Agile development is not new. In fact, it’s been 15 years since the was created as an alternative to software development processes, such as waterfall. At this point, agile is not a passing fad and if you haven’t adopted it yet, 2016 may be the year. Here’s five reasons why:
1. It enables a faster time to market. Every business wants to get a new product to market as fast as possible especially when that product will help drive revenue. In contrast to the waterfall development approach, in which each phase of a project must be completed before the next phase can begin, agile development breaks projects down into smaller increments with short timeframes called sprints. Within each sprint product development occurs across the various phases simultaneously. This allows development teams to bring products to market much faster. The resulting product does not need to reach its full functionality or include a complete set of features before being released. Development teams put effort on specific functionality during each sprint, setting short time periods during which work is to be completed and made ready for review. This allows for the release of software more frequently and with greater focus on the features and functionality that will deliver the highest return on investment and/or are most critical for the business.
2. It allows for continuous improvement. Organizations are always looking for the best software development method, but implementing a new process or tweaking an existing process can have a big impact on the business when sequential development approaches, such as waterfall, are employed. Agile development makes it possible to continuously improve processes, which in turn drive efficiency. You will be able to identify inefficiencies and improve processes within each sprint because Agile’s short development cycle allows development teams to try new approaches and ideas while they are developing, leading to innovation and improved efficiency.
3. It is user focused. You want to bring products to market that users want and need, right? At the end of the day, these products drive your business in more ways than one. Bringing products to market more frequently and in shorter intervals means that you can iterate and improve quickly based on customer feedback. In this regard, development becomes more user focused and considers direction from the end user. And when those changes need to be made, the shorter agile development cycle means you’re able to get valuable feedback early in the project and make additions or changes in the next sprint.
4. It’s flexible. Unlike traditional software development methods, Agile allows you to better adapt and meet changing needs. This eliminates getting to the end of a long development cycle only to realize the product you have created does not meet your current business needs.
5. It drives transparency. Frequent communication between the development team and the business helps discover issues and other challenges early, providing opportunities for quick resolution. In contrast, a lack of transparency makes it difficult to adjust to changes, keep track of the work being completed, and identify and eliminate potential roadblocks. Transparency helps the team make sound, informed decisions and keeps projects on track.
More and more businesses are realizing that with Agile development comes tremendous benefits. In today’s fast paced, competitive business environment, Agile can help drive your software development efforts to realized business success.
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