Agile software development is an active practice that entails finding requirements, designing solutions and then self-organizing through the collective and peer-driven effort of multiple and varied user and customer groups. A prime focus in agile development is on the idea, “Software is the people.” The philosophy of agile software development is based on the idea that an organization’s most successful IT systems are those that are most responsive to the people who use them.
Agile also refers to the practices of identifying and addressing customer needs through a systematic and repeatable process. In ASD, a team of self-organized and collaborative contributors develops software according to defined guidelines.
The entire idea is first transformed into an ASD plan using a formalized process. Based on the agreed-upon concept, a series of short-listing solutions is developed, tested, and maintained in the production environment under the supervision of the project manager and team members.
- Design and Utilization
- Development Methods
Designing & Utilization
Agile practices are designed around the principle of “the code is the law.” This is because each piece of code is written by a dedicated and focused group of developers. Because each individual contributes their skills and time, Agile projects are much more efficient compared to different piece of code.
Agile utilizes an approach called “iterative,” in which features, or functions are developed one at a time to test the developers’ ability to work together and create quality solutions. This method of development is heavily based on the Agile principle of “code is the lifeblood of the project.”
One of the primary principles of Agile development is customer satisfaction. Most customers, according to statistics provided by Deltek Corporation, respond better to a product that is delivered according to their needs and expectations. In other words, the customer satisfaction team at Agile Software Development believes that the goal of the Agile project is to deliver a system or a product that has been developed and tested in a manner that meets or exceeds the customer’s needs and expectations.
Agile Software Development Methods
The Agile development team strives to make sure that the final product delivers on the expectations of the customer. With this goal in mind, there are a few methods that the agile development teams use to ensure customer satisfaction:
- Test Cases – It is important to create test cases throughout the development process. Agile practitioners of the agile method believe that once a software component has been created, it should be used to run through a series of scenarios and end outcomes to ascertain if the software component has any flaws and to determine its overall effectiveness and reliability. The process framework typically dictates the number of possible test cases but the team at Agile Software Development believes that the more test cases are written, the more comprehensive the coverage of the software component.
- Cross-Functional Teams – Agile methodologies dictate that the product owner creates a product overview (POC), product description (PD), scope definition (SD), and testing plan using Scrum. The POC and PD are then shared among the team members. The SD, on the other hand, is designed to describe the testing activities that will be performed during the product development life cycle.
- System Thinking – Agile methodologies focus on building system thinking through problem-solving. It is considered a core principle of agile adoption. For this reason, developers are required to think through problems in an operational environment. The process, therefore, requires a systematic approach towards problem-solving.
Conclusion
To summarize, these five key principles on what is meant by scaling agile are useful resources, cross-functionality, system thinking, efficient product management and agile adoption. In a nutshell, agile adoption means that Agile principles can be applied to solve the business problem effectively. To make use of these helpful resources, develop an Agile program and continuously evaluate its performance against the defined expectations. To cross-function and scale agile well, develop a business strategy and utilize engineering services for optimal results.