Why Agile?
The most defining concepts of our world today are extraordinary speed of change, complexity, and uncertainty about the future. Therefore, the fundamental factors that determine the success of organizations can be summarized as continuously adapting to change, addressing complexity with lean solutions, and minimizing uncertainty with experimental approaches.
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In short, agility is a paradigm shift in the traditional way of working. The concept of agility is the ability to adapt quickly to changing conditions. Although it is often defined in most sources as a method, methodology, approach, or project management, it is actually a way of thinking.The 16th "State of Agile Report," the world's longest-running agility report, was published in May 2022. According to the survey, which has been answered by more than 40,000 professionals from all over the world, the most significant gains created by agility in organizations are as follows:
- Increased collaboration 69%
- Better alignment to business needs 54%
- Better work environment 39%
- Increase visibility in the application development lifecycle 37%
- Faster response for competitive threats 20%
- Increased user experience 16%
- Better customer sevice 14%
- Increased time for innovation 13%
- Increased product adoption 10%
- Increased revenue 5%
What is Agile Manifesto?
The Agile Manifesto emerged as a result of the industrial failure experienced in the 1990s. During this period, there was a significant delay between business requirements, the applications and features that customers wanted, and the delivery of technologies that responded to customer needs. Some projects failed or were canceled, while for others the business requirements and customer needs changed and the final product was insufficient to meet current needs.
At this time, the software development models of the day, led by the Waterfall model, were insufficient to meet the demand for speed and did not take advantage of the benefits of being able to adapt according to the customer needs.
A group of 17 "thought leaders," including Jon Kern, Kent Beck, Ward Cunningham, Arie van Bennekum, and Alistair Cockburn, brainstormed to deliver more productive and efficient work in the software development process. They met at a hotel in Oregon in 2000 and then at a ski resort in Utah in 2001. As a result of their meetings, they reached a consensus and created the Agile Manifesto.
What are the values in the Agile Manifesto?
Individuals and Interactions over Processes and Tools
This value emphasizes giving more importance to communication with customers. There are many things that customers may want to ask, and it is the responsibility of team members to quickly address all questions and suggestions from customers.
Working Software over Comprehensive Documentation
In the past, more emphasis was placed on documenting each stage of the project correctly than on the project itself. In fact, it has often been seen that appropriate documentation was made at the expense of the final product. Agile values indicate that the first and most important task of the project team is to complete the final deliveries determined by the customers.
Customer Collaboration over Contract Negotiation
Agile requires customers to be involved in every stage of the project. The Waterfall approach or traditional methodologies allow customers to only in the start and the end of the project. This leads to both time and resource waste. If customers can be kept in the development process in a loop, team members can ensure that the final product meets all of the customer's requirements.
Responding to Change over Following a Plan
Plans are important for showing us where we want to go. But the conditions may change, and sometimes customers may request new features that may change the scope of the project for the final product. In such cases, project teams and managers must quickly adapt to changing conditions in order to deliver a high-quality product and ensure 100% customer satisfaction.
What are the principles in the Agile Manifesto?
The twelve principles describe a culture where change is welcomed and the focus is on the customer.
Agile Manifesto's 12 Principles:
- Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
- Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer's competitive advantage.
- Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.
- Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.
- Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.
- The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.
- Working software is the primary measure of progress.
- Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
- Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
- Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount of work not done--is essential.
- The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
- At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.
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