Agile Web Development — Comprehensive Overview

Do you know businesses are witnessing tremendous success by responding to the rapid change in consumer demands?

But how?

By embracing the Agile methodologies!

Wondering what the term mentioned above means?

Well, that we’ll cover in this article.

Trust us; it will be fun!

Agile Software Development Methodology- Definition

Agile methodology is an iterative process that allows development teams and businesses to deliver value to clients faster without hassle.

But how?

The agile team works in phases, distributing work in modest but manageable parts to finish early and move on to the next phase.

Here they don’t rely on the “big bang” release.

Continuous evaluation of objectives, project plans, and tests provides development teams with a natural testing mechanism for rapidly adjusting to iterations changes.

But what makes this methodology agile?

It’s flexible to adaptive planning, evolutionary development, frequent delivery, continuous improvement, and responsiveness to changes and consumer feedback.

In a nutshell, agile processes

• encourage continuous change,
• allows working on changing requirements,
• boosts testing processes, and
• ultimately deliver functioning software

What is the Agile Manifesto?

The Agile Manifesto is the one that includes four values and twelve principles that developers must use in their work.

But how do these values and principles outshine others?

These values and principles work for various software development frameworks (agile or not!)

Isn’t that cool?

Now let’s look at these values and principles one by one.

Agile Values

The authors define agile values as the four suggested mechanisms in the Agile Manifesto.

The Agile driving values are:

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

The manifesto prioritizes individuals.

Thus, Agile allows you to do as much study and preparation as you may want.

Additionally, it will enable you to invest in innovative technologies that you deem fit for your project.

However, the success or failure of a project ultimately depends on the individuals involved.

They indeed are crucial in bringing your product or concept to the life cycle.

Simply put, motivated and friendly individuals are more important than any method or management method they may employ.

Working software over comprehensive documentation

When Agile Manifesto was an alien term, the business had to work under management to produce chunks of pages before developers could begin writing code.

However, agile ideals place a premium on delivering software to customers asap—and focus on getting direct input from users as early in the process as possible.

It doesn’t mean that documentation is unnecessary.

Indeed, it is!

However, this agile method minimizes delays caused by bulky documentation.

It thus streamlines the route from start to end for software deployment.

Customer collaboration over contract negotiation

Though we already said it, we want to say it again; individuals are important to agile methodology success.

Thus, the third agile value underlines the critical nature of close collaboration with clients throughout the processes.

It includes asking for direct input and feedback from users and co-creating new products based on research discoveries.

Alternatively, it is performing user experience research to understand people’s goals and changing requirements.

Whereas previous product development workflow prioritized sticking to signed contracts with a set of deliverables, the agile methods incorporate customer feedback and allow for ongoing communication.

As a result?

It results in enhanced adaptability.

This boosts the likelihood of bringing the most useful, outstanding, and economically successful product to market.

Responding to change over following a plan

Change may demand both resources and time.

If decision-making is lazy, change does not bring value. Rather than that, companies must be agile and sustain short iteration cycles.

However, not with Agile methodology!

According to the Agile Manifesto, change creates value.

And agile allows you to accept and embrace these changes.

Methodology agile allows you to incorporate change into the process routinely. Furthermore, it also enables you to shift priorities, which makes room for new features and updates.

It is practical to evaluate and rework a plan frequently.

In short, it helps you transform from a static diagram to a dynamic one.

Agile Principles

You must satisfy the following principles to make a process agile.

Constant Pace

• Agile methodology leads to sustainable development.

Customer Satisfaction

• Frequent delivery of the product will satisfy the customer.

Deliver Frequently

Make sure that you deliver the products regularly and on a short timescale.

Face-to-face

The most effective way to communicate is to communicate face-to-face.

Good Design

By focusing on good software design and technical excellence, you can improve agility.

Motivated Team

Team members must be motivated and trusted for the project to succeed and be completed on time.

Reflect and Adjust

Regular reflection and improvement can improve the effectiveness of the team.

Simplicity

Agile believes in simplicity. It helps you waste less time sitting ideal by dividing work into parts and not doing any process in haste.

Self-Organization

These self-organization teams prepare the best designs, meet requirements, and deliver the best output.

Welcome Change

Agile principles address changes even when they’re late in the development process.

Work Together

This principle says that the development and business team must work in conjunction until the project ends.

Working Software

The working output shows the progress made towards a final product.

What is an Agile Methodology Diagram?

Agile methods focus on process flexibility and customer satisfaction in addition to iterative and incremental processes.

Do you know how?

If you don’t, repeat after us!

Following iterations and quickly delivering functioning software solutions.

The exciting part is, the diagram approach relates to the Agile life cycle.

You can universally apply these iterations to project management and software development.

Now, let’s examine the two critical methodologies that form the development cycle.

Scrum Agile Methodology

Scrum framework employs the principles of Agile methodology in software development management.

Scrum’s mission is to design, deploy, and maintain complex products through accountability and iterative development.

But how is Scrum different from other Agile methodologies?

Scrum differs from other Agile approaches regarding the roles, events, and artifacts the team built.

Scrum Team

• Product Owners 

They are subject experts who represent stakeholders and serve as the customer’s voice.

• Development Team

The development team houses developers, programmers, and designers who deliver the end product.

• Scrum Master

A scrum master is both a servant and a leader whose work is to ensure that the team follows all the steps to product development.

Scrum Events

• Scrum Timebox

A timebox is a period in which the team meets its aim. The period does not exceed one calendar month.

• Planning 

Each Sprint begins with the entire Scrum team planning the following one.

• Daily Scrum

Every day, the team member in a 15-minute time-boxed meeting discusses the previous day’s results and the expectations for the following day.

• Review 

At the end of each Sprint, a casual meeting takes place where the Scrum team presents its Increment to stakeholders and receives feedback.

• Retrospective

The retrospective meeting reviews the previous activities and looks for changes for the upcoming ones.

Scrum Artifacts

• Product Backlog

In the product backlog, the Product Owner specifies all requirements necessary for a viable product in the order of importance.

It includes features, functions, requirements, additions, and fixes that allow changes in the upcoming version.

• Sprint Backlog

This is a set of activities and requirements that must be completed during the next Sprint.

For a detailed overview, please read our blog.

Kanban Agile Methodology

Kanban is a well-known project plan approach to software development.

It creates a visual picture of the workflow process, allowing for early identification of bottlenecks and delivering a quality product or service.

It is efficient because it uses visual cues to different phases of the development process delivery.

These cues include:

• Kanban Board

Kanban board is a tool that visualizes the product/software testing development methods.

You can use Kanban both personally and professionally.

• Kanban Cards

During the work process cycle, Kanban cards show the progress of a work item/task.

They convey progress to your team and house information, including the current state, cycle time, and upcoming deadlines.

• Kanban Swimlanes

Kanban swimlane is a visual feature on the board that distinguishes tasks/items through categorization. Horizontal flow is directly proportional to distinctiveness and quality workflow delivery.

Other Development Agile methodologies in the diagram

Other prominent methods in the agile model include:

Extreme Programming (XP)

Extreme Programming (XP) is a framework founded on the five principles.

They are

• Communication
• Simplicity
• Feedback
• Courage
• Respect

Extreme programming improves the team’s wellbeing while also producing a quality product through engineering practices.

Dynamic Software Development Method (DSDM)

Dynamic Software Development Method (DSDM) is an Agile method that focuses on the entire Agile cycle.

The concept (founded on eight principles) is that projects must connect with clearly defined strategic goals and prioritize the fast delivery of a tangible business solution.

In contrast to other iterative approaches, DSDM is independent but compatible with different approaches.

Feature Driven Development (FDD)

Feature Driven Development (FDD) is a software development approach that is simple to use.

This agile methodology includes short phases of work that you must complete independently to deliver tangible, functional software on time.

Crystal

Crystal helps you determine their distinctive traits by the number of members, system criticality, and management priority.

This Agile methodology shows how each project’s unique qualities may require a customized set of norms, procedures, and workflow.

What are the 6 Steps in Agile Methodology?

Before working on any project or projects, you must first comprehend the project management objective.

Additionally, you must understand the value of projects and customer feedback.

Once you know the two variables above, they must understand the workflow necessary to accomplish the final objective for their clients.

Allow us to shed light on six steps one by one!

Project Kickoff

A grand project launch is the first step in software development initiatives, while project preparation is the second.

The Scrum Master establishes a consistent language, methodology, and understanding between the development and product teams during project preparation.

Product Roadmap

A product roadmap is a breakdown of the product’s features.

This is a planning stage component that you will use to pass the product through multiple sprints.

Moreover, developing a product roadmap links with the product backlog.

The product backlog includes tasks you will complete during the Agile development period, referred to as sprints.

Product Backlog

The release planning meeting is the primary event that results in the development of the product backlog.

It is a meeting that often lasts between two and four hours.

They define the product’s vision, design, and prioritize user stories and themes.

Release Plan

After you’ve completed the project’s planning and development of the roadmap, the following stage is to plan the release.

For example, the traditional approach requires the completion of development before release.

The Agile methods, on the contrary, offer product features after each shorter development lifecycle.

At the start of each Agile cycle, you can re-evaluate the feature’s release strategy.

Sprint Backlog

When building the backlog, the team adheres to the product owner’s goals but may add stories concurrently if they create specific stories.

For example, a business establishes a two-week development task to meet its goals and objectives.

Review And Retrospective

After the sprint ends, you will develop a piece of software that is usable.

The review shows the software’s functioning to the product owner and other members, who play critical responsibilities.

The purpose is to show that you meet the objectives.

If the changes come by, they will receive priority in the following one.

Why Is Agile a Dynamic Software Development Method?

Many teams have already shifted from the predicted Waterfall technique to the Agile approach while developing software.

But if you are wondering how agile differs from the waterfall, we have got your back!

According to the project’s initial requirements and design plan, the traditional development method follows predetermined steps.

For example, in the traditional approach, a project manager discusses goals, features, and resources.

The project manager then works throughout the planning phases, often generating a plan outlining how the work will progress through multiple steps to completion.

The process is extensive and takes an unusually long time.

However, the Agile software development approach adapts to change and the increasing need for rapid software development.

Generally, the project leader coordinates with the team to minimize the blockages.

The manager then assists the team in remaining focused on delivering working software revisions.

The Agile approach is more about time, feature selection, prioritizing, and meeting them in the minimum time possible.

How Agile Are You?

Remember, Agile development is about human-to-human interaction, adapting to changing management, and building working products, and you are good to go!

However, Agile is, by definition, an ever-changing and dynamic process.

If you ask different project managers to define Agile, you will probably get different answers.

How would you define Agile? We’d love to know.

Would you like more information on Agile?

We’ve got you covered.

FAQs

1. Is Agile a methodology or framework?

The Agile Manifesto defines agile as a methodology. There are several agile frameworks, including Scrum, Kanban, DSDM, and Extreme Programming.

1. What are the three elements of agile methodology?

The three key elements are:

• Collaboration
• Focus on business value
• High level of quality

1. How is Scrum different from Agile?

The key difference between Scrum and Agile is that Scrum is a specific Agile methodology used to facilitate a project, whereas Agile is a project management methodology.

1. Why choose Agile?

With Agile project management, the development cycle is shorter, and product releases are more frequent. Project teams can respond more quickly to changes in their clients’ needs because of this shorter period.

1. Which is best, waterfall or agile?

When a project has a concrete timeline and well-defined deliverables, the waterfall is the best choice. In contrast, Agile is the best option if the significant constraints are unclear.

Sources

1. What Exactly Is Agile? A Definition of Agile Project Management (capterra.com) DA- 75
2. What is Agile? | Atlassian DA- 79
3. What is Agile: Understanding Agile Methodologies and Principles (simplilearn.com)
4. What is the Agile Manifesto? 12 Principles & 4 Values | Adobe Workfront
5. What Are Agile Values? Definition, Pros and Cons (airfocus.com)
6. What are the 4 Agile Values? | Productboard
7. What is workflow in Agile development? – handlebar-online.com
8. What Is Agile Project Management? A Comprehensive Guide (kanbanize.com)
9. The Agile Software Development Lifecycle Explained (smartsheet.com)