Any software methodological framework used to plan and structure the development of a system is a development methodology. Over the years, many development methodologies have evolved according to the needs and wants of the business. Scrum, Lean and waterfall methodologies are examples of this.
Like any other methodologies, these too have their strengths and weaknesses. Amongst these, Agile methodology has proven its effectiveness in larger and smaller organizations. In this methodology, the requirements and solutions are part of a collaboration. You align the product development with client requirement and organization goals and thus, it is based on iterative development. If you are planning to take up a Business Analyst Course online, you need to know how it works.
How Does Agile Work?
Sprint
Sprint, in Agile, is a given timeframe to meet the goals. The team and the client meet up to discuss the goal and the criteria at each sprint. The repeatable framework, the Scrum agile methodology has cross-functional members to work towards the completion of a sprint. There is the client, a project lead, and a product owner as stakeholders and if needed, the team works on various small sprints to accomplish the goal.
Scrum
A subset of agile, what differentiates a scrum from other agile processes is the specific practices and concepts that are divided into three groups – Time boxes, artefacts and roles. Usually, a scrum is used to manage complex Scrum is most often used to manage the development of complex software and products.
The advantage is that it helps the organization to easily adapt to the changing requirements. Thus, a scrum helps an organization to improve the quality of the deliverables, offering better control over the schedule and state of the projects and provides estimates without spending much time.
Characteristics and Benefits of Agile
Iterative in nature: Being iterative, the revenue, testing and approval can be identified early. Improved quality: Agile features integration of testing from the beginning through the end of the development cycle. The testing is conducted regularly, in each phase and this helps ensure the quality. Ensuring the quality at each stage helps develop a high-quality product at the end, that satisfies all the client requirements.
Better transparency: Agile allows the stakeholders to monitor the progress and this will help sure the quality of the product at every stage. So satisfying the expectations of the client is no more a matter of concern.
Lower Risk: A timely placed testing and the user involvement reduces the risk to a greater extent. As the client has access to the development in each stage, there is no chance of a disappointment regarding the product not meeting the requirements.
Flexibility and cost-effectiveness
Unlike other approaches where the changes result in anadditional expense on planning and specifications. Agile project management is well-designed to accommodate the changes. It adopts new policies in a fixed time. Moreover, transparency helps the client make better decisions on time.
Customer Engagement: Agile engages the customers throughout the process and hence, it helps in creating better relationships with the clients. At any given point of time, they can assess the development and check the quality of the product. This is a great advantage as it saves time reworking on understanding the requirements and to design and come up with a new product. Greater customer engagement leads to cordial relationships and helps retention of the client.
Better work environment: Agile gives a better working environment for the software developers because they can be in touch with the clients on a regular basis to check their requirements and to discuss the progress with every sprint. This helps them stay focus and motivated.
Conclusion
Adopting agile helps improve your team’s productivity and facilitates delivering high-quality products and services to your clients. It benefits your organization by reducing the cost of production while guaranteeing customer satisfaction. Thus, it benefits the organization and its clients. It ensures the faster return of interest. As this improves your job scope, getting an Agile certification helps an IT candidate secure a good job as well.
