These days, just about every software team says they are “Agile.” What can you do to become familiar with, and knowledgeable in Agile practices so you can hit the ground running with your next team? In this blogpost we will cover the Scrum model, a commonly-used flavor of Agile which is well known for its clear definition of team members’ roles and the activities carried out by the team.
This post will give you an understanding of Scrum and how it is used by teams in the process of building software.
The Waterfall method has been around for a long time and is a more classic approach to project management. A time-honored tradition in software development is to use a consistent sequence of stages to design, build, and test software. This sequential model is often called, “waterfall” because, like water flowing downstream, it is characterized by a process of irreversible flow from stage to stage from start to finish.
Some drawbacks to the waterfall approach are the lack of flexibility and room for error. The project is mapped out detail by detail before the engagement even begins, leaving no room for error. If a mistake is made in the planning process, a requirement is missed or a new requirement surfaces mid-project, the project experiences serious delays and disruption.
Another drawback is that testing is only done one time at the end of the project. In a larger waterfall project, going back to find and fix flaws becomes more difficult and time consuming. Perhaps the biggest drawback is that there’s no room in the waterfall methodology to cater to changing needs. In today’s changing marketplace, new ideas, technologies and competitors appear frequently, and users have valuable input.
The agile development approach is quite different from waterfall. It’s open, flexible and suited for changing expectations.
The agile methodology:
- Welcomes contribution of outside input along the way, shaping the final outcome
- Allows for correction during the course of the development cycle
- Uses a collaborative, team-driven approach
- Follows an incremental development plan
- Requires close collaboration with the stakeholders and the development team
Most people share the experience that agile can deliver faster results along the way, although final delivery can take longer. Where waterfall needs everything defined up front, agile fits best with projects where everyone acknowledges that all requirements can’t be known early in the process.
One of the challenges that the agile methods often face is the uncertainty around scope and schedules. While the flexible timeline is often seen as an advantage, loose timelines can also make stakeholders nervous that the project will run over budget. To help counter this, agile projects require a strong, experienced project manager, because they’re responsible for delivering quality amid a series of ever-changing expectations and requirements.
Another difficulty in agile methods is measuring success. Where waterfall has a clear set of deliverables, agile projects have the risk of becoming never-ending, adding “just one more thing” ad infinitum. Agile projects require ongoing involvement of all key stakeholders throughout the project lifecycle to focus on true user needs, rather than on all the nice-to-haves.
Additionally, agile projects can suffer large impacts from mistaken architectural decisions. Because teams figure out requirements as they go, decisions can be made early on in a project that have a larger cost to change later on — and this is especially true when the mistake is in the underlying architecture. Some agile methodologies advocate a “Sprint 0,” a time before normal sprints begin when stakeholders collaborate on project ground rules to avoid major missteps.
Over the years, many variants of agile software development models have emerged. Each of these models have different approaches, processes, and tools. (SCRUM, Lean & Kanban, Extreme programming or XP )
Read more about the Agile Manifesto.
Resources
The Agile Manifesto
Twelve Principles of Agile Software
Wikipedia: Agile Software Development—Agile Methods
Agile Methodologies for Software Development An overview of several of the most popular agile models and their distinct characteristics
Agile Alliance: Subway Map A neat “subway map” with various practices of agile and the methodologies that support them.
Wikipedia: The Waterfall Model
https://www.glowtouch.com/waterfall-vs-agile-good-bad-misunderstood/