Agile is a buzzing project management
outlook with teams scrambling to adopt agile methods and practices. The
requirement for a new project management mindset was generated out of
frustration from the growing time lag between the realization of requirements
and the delivery of final product/project or software persistent in the
waterfall model of project management.
The “tell me everything you require” method
of project management started facing a lot of issues. Documentation of the
requirements during the inception of the project took ages and by the time the
final deliverables were rolled out, there were shifts in the requirements
making the final product partially obsolete.
In this article, we will explore the 12
principles of the Agile Manifesto. The Agile Manifesto is a set of directives that enable teams working
in varied environments to continuously learn, grow and deliver value to the
clients. The principles of Agile welcome changes and make the customer the
focus of all endeavors.
Let us dive deep and understand the
extensive extract from the Agile principles.
Principle 1
“Our highest priority is to satisfy
the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable
software.”
The principle establishes that clients are
more satisfied when they get working software at regular intervals compared to
when they get a final complete software at the end of the project. This is
where Agile pushes the significance of Minimum Viable Products (MVP), a
development technique where a product is developed with limited features,
enough to satisfy early adopters while the rest of the features are
incorporated after the completion of the feedback cycle.
Key
Points:
I.
“Our”
The word “our” refers to the Agile team working on the
project and placed the responsibility of customer satisfaction on the project
team.
II.
“Early delivery”
Agile indicates that delivery should be early and in
small pieces. This method of delivery greatly shortens the feedback cycle and
created room for early detection of requirement shifts. While often neglected,
this mode of delivery also helps the team understand the mindset of the client,
a factor that plays a significant role in the satisfaction parameter.
III.
“Continuous delivery”
Keeping a constant line of delivery over a period facilitates
constant feedbacks and a better chance of meeting the requirements.
Principle 2
“Welcome changing requirements, even
late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer’s
competitive advantage”
The development process, in general, may
require tuning from time to time and it is prudent to be open to changes. The
principle brings out the true agile mindset and shows that requirements are
dynamic and may grow or change. This is also the principle that separates Agile
from the Waterfall model.
Key Points:
I.
“Late”
The word signifies that it is never too late for the customer
to make changes. Only when the customer identifies changes can the deliverables
attain higher utility. Also, the project team should be open to the required
shift as it will avoid partial completion of requirements.
II.
“Competitive Advantage”
This significantly extends the scope of a project and considers the
project team to be responsible for delivering competitiveness to the client in
the form of cost, offerings, visibility, etc. It is no longer just the role of
the client to decide if the requirements specified are enough to deliver a
competitive advantage.
Principle 3
“Deliver working software frequently,
from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter
timescale”
Agile promotes a shorter development cycle
that should occur at consistent intervals. These cycles are called “Sprints”. Frequent
delivery generates constant feedback flow from the clients and keeps all the
parties engages in the development process.
Key points:
I.
“Working”
Agile sets the standard for the deliverable absolute by
not just emphasizing on delivery but the delivery of working software or product.
Deliveries not meeting the required specifications cannot be considered as a successful
delivery. With this point Agile aims at giving a boost to value delivery.
II.
“Shorter timescale”
Delivery on smaller timescale intrinsically helps in the recognition
and minimization of waste and their overall effect on the process bringing out
the Lean base on which Agile is built.
Principle 4
“Business people and developers must
work together daily throughout the project”
The emphasis here is on collaboration.
Effective involvement of Business people, project team and the clients helps in
swift incorporation of change requirements.
Key points:
I.
“Business People”
Business people are the proxy between the client and the
team and are a crucial part in promoting the agility in communication and
execution.
II.
“Must work together”
This agile principle brings into light the concept of
sharing responsibility.
III.
“Throughout the project”
Commitment plays an important role in the success and the points pay
emphasis that only with continued commitment throughout the project can the
timely and effective delivery of the project be achieved.
Principle 5
“Build
projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support
they need, and trust them to get the job done”
The emphasis here is to create a positive
and progressive work environment. Experts support the fact that enabling the
team is an organizational level priority and a key reason behind the success of
any organization.
Key points:
I.
“Motivated individuals”
Motivated individuals are team members who are greatly
enthusiastic and prepared to get the work done. During any project, keeping the
employees and team motivated is of great essence and comes with many benefits.
Only when an employee is sufficiently motivated will he/she deliver to his/her
capacity and may even go beyond his/her responsibility to make the project a
success.
II.
“Give them the environment
& support they need”
This answers the million-dollar question “How to keep the team
motivated”. Over the years there is a general shift in employee behavior. Now,
professionals are more interested in the learnings that they derive from a task
than general remittance benefits.
Principle 6
“The most efficient and effective
method of conveying information to and within a development team is the
face-to-face conversation”
The point lays emphasis on the need for
direct communication and a shift from indirect communication channels like
emails. Communication plays an important role in any and all business
functioning and it was but natural for Agile to push for a need of prompt and
clear communication and what could facilitate that better than a face-to-face
conversation!
Principle 7
“Working software is the primary
measure of progress”
Agile identifies fully functional software
or product as the mark of successful delivery. It the deliverables offers
partial utility against the requirements, it cannot be considered as successful
delivery even though delivery has been made. With this, Agile not only promotes
value in the end product but pushes for a very professional and commitment-oriented
mindset.
Principle 8
“Agile processes promote sustainable
development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a
constant pace indefinitely”
This principle brings two points into
light: sustainable development and consistency in performance. With the
incremental delivery, wastes are eliminated intrinsically supplementing
sustainable growth. Agile also supports maintain pace along with supporting
agility throughout the project.
Principle 9
“Continuous attention to technical
excellence and good design enhances agility”
Agile indicates that shortcuts may bring
short term benefits but they may very easily backfire in the long run. With so
much emphasis on swift delivery, it is important to note that swift delivery
should not come at the cost of quality. For example, poorly programmed software
will create problems in the long run in terms of errors and bugs.
Principle 10
“Simplicity — the art of maximizing the amount of work not done — is
essential”
Not overworking, but also doing what is
necessary is what keeping things simple means, and Agile keeps simplicity as
the core of all the endeavors.
Principle 11
“The best architectures,
requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams”
Agile promotes the practice of decision
making by the team. This greatly removes the infamous ‘micro-managing’. Agile
establishes that the best results are achieved when the team is skilled
motivated, poses decision-making skills and can take ownership. This principle
perfectly supplements the need for creating a progressive environment for the
employees proposed in principle 5.
Principle 12
“At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective,
then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly”
Having Lean
as its base another major derivative from lean
principles is the concept of continual improvement. However, as Agile gives
people more important than process, it proposes the continual improvement for
the team. Not that it doesn’t support continual improvement in process, it
extends the principle and gives the development of team members priority as
well.
With the complexity possessed by business
structures and the growing element of fickleness in business requirements,
Agile is a good fit for everyone working in the project management spectrum.
While Agile does not provide a recipe for project success, it prepares the team
to promote optimal value. It will not be wrong to suggest that the time is ripe
to invest in Agile learning and there are multiple ways you can start your
agile learning journey. If you are a professional working in agile project
management and want to validate your experience or initiate your learning,
Agile certifications can be a good solution.
Certification Planner runs multiple PMI-ACP
certifications across North America. A certification credential governed by PMI
and considered as the most prominent credential in agile project management.
Learn from industry experts during extensive training sessions. Reach out to
know more at support@certificationplanner.com,
call at +1 8553221201 or visit the website at www.certificationplanner.com.
Happy learning!
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