What is the Agile Manifesto?
The Agile Manifesto for Software Development is a unifying philosophy for frameworks like Extreme Programming, Feature-Driven Development, and Scrum. It is a significant departure from the traditional waterfall-style approaches.
"The Agile Manifesto is about common sense and good practices that have been known for years but had been forgotten or overlooked." - Kent Beck
The creators of Agile Manifesto:
Around 17 people assembled in 2001 to discuss the future of software development. It had representatives from Scrum, Dynamic Systems Development Method, Extreme Programming, Adaptive Software Development, Crystal, Pragmatic Programming, and Feature. Out of these 17, 14 people were the signatories of the Agile Manifesto.
The vision statement for the Manifesto for Agile Software Development reaffirms: “We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it.
Through the experience, we have come to value:
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change by following a plan
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
An agile Framework is a self-organizing, cross-functional platform for teams to employ the relevant practices for their context. And yes despite being self-explanatory and self-evolutionary it still needs managers to oversee the entire process.
Managers are needed to:
Provide guidance when teams can’t resolve issues for themselves
Make sure team members have the appropriate skill sets
Create an environment that allows for team success
Clear roadblocks and secure outside resources as needed
The Agile Manifesto story
Before the Agile Manifesto went mainstream and before it was envisioned Software Developers were looking for better more responsive ways to work, mixing traditional and cutting-edge ideas, and were trying to find the best combination possible for execution and delivery. Their different approaches focused on:
Close synchronization between the business stakeholders and development team
Rapid delivery
Well-oiled, close-knit, and self-organizing teams
Better ways to create, confirm and deliver code
They started to develop frameworks that other teams could use, including Scrum, Extreme Programming, FDD, and DSDM.
The values behind the Agile Manifesto:
Embracing change in the traditional software development process is a pain. Whereas in Agile releasing a minimum viable Product can be evaluated and adjusted from iteration to iteration.
The four Agile Manifesto values are:
1. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.
2. Working software over comprehensive documentation.
3. Customer collaboration over contract negotiation.
4. Responding to change over following a plan.
The principles behind the Agile Manifesto.
The 12 Agile Manifesto principles include:
The topmost priority is to serve the customer through the early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
Change is welcome even late in development. Agile harnesses change and give an edge to the customer.
The focus is to deliver working software frequently and in a shorter time scale.
Developers, Business stakeholders must work in tandem daily and throughout the project.
It is the driven individuals who deliver the project. They should be given the environment and support they need and should be trusted to get the job done.
A face-to-face conversation is the most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team.
Working software is the most important measure of progress.
Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, Developers, and users should maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
Pay continuous attention to technical excellence, and good design enhances agility.
Simplicity is essential. This is the art of maximizing the amount of work not done.
Self-organizing teams produce the best architectures, requirements, and designs.
At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective and adjusts its behavior accordingly.
About Advance Agility
We, at Advance Agility, are the new-age Agile Coaching, Consulting, and IT services company. We enable end-to-end Digital Transformation. Agile execution is integral to our being. We are doing SAFe implementation with small, medium, and large organizations across the globe.
Our vision is to be the leading Agile execution player globally. To keep adding value at every process stage. We are on a mission to empower our clients and move from concept to cash in the shortest sustainable lead time by adopting the human-centric approach to business agility. Embracing change is in our DNA.
Things that keep us apart are Quicker and Seamless execution with End to end gamut of services. Our Global presence and Stellar Track Record give us an edge over our competitors.
Connect with us at advanceagility.com to learn about SAFe and SAFe Implementation. Write to us at contact@advanceagility.com for any agile training or consulting needs. We are always looking for competent agile trainers as well. So if you are the one or want to become one, do get in touch with us to that we can learn, grow and achieve together.
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