Agile software development

Agile Methodology is a defined approach towards project management that is applied in the software development process. The Agile Methodology has grown out of the experience along with the real-time project. By using agile practices, the challenges and restrictions that arise during any traditional development process have been cast-off. Also, the Agile Method has been acknowledged by the industry as an enhanced solution to project development. Agile is the capability to create and react to change.

Essentials of Agile Methodology

For commoners, Agile Methodology can be a bit ambiguous term. So, let’s chase away all mix-ups around the concept and describe the various roles in Agile, some common risks, and leading activities. Agile Methodology has helped in redefining the software development process. Contrasting Waterfall methodology, Agile has brought in a few new concepts:

• Adaptability – Ability to accept the change that can arise at any point of time during the development process
• Group effort – only a team can succeed sooner
• Communication is a key tool
• Minimization of documents lets resources to put more time into other core activities.

Popular Agile methods

• Scrum iterations, which are also called as sprints, which mostly lasts for two weeks to one month in length. 
  • The product backlog is a list of preferred deliverables, or tasks, for the product.
  • The sprint, or iteration backlog, is the list of team’s work responsibilities for an intended sprint or iteration.
  • Burn charts show the connection between time and scope.
• Extreme Programming (XP) teams work shorter sprints, and they are more flexible towards changes that may come on the way.
• Kanban uses visual signalling mechanisms to control work in progress for intangible work products.
• Lean essentials is based around two Pillar : Continuous improvement and respect for people.
• Dynamic System Development Model is another methodology with a core focus on timely deliveries without compromising quality.

Different roles in Agile

Agile Methodology, on the whole, is based on several frameworks and tools. So there can be a lot of functions in a project. However, the basic set of roles are:

• Product Owner, who begins the development process and has a holistic view of the anticipated product. So, it is their accountability to oversee the development process and pass on the details with the team.
• Participants/ Stakeholders have an unbiased interest in project accomplishment. They can be end users, benefactors, and anyone who is a part of the development process. 
• The development team develops the product. They are accountable for the design and delivery of the project. The team members or squad will consist of developers, QA testers, and Scrum master.
• The lead or project manager oversees the development work and acts as a liaison between the product owner, stakeholders, and the development team.

Sample product development using agile Methodology

Let us see through a sample feature which is to be incorporated into an app using agile Methodology.

During the planning phase, the team, along with Scrum Master/ project manager, intend to understand the new feature to be added in the app. In Agile, the requirements are allocated to the team is a simple and user understandable format called the user story.

• The product owner creates and ranks the product backlog as user stories.
• Teams select tasks from the backlog based on the rank and decide on how to complete the chunk.
• Work is taken up and completed within a sprint which lasts for two to four weeks.
• The Scrum master oversees the job and gets an update from the team on a daily basis
• Sprint reviews are held during the end of every sprint.
• The practice commences again up until all work or backlog is complete.

Sprint Process

After getting the initial product owner’s feedback, the team shall proceed with designing the feature as agreed by the stakeholders. Any additional changes are created as a separate user story and are put in the backlog. After the confirmation development process for the feature begins.

A beta version shall be distributed among the internal patrons for testing and feedbacks are received from them. Finally, during the end of the sprint, the feature is showcased to the end-users and product owners and then is deployed into the production environment.

Post-implementation, the product owner captures the feedback and is set for iterative processing. Product Owner shall carry out background analyses and usability testing sessions to understand enhancements which the consumers want. Those will be executed by following a similar Agile process, which will take place, preferably in one sprint.

Advantages of Agile Methodology

1. The agile method follows a light framework for supporting the teams. It helps them operate and keep up their focus on prompt delivery. This, in turn, reduces the overall time delay or schedule risks.
2. The Agile Method guarantees that the total value is improved during the development process.
3. The usage of iterative scheduling and feedback ensures that the teams can consistently line up towards delivering a product that echoes the preferred needs of a client.
4. Agile Methodology helps the organization to become accustomed to fluctuating requirements all through the process by quantifying and assessing the status of a project.
5. This allows the team to have a new view of the project status through which they can accommodate any other needs or changes.

Disadvantages of Agile Methodology

Besides the benefits agile Methodology offers, there are a few cons it has:

1. Inadequate availability of requirement specifications
2. Agile may not work as anticipated if the user is not clear on the objectives, the project manager or team is new.
3. No defined end product.
4. Does not suit well for customers with rigid policies and operating methods.
5. Difficult to measure performance

Summary

Being a product owner, there are several project management practices available today for you to choose, or you can even create your own and implement it. However, Agile Methodology proves to be the best framework despite its drawbacks to deliver successful projects. These days, most software development organizations use a variant of this framework. The Agile Method certainly is a powerful solution for those who are into software development

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