A lot of customers have been asking us “What is Agile?” While posts, pages, news, case studies of the website would provide information on various aspects [values, beliefs, practices, frameworks] of Agile, the simplest way to introduce anyone to Agile is to provide them information on what is called Agile Manifesto.

In 2001, various software development professionals, managers and thinkers got together and agreed on what is now called the Agile Manifesto. The signatories of the manifesto include Kent Beck [creator of jUnit and originator of concept of Design Patterns], Martin Fowler [originator of the concept of Refactoring], Dave Thomas [wrote the landmark book on Agile Development with Rails], Ken Schwaber [co-founder of SCRUM] and Brian Marick [world renowned testing expert]. Agile Manifesto states that:

We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:

• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
• Working software over comprehensive documentation
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.

The principles behind Agile Manifesto were as follows:

• 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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Posted on December 10th, 2007 by admin
Filed under: Values | 1 Comment »