January 27, 2023 –

The 12 principles behind the Agile manifesto

Table of Contents

The Agile manifesto is a set of guiding values and principles for Agile software development. It consists of four values and twelve principles. These principles are designed to help teams work together more effectively and efficiently while building quality software.

Before diving into the manifesto, a few concepts help us understand what it represents!

Key Agile concepts

Although we would like to make a complete glossary of technical terms and concepts, these are the main ones to understand Agile.
Team
A “team,” in the Agile sense, is a small group of people assigned to the same project full-time. This group needs the necessary skills and requirements to complete the project.
Daily Meetings or
Stand-Ups
Every day the team meets to update everyone on vital information for the project; each member briefly describes the tasks at hand, what they have completed, and any obstacles in their way.
User Stories
The team divides the work into functional increments called “user stories.” Once implemented, each user story will contribute to the product’s value.
Personas
When user experience is essential in delivering a project, the team creates a detailed biography of fictitious users who will use the final product in the future: these characters are called “personas.”
Incremental Development
In an Agile context, each successive product version is usable, and each builds on the previous version by adding user-visible functionality.
Iterative Development
Agile projects intentionally allow the “replication” of software development activities and potentially “revisiting” the products of those development activities.
Milestone Retrospective
Once the project is underway, the team spends some time in a detailed analysis of all the significant events of the project. It helps to improve processes and avoid old mistakes. This process can also happen at the end of the project.

The main Agile values:

The Agile Manifesto values are the keystones of an Agile development process. They provide a framework for team building and collaboration while ensuring the highest quality of software products and services.

Agile methodology values promote a culture of trust, transparency, and shared responsibility among teams. They also emphasize continuous learning, experimentation, and improvement by encouraging.

  • Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.
  • Working software over comprehensive documentation.
  • Customer collaboration over contract negotiation.
  • Responding to change by following a plan.

The 12 Agile principles:

The 12 Agile development principles outlined in the Agile manifesto provide the foundation for an effective and efficient software development process. These principles emphasize team collaboration, customer-centricity, continuous learning, improvement, and change response.

By implementing these values into their methodology, teams can ensure that they are producing high-quality products while maintaining trust with customers and stakeholders. With its focus on individuals over processes and tools and working software over comprehensive documentation, Agile provides a framework for building strong relationships within organizations while ensuring successful product delivery.

1
Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through the early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
2
Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage.
3
Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference for a shorter timescale.
4
Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.
5
Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to do the job.
6
A face-to-face conversation is the most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team.
7
Working software is the primary measure of progress.
8
Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
9
Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
10
Simplicity—the art of maximizing the amount of work not done—is essential.
11
The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
12
The team regularly reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

Benefits of following the principles:

An agile methodology is a widely-used approach to software development that prioritizes flexibility, customer satisfaction, and collaboration. It is based on the Agile manifesto, a set of guiding values and principles adopted by organizations worldwide.
Customer Satisfaction:
Agile methodology prioritizes customer satisfaction by allowing for the timely delivery of valuable software. This ensures that the end product meets the customer’s needs and provides value.
Flexibility:
Agile methodology encourages flexibility by allowing changes and adjustments to be made throughout the development process. This allows for a better end product and increases the chances of success.
Collaboration:
Agile methodology promotes collaboration between business and development teams. This ensures that all stakeholders clearly understand the project goals and can work together to achieve them.
Faster Time-to-Market:
Agile methodology delivers working software frequently, which allows for early feedback from end users and allows for adjustments to be made quickly. This results in a faster time-to-market.
Increased Productivity:
Agile methodology builds projects around motivated individuals and encourages face-to-face conversation, which leads to a more engaged and productive team.
Sustainable Development:
Agile methodology promotes sustainable development, allowing for a consistent pace of work and reducing burnout.
Technical Excellence and Good Design:
Agile methodology focuses on technical excellence and good design, improving the software’s quality and maintainability.
Simplicity:
Agile methodology emphasizes simplicity, which allows for a more streamlined and efficient development process.
Autonomy:
Agile methodology allows for self-organizing teams, which promotes independence and ownership among team members.
Continuous Improvement:
Agile methodology encourages regular reflection and adjustment, allowing continuous improvement.

Keeping an Agile mentality

In conclusion, an Agile methodology is a valuable approach to software development that offers many benefits, including increased customer satisfaction, flexibility, collaboration, faster time-to-market, increased productivity, sustainable development, technical excellence, simplicity, autonomy, and continuous improvement. 

Adopting Agile methodology can help organizations to improve their software development process and achieve better results.

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