Agility is a management method focused on realizing immediate return on investment.
The method is based on:
• Short term plans
• Results
• People
• Collaboration
• Simplicity
THE AGILE ALLIANCE
In recent years a number of processes claiming to be "agile" have been proposed in the literature. To avoid confusion over what it means for a process to be "agile", seventeen agile process methodologists came to an agreement on what "agility" means during a 2001 meeting where they discussed future trends in software development processes. One result of the meeting was the formation of the "Agile Alliance" and the publication of its manifesto (http://www.agilealliance.org/principles.html). The manifesto of the "Agile Alliance" is a condensed definition of the values and goals of "Agile Software Development". This manifesto is detailed through a number of common principles for agile processes. The principles are listed below.
Agile lays out a vision and then nurtures project resources to do the best possible to achieve the plan. Agile is the “art of the possible.”
The Manifesto: a statement of agile values
~ Individuals and interactions over processes and tools ~
~ Working software over comprehensive documentation ~
~ Customer collaboration over contract negotiation ~
~ Responding to change over following a plan ~
Agile employs the following practices:
• Frequent inspection
• Emergence of requirements, technology, and team capabilities
• Self-organization and adaptation in response to what emerges
• Incremental emergence
• Dealing with reality, not artifacts
• Collaboration
12 Principles of Agile methods
· 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 time scale.
· 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.
Existing Agile Methods
Some major agile methods are
Scrum
Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)
Lean Development
Extreme Programming (XP)