How To: What is Agile Development? and Why's it important?
What is Agile Development?
Agile Development is an approach to development based around Iterations.
This approach allows software to evolve throughout design & development with collaboration between key cross-functional team members.
Agile development advocates early delivery, continual improvement, and flexibility to change.
Why does it matter?
Traditionally software development was done through a very linear, sequential approach where each phase of development would lead on to the next.
For example, you would first complete all of your designs, then complete all of your development, then all of your testing etc.
This led to huge wastes and failed projects, and thus agile was born, out of the need for an incremental approach.
How is it implemented? SCRUM
One crucial framework that implements the Agile methodology is the SCRUM framework.
SCRUM is a lightweight, simple to understand however difficult to master framework.
SCRUM includes roles, events, artefacts, and rules that are used to simplify the complexity in which developing new software entails.
Why SCRUM works so well?
SCRUM works so well because it is a framework which leans itself directly to collaborative work that is performed in a way that both software developers love to work, and clients love to view progress.
This is because in SCRUM you are incrementally building your product piece by piece and creating a working version that clients can visibly see, interact with, and test.
Who's involved in SCRUM?
- Product Owner
- Manages the product’s backlog items or the “WHAT” and their priorities.
- Ensures the development team understands what needs to be done and its required quality.
- SCRUM Master
- Manages and ensures development team is on track and understand the projects goals, scope, and product domain.
- Development Team
- Professionals who create and deliver the final working product at the end of each development sprint
- Can include designers, developers, quality assurance, etc
What's involved in SCRUM?
- The Development Sprint
- Sprints are where all planning and development occurs
- The SCRUM team works off a sprint backlog that contains the features to be completed for this sprint
- Sprint Planning
- Work to be completed during sprint is identified and planned for
- Answers the questions of what will be delivered and how it will be achieved
- Daily Scrum
- Daily 15 minute time-boxed event for the development team.
- Plans for the work over the next 24 hours and identifies any roadblocks
- Sprint Review
- Current product developments reviewed and product backlog adapted
- Next priorities identified based on what was learnt during the sprint
- Sprint Retrospective
- SCRUM team meets together to inspect it’s work processes during sprint
- Identifies potential improvements that can be made in the next sprint
Why does SCRUM work so well for startups?
Because SCRUM is based around building up your product over a number of iterations, using SCRUM you are able to quickly create a usable version of your product and bring this to market very quickly.
From here you can test your product with your target audience, see what their likes and dislikes are, update your projects requirements as you go and create the best experience possible.
