and improving the progress

Key Concepts of Agile Methodology

The key concepts of Agile development and Agile software development are: 

1. Adaptability 

The changing demands and development process require adaptability in the project. It helps the team and project get back on track, increases the team’s confidence, saves time, and decreases productivity due to mess. It also allows changing the development and deployment path to deliver timely results. 

2. Disruption 

Agile methodology encourages changes to deliver quality results and improve customer satisfaction. It includes changing priorities, culture, and goals. Though the changes are hard and unacceptable, managing collective agreements becomes easier while providing better results.

3. Collaboration 

It is another valued key Agile concept that builds trust and accountability. It helps bring different ideas and collective discussion to improve poor but potentially holding ideas.

4. Iterative Developments 

Rework for improvements is a common thing in software development. The iterative process here follows a continuous and close feedback loop for improvement. It is the core concept in Agile development.

5. Incremental Development 

It involves creating a basic version of software with all the required features. Further improvements are made as decided during the meetups or calls. The increments to the software are made to the modules, along with the addition of user-friendly features.

6. Milestone Checks 

It is aimed at improving client and team development. Here, the teams analyze the previous developments after reaching a specific and significant part of the project.

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Agile Methodology Frameworks and Approaches

The key Agile frameworks commonly incorporated are: 

Kanban  

This framework involves a visual basis of project management. Involving Kanban boards to indicate the important questions about projects, such as ‘To Do,’ ‘Doing,’ and ‘Done,’ allows workflow management on the go. The visual segregation of tasks contributes to efficient planning considering the time and resources. The Kanban boards are also integrated with project management software for task management.

Scrum 

Scrum is another popular Agile framework that promotes team communication and collaboration through daily meetings. Its main principle is to divide the project into different parts, called Sprints. Various roles, such as Developers, Scrum Masters and Product Owners, are involved in planning and managing the sprints. Scrum also involves a Scrum board, similar to the Kanban board, to visualize the team’s progress.

Extreme Programming (XP)

This Agile framework is commonly used in project management and software development. Extreme programming, similar to the Scrum methodology, involves regular meetings, is user-centric, includes innovation and promotes quality collaboration among team members.

Extreme programming is based on five values: communication, simplicity, feedback, courage and respect. It also involves 12 supporting processes, some of which are small releases, simple design, customer acceptance tests, continuous interaction and more.

Dynamic Systems Development Method 

Dynamic Systems Development Method or DSDM is another software development-based Agile framework. It is also similar to Scrum and involves Sprints. DSDM also includes rework on the product and requires reversible changes in product development. It follows a certain set of principles mentioned as follows:

• Build great foundations
• Develop iteratively
• Collaborate
• No compromise with quality
• Always deliver on time
• Focus on business needs
• Demonstrate control
• Continuous and clear communication

Adaptive Project Framework (APF)

The current framework in the agile methodology process is concerned with adapting to changes by the team, such as changing circumstances and project scope. It includes the breakdown of projects into phases or iterative cycles for the timely identification and action on changing necessities. Subsequently, strategies are to be modified accordingly for timely delivery. This framework is suitable for IT projects or other dynamic ones.

Feature Driven Development (FDD)

This framework is also specific to software development and focuses on regular software model development (every fourteen days). These software require planning and designing based on the customer-requested features. FDD is suited for teams with advancement capabilities, and it also involves frequent updates of errors or issues to avoid compromising the flow of the framework. FDD comprises the following sequence of steps:

• Develop an overall model
• Create feature set
• Plan, build and design by feature

5 Best Agile Tools for Software Development

1. Jira

The tool eases the planning of software projects such as Agile and sprint planning. It also contributes to responsive and transparent collaboration. Project managers and developers use Jira for task distribution, story tracking, and development tasks. Jira also provides real-time updates on release details and improves team performance.

2. Docker 

The docker platform is widely used to set up and manage the containers required to meet the need for flexibility and application deployment on a certain host. The platform delivers the containers through virtualization in the operating system. The containers comprise different components such as configuration files, software, and libraries, thus meeting the needs. Docker also helps to communicate between containers. Moreover, it holds more benefits than traditional virtual machines. 

3. Kubernetes

The tool is used to effortlessly solve the problem of handling multiple containers. It is an open-source platform that supports scaling and automated application deployment. It also manages container applications, containerized workloads, and automation of container deployments, and it supports declarative configuration. Kubernetes is used for its ability to automate the deployment and scaling processes of complex containerized applications. 

4. Jenkins 

It is another open-source automation that is free for continuous integration (CI) and continuous delivery (CD) tasks. The software development teams use it to build, test, deployment of CI/CD tasks. It offers effective integration options and automates the CI/CD environment. 

5. Slack

Slack is a popular tool in Agile software development, most commonly used in business communications, and it is effective for collaboration. It is better than emails for team members as it provides an opportunity for natural collaboration. Here, two types of communication are possible: direct messaging and conventional IRC or Internet Relay Chat.

The IRC includes functionalities such as private groups and topic-specific chat rooms or channels. Moreover, the conversations and direct messages are divided into public and private channels. It eliminates the one-to-one or group chats and introduces thread-based chats, which are easier to follow. 

Benefits of Agile Methodology

The incorporation of Agile development in software engineering has the following advantages: 

1. Using Agile software development methodology, people and interactions are preferred over tools and processes.
2. It leads to a regular focus on improved design and technical excellence.
3. The Agile development process assists in improvement by allowing immediate feedback.
4. Fastens the software development process, thus increasing customer trust.
5. Allows quick adaptability to meet the change in requirements.
6. Incorporates flexibility and adaptability.
7. Enhances quality and reliability through a focus on quality assurance and continuous improvement.
8. Increase team confidence and allow the set up of a collaborative, positive, and supportive workplace culture.

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Disadvantages of Agile Methodology

The disadvantages of the Agile software development process are listed as follows: 

1. Agile development is linked with lesser documentation and a higher focus on codes. 
2. Agile software development depends on continuous iteration and customer feedback, leading to difficult timelines, outcomes, and project budget estimation.
3. Understanding the quantity and intensity of effort required for project completion is challenging early in the Agile software development lifecycle. 
4. Dependency on the customer leads to wrong progress in the project if the team encounters ambiguity. 
5. It is difficult for new programmers to adapt to the workplace environment as the senior programmers make most decisions. 
6. Higher flexibility and adaptability can also lead to scope creep and lack of control over project scope. 
7. The swiftness of Agile development with high intensity, more sprints, and close deadlines leads to mental exhaustion and increased pressure on team members, leading to burnout. 
8. Agile development lacks the structure compared to other methodologies, which results in oversight and poor governance.

Roles and Responsibilities in Agile Development

In the Agile software development life cycle, each team member plays a significant role in the development. Let us explore each member's role and responsibilities from the following:

1. Product Owner

• They work as a facilitator in review sessions and sprint planning.
• Product owners are a liaison between investors and the team members.
• They help to determine the sprint goals and lead the development of user stories and tasks.
• They check if the tasks are complete and accurate to meet the client’s expectations.
• Product owners give feedback and suggestions to enhance the quality of the processes.

2. Scrum Master or Team Lead

• They eliminate obstacles to ensure team progress.
• They understand the foundations of Scrum and Agile.
• They assist in the development of tasks and user stories.
• Scrum masters monitor tasks and sprints.
• They focus on productivity and high-quality deliverables.

3. Development Team Members

• They must have a strong understanding of the scrum framework.
• They are responsible for product implementation.
• They collaborate with other team members to ensure effective and efficient product development.
• They ensure that products or processes meet client’s or customer’s expectations.
• They work on prioritized work by the product owner in the sprint.

4. Stakeholders

• They take the lead in sprint planning.
• They provide feedback and suggestions to stakeholders and team members.
• Stakeholders guide product owners to ensure user stories and productivity to meet expectations.
• They provide training to team members in Scrum and Agile processes
• Stakeholders aid in determining sprint goals and objectives

How to Implement Agile Methodology?

To implement the Agile methodology successfully for software development, you need to review the following points:

Step 1: Define and Plan the Project Scope and Vision

Communicate with the team and use the Elevator Pitch method. Find the target customer, statement of need, specific product name and category, its benefits, primary competitive alternative, and final statement of primary differentiation.

Step 2: Develop the Path to Reaching the Product 

The product owner must use the strategy to develop the path to the product or software. It will include goals and how to achieve them. Every goal will have features, metrics, and other key information.

Step 3: Schedule Deadlines

It includes prioritizing the software features to be launched first, followed by subsequent losses. It will include 3 to 5 sprints. 

Step 4: Plan the Sprint 

The steps shift from macro-level workings to micro-level working, which involves focusing on specific tasks. The sprints must also be planned with the project managers, product owners, and scrum masters. The sprint will involve creating a list of backlog items, such as undeveloped features or other software components, to be completed in the timeframe. 

Step 5: Conduct Daily Meetings

Getting daily updates through a small meeting to be concluded in 10 to 15 minutes is essential. Team members here will inform us of their accomplishments from the previous day, present-day work, and challenges they are facing, if any.

Step 6: Sprint Reviews 

Accomplishment of milestones, such as delivery of specific software updates, bug removal or introduction of new software functionality, must be linked with the analysis of previous tasks. It includes checking the alignment of plans with deliveries. Product owners also reflect on inaccuracies and inefficiencies by finding the associated reasons. 

Step 7: Sprint Retrospective

It includes learning from the previous processes and finding the shortcomings. Here, all the members must identify what they learned and what they need to improve by avoiding negative actions in their next task.

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Top Certifications to Learn Agile

The top certifications to learn agile methodology are as follows: 

1. Leading SAFe® 6.0 Training with SAFe Agile Certification

Learning Agile, lean enterprise and portfolio management is now accompanied by the opportunity to earn SAFe certification. The Leading SAFe® 6.0 Training with SAFe Agile Certification program includes 16 SEUs and PDUs, assisting in skilling up and keeping your certification active. Enroll in the program to develop strategic skills and the ability to lead large projects through SAFe Agile certification.

Further, the interactive sessions, which include real-world simulations and case studies, help students gain exposure essential for the current job market. The program also includes 16 hours of live instructor-led online training and access to mentors trained by SAFe Practice Consultants (SPCs). The skills covered in the program include supporting LeanAgile, managing the LeanAgile portfolio, coordinating value streams, and executing Agile Release Trains.

2. SAFe® 6.0 Release Train Engineer (RTE) Certification

This SAFe® 6.0 Release Train Engineer (RTE) Certification program allows candidates to learn practical skills for leading Agile Release Trains (ARTs) from the renowned SPCTs and SPCs. It involves a free 1-year SAFe community membership and the option to earn 24 PDUs and 24 SEUs. Candidates willing to take the exam have this perfect opportunity to develop their skills in Agile leadership skills, leading PI system demo inspection and Adapt workshops, using metrics for improvement and others.

For candidates willing to boost their career as a Release Train Engineer or seeking entry into Agile leadership principles and understanding SAFe, this program has all the components for your clarity of agile concepts. The real-world simulation and case studies offer insight into the real market with interactive sessions.

3. ICP-ACC (ICAgile Certified Agile Coaching) Certification Training Course

The ICP-ACC (ICAgile Certified Agile Coaching) Certification Training Course is the right choice to strengthen your grasp of Agile coaching. It encompasses collaboration and conflict-resolution tools while enhancing your focus on the organization’s business goals and objectives. The course also develops your ability to ensure continuous improvement.

Enrolled candidates will benefit from the Agile Coach Toolkit and course from ICAgile. The program offers 24 hours of live instructor-led online training from an elite panel of accredited agile trainers. It promises in-depth coverage of relevant agile concepts. The skills covered in the program include leadership, conflict management, the scrum framework, team development models, release management, enterprise agile coaching and others.

Future of Agile Methodology

Initially, the Agile methodology was only linked to the IT industry. However, the methodology has invaded the finance, healthcare, and marketing sectors due to its versatility and adaptability. Healthcare and marketing contribute to quick emergency response and enhance customer experience in financial institutions.

The integration of AI and the convergence of agile with DevOps have further spread its usage. Agile has also contributed to data-driven decision-making and the ease of repetitive and technical tasks such as coding and automated testing. The enterprise-wide and agile adoption among different industries also indicates the blooming future of the Agile methodology.

Conclusion

Do you think you need more skilling up to do? Check out Simplilearn’s Leading SAFe® 6.0 Training with SAFe Agile Certification course. This SAFe Agile certification training imparts Lean-Agile principles and practices of SAFe®. It's a two-day course that delves into understanding the Lean-Agile mindset, executing with Agile Release Trains, constructing an Agile Portfolio, and spearheading Lean-Agile transformations within organizations.

FAQ

1. What differentiates Agile from traditional software development models? How does Agile ensure product quality? 

Traditional software development models follow a fixed plan, while Agile software development models allow flexibility and adaptability to changing environments. Additionally, the Agile method is iterative. The Agile method is associated with daily scrum meetings, noting milestones, and prefers customers’ needs and other prioritizations to deliver quality products. 

2. Can Agile be applied to large, complex projects? 

Agile methodologies are suitable for small and cross-functional teams. The effectiveness decreases on application to large and complex projects requiring handling large numbers of teams and stakeholders. 

3. How does Agile handle changes in customer requirements? 

Agile handles the change in customer requirements by reviewing and prioritizing the changes, making adjustments, discussing between sprints, developing plans, and communicating with Agile software developers to incorporate the changed plans. 

4. What are some common misconceptions about Agile?

A few common misconceptions associated with Agile are that it lacks planning, fast speed, roles or responsibilities, process control, deadlines, documentation, and change management.

5. Is Agile suitable for small teams?

Yes, Agile is also suitable for small teams. It helps identify the team's needs and encourages communication and collaboration.

6. How long does it take to implement Agile successfully?

The time taken to implement Agile methodology varies depending on factors like the organization’s culture, involvement of professionals, strategy and organization size. Generally, 12 to 18 months can be expected to witness the transformation.

7. Can Agile work for remote teams?

Remote teams can implement the Agile methodology with careful planning and collaboration. This process involves team communication, collaboration, productivity measurement and accurate work distribution.

8. What are the main differences between Agile and Waterfall?

Agile and Waterfall are project management techniques with certain differences. Agile is more adaptable and flexible and involves more customer involvement than Waterfall. Agile also includes testing during development, while Waterfall separates development and testing.