Agile software development can be a framework utilized software development projects. It was born out of frustration inside conventional project management activities. Based on Wikipedia:
The modern definition of agile software development evolved in the mid 1990s as part of a reaction against “heavyweight” methods, as typified by a heavily regulated, regimented, micro-managed use of the waterfall model of development. The processes originating from this use of the waterfall model were seen as bureaucratic, slow, demeaning, and inconsistent with the ways that software engineers actually perform effective work.
The objective when implementing an agile methodology would be to reduce risks in software development. Within all agile software development methodologies, you can find typical principles. The Agile Alliance lists the following principles within the Agile Manifesto:
- Customer satisfaction by rapid, continuous delivery of beneficial software
- Working software is delivered often (weeks as opposed to months)
- Working software will be the principal measure of progress
- Even late modifications in requirements are welcomed
- Close, every day, cooperation between organization men and women and developers
- Face-to-face conversation will be the very best type of communication
- Projects are built about motivated people, who must be trusted
- Continuous attention to technical excellence and great design
- Simplicity
- Self-organizing teams
- Standard adaptation to changing circumstances
There are various disciplines that fall inside the agile software development umbrella. Some nicely recognized development methodologies consist of Scrum, Crystal Clear, Lean, Extreme Programming (XP), Adaptive Software Development, Feature Driven Development, and DSDM.
Agile Software Development Status
Agile Software Development is often contrasted to one of the most prevalent software development model: Waterfall. According to a study from ACM:
“It is both surprising and disappointing, then, that in a survey of nearly 200 practitioners, accounting for many thousands of projects over the past five years, the dominant process model reported was the Waterfall, with more than a third claiming its use. This result raises a question: Do practicing experts know the Waterfall when they see it? Possibly they are confusing it with other method models. This appears unlikely, but so does its dominance. It’s a lot more likely that in many circumstances, doing the wrong factor is easier than performing the best thing–and this just isn’t a recipe for success”.
