Agile Methodology: What Is Agile Software Development Model

What do you understand by the word Agile? You must have heard about it when it comes to any development process. But if you do not have a clear thought about it then we are here to let you know.

By the word agile we mean the ability to create and respond to change.

In the agile model (software development) both stages i.e., development and testing activities are concurrent. 

There are almost all organisations are following the Agile Development Methodology. And to some extend if not then they are into the practice of adopting the same. If you are new to agile development or you have learned software development. Today almost the entire work is influenced by the agile methodology.

The introduction of agile was formally launched in 2001. There was around 17 technologist who drafted the agile manifesto.

They wrote the 4 major principles for the entire agile project management.

The one is the interaction and the individuals over the processes and tools.

Working with software over the comprehensive documentation.

Collaboration with a customer over contract negotiation.

Changes in plan over following a plan.

With the invention of agile software development, there are lot many benefits/advantages have come up.   Now with respect to this, let us look at what is agile software development?

What Is Agile Software Development?

Agile Software Development is the process where there is more than one framework. Those frameworks are-

• Scrum
• Extreme Programming
• Or Feature-Driven Development (FDD).

The process where there is an involvement of more than one practice such as-

• pair programming
• test-driven development
• stand-ups
• planning sessions
• and sprints.

If you will search for agile development then it is known as an umbrella term for a set of the framework.

It is based on the principles and values expressed in the manifesto for agile software development.  Agile project management is known as one of the effective and simplest development approaches.

It turns out a vision for a business need into the software solutions. A software development approach that employs a-

• planning
• learning
• improvement
• team collaboration
• evolutionary development
• and early delivery

The main step which allows people to step ahead with agile is the focus on people doing work together.

The solution is evolved through collaboration between the self-organising cross-functional team. They then make use of appropriate techniques as well. Now if we go with the history of agile then there are a lot of many information that one can get.

We are sure that you must have now understood what is agile methodology ?

Now it is the time where you need to go within the history of the process.

How the process acquires the label of agile and where it went from there. What importance does agile methodology hold within it?

Let us know all of those in detail.

The mindset of agile is mainly informed by the agile manifesto’s values and principles. All of these values and principles provide guidance on how to create and respond to changes. On the other side how to deal with uncertainty.

A way to develop better software so that it can help others too.

It is a fact that when you face uncertainty then you try to come out with a lot many ideas. All you need is to keep the values and principles in mind so that you can get the better outcomes

What Are the Different Agile Methodologies?

Now you must be wondering that if agile is a mindset, then what is the idea behind its methodologies?

According to the research by the great scientist named Alistair Cockburn that methodology is the set of conventions that a team agrees to follow. This indicates that a team has its own methodology.

The one will be different from other teams and will offer the best result as well.

Along with this, there are different applications of agile methodologies. An approach to software development and IT project applications. But it has extended to other fields as well which includes the knowledge and service industries as well.

The process is being responsive to the market. In this way, the customer can quickly respond to their needs and demands.

Be it an IT industry or a software development, if there is a need or a flow of work then agile methods are applicable.

Software development is not an easy process. It requires one to follow lot many stages. Hence with this, one needs to follow all of those.

Although not all have technical assistance and hence are required to reach experts. In this case, all you need is to sit back and gain benefits.

In the case of the Agile Framework, there are lot many processes that need to be kept in mind.

Let us tell you what all those are?

Know About Agile Process

The agile process is based on the three key assumptions. One is where it becomes difficult to be predictive in advance where the requirement or the priorities will change.

In another case where construction is used to prove the overall design.

In the third process, the analysis, design and testing are not applicable from the planning perspective.

The different agile process models are-

Extreme Programming (XP)

The process relies on the object-oriented approach. It includes planning, designing, coding and testing.

All of the stages are followed with ease so as to come out with productive results.

Adaptive software development

Self-organisation arises when development agents corporate to create solutions. Its emphasis is on self-organising teams, team learning and interpersonal collaboration.

There are different adaptive cycle characteristics.

Dynamics system development method 

The process provides the framework for building and maintaining the system. It meets the tight time constraints using incremental prototyping.

Make use of the Pareto principle, each increment only delivers with enough functionality.

It then moves to the next increment.

There are some guiding principles as well and the life cycle activities.

Scrum

The next process is the scrum agile software development, the scrum principle works on the small working team.

It maximizes communication, on the other side, it minimizes overhead and in turn maximise the sharing of informal knowledge. The entire process must be adaptable to both technical and business challenges.

The process yields frequent increments that can be later inspected, adjusted, tested and documented.

Testing and documentation are now performed.

Later provides the ability to declare the product.

The next stage is the process patterns developing activities.

There is a backlog that ensures the list of requirements or features that offer value to business customers. There are sprints that work within the unit required to achieve one of the backlog items.

Scrum meeting is for around 15 minutes before the meeting.

Demos are also delivered which is the software increment to the customer for evaluation.

Crystal 

The crystal approach is based on the clear and faster way.

The team works together to give out the definite results.

Now as the project grows in size, the team becomes larger and later methodologies become heavier. Feedback and communications are much more efficient the need for intermediate work products is also reduced.

The three crystal methodologies are-

Clear, orange and orange web

Feature-driven development

The feature-driven development includes the practice model for object-oriented software engineering.  Feature on the other hand is the client valued function. It can be easily implemented in two or even fewer weeks.

Further, it emphasises collaboration among the team member. Manage the problems and complexity of the projects using feature-based decomposition. On the other hand, the technical composition uses verbal, graphical, and textual means.

Now if we come to the framework activities then it develops an overall model.

Build feature list which has domain model, features are categorized and prioritized.

Agile modelling

With different Agile tools   and technologies, the entire process can work smoothly. Also, in the case of agile modelling, the entire practice is light weighted. Modelling works with a purpose and makes use of multiple models as well.

Keep models which are long term value.

You cannot ignore content which is way more important.

Adapt locally and make use of respective tools and models.

It requires gathering and analysis modelling. It works collaboratively to find out what customers want to do.

Once the requirement model is built then the collaborative analysis modelling continues within the customers.

Conclusion

Agile has become an umbrella for a variety of planning, management and technical methods. It manages projects, developing software and other products and services.

As you have already witnessed all of those. There are different processes and methods with each one of those. Hence you must take command of each one of those. The process on the other side also includes the technical process majority of those falls under development.

Your entire project management and software development can be at much more ease. Therefore, the Agile Development Methodology has been on the rise.

With its 4 vital rules and 12 principles, it serves as a guide for people in agile software development. Also, the involvement of 17 experts made it happen with their expertise to work in a smooth and efficient manner.