Report on Agile Approach to Software Development

Introduction:

For any projects to be successful, it needs to be well managed. In order to manage projects efficiently, managers as well as development teams need to choose the appropriate project methodology approach that goes best with the project. All types of project management methodologies have their different strengths and weaknesses and thus for any projects it is very much important to align with the suitable project methodologies.

Agile methodology development is the series of techniques focused on the notion of continuous improvement, in which deliverables arise from collaboration among identity cross-functional organizations. The biggest objective of an agile development is whether it allows teams to deliver better products, with improved performance and dependability, as well as a greater capacity to react to change.

The development life framework is a sequence of continuous software engineering process in which outputs are created through collaboration amongst inner cross-functional organisations. This report is thus prepared so as to demonstrate the key concepts of Agile Project Management Methodologies with respect to Software Development processes.

Discussion:

Emergence of Agile as a software development approach:

Agile software lifecycle improvement is a continuous method that enables teams to just provide benefits to customers more quickly even with lesser challenges. Instead of relying on a “expansion of the universe” release, an agile methodology distributes work in small, digestible portions. Since objectives, tactics, and outcomes are evaluated on a frequent basis, individuals may be able to adapt quickly. (Rasnacis & Berzisa, 2017). The Agile approach began as a novel technique to manage application development in the project management business. Many software development organizations were collapsing or taking really too long to finish, and company executives understood they decided to come up with a fresh, creative solution. Agile Alliance paved the way for today’s Agile methods. Agile was originally designed to manage software projects. It has, nevertheless, developed to manage projects across various sectors, companies, and markets.

A comprehensive view of Agile software development cycle

(Rasnacis & Berzisa, 2017)

Values and principles that drive Agile approach:

The Agile Manifesto, similarly recognized as the Platform for Agile Software Progress, is a official official document that comprises twelve concepts and four values to guide an iterative and individuals’ methodology. It focuses on development while preserving the parameter identification, providing the working parts of the programme as soon as they are available. It advocates a basic, clear, and straightforward approach to building software in sprint training, allowing each functional component of the product to be examined and tested in light of the client’s or end user’s demands, and updated as necessary to satisfy those goals.

There are about four key values that drives the values and principles of Agile approaches. These values include-

• Connections and individuals over courses and tools.

The Agile Manifesto’s primary value is “Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.” It’s simple to comprehend why individuals are appreciated further extremely than procedures or tools since it is people are responding to company demands and lead the project expansion. The workforce will be less sensitive to change and less likely to satisfy client demands if the method or technologies drive progress (Noguera, Guerrero-Roldán & Masó, 2018). The distinction between appreciating persons and valuing processes may be seen in interaction. Networking and communication are flexible and occurs only when there is a need. Information is planned and requires precise content in the event of procedure.

• Working software takes precedence over extensive documentation.

Historically, a great deal of period was consumed describing the creation in groundwork for creation and ultimate delivery. Each requires its own set of technical standards, technical demands, technical brochures, border design papers, assessment plans, certification plans, and certifications. The checklist was large, which contributed to the longer development inefficiencies. Agile somehow doesn’t eliminate paperwork; however, it streamlines it so the developer gets all he or she requires to finish the work without being bogged down in specifics. Agile uses customer requirement to document targets, and that they are sufficient for a computer programmer to begin plans for a new application.

• Partnership with clients takes preference over agreement negotiations.

Agreement is the timeframe during which the client and the marketing director hash out the parameters of a supply, with the possibility of renegotiating the details all along route. Cooperation is a completely different animal. Customers discuss the technical specifications, typically in great detail, before any work begins via development methodologies like Waterfall. This indicated that the client was participating in the development cycle before it started and then when it was finished, but not throughout it. The Agile Manifesto defines a client who has been involved and participates with the design team throughout the process. This makes it a lot easier for production to satisfy the customer’s requirements. Although agile techniques may involve the client at frequent intervals for regular demos, a program may as well provide a half way point as a daily part of the squad who joins all sessions and safeguards the creation fulfils the customer’s company requirements.

• Responding to a transition in a planned manner.

Alteration was seen as an expenditure in outdated software expansion; therefore, it was resisted. The area was to generate comprehensive, intricate tactics with a quantified number of characteristics and everyone consuming the similar priority as the whole thing else, as well as a enormous quantity of various requirements on providing in a specific order such that the side could change on to the next component piece (Buganová & Šimíčková, 2019). Despite the fact that Agile phases are short, targets can be changed from scratch each time, and new features can be included in the next instalment. As according Agile, modifications always enhance a project and provide value.

Analysis of the Scrum Process:

The agile iterative model is a repetition maximum systems integration technique with the goal of maximising stakeholder returns. Sprint is a methodology that enables collaboration on complicated tasks to work together more successfully. Agile as well as scrum are two techniques to improve project that really are related but contrast in a few key areas. Scrum seems to be more structured and promotes inter teams, whilst agile is now more flexible and promotes management teams (Azanha, Argoud, de Camargo Junior & Antoniolli, 2017). The agile project methodology is a process framework that emphasises iterative nature. Each update is broken out into 2 to 4 sprints, with both the goal of finishing the most major characteristics first and providing a potential result of causing at the conclusion from each iteration. More elements and the resolution are introduced in subsequent sprints, and also the technology is then adjusted based on stockholder and customer feedback sometime between these sprints.

Agile teams:

Agile methodologies are dynamic and adaptive by design, and that it is the business owner’s duty to make sure that they will be producing the greatest value. The stakeholder represents the company and informs production what is most essential to provide. The importance of trust between some of these two jobs cannot be overstated. Agile teams are built to analyse and adapt to changing circumstances. That implies a shift in priorities might result in significant changes to the team structure, work outputs, and final result. As a result, it’s critical for scrum teams to succeed and for just one individual to establish priorities. The product proprietor is the person who is in responsibility of the creation and setting the priorities solely depends upon him. The scrum master is in charge of tying it all together and guaranteeing that scrum is carried out properly. In practise, this means they assist the responsible person in defining value, the engineering team in delivering value, and the sprint review in improving (Loiro et al., 2019). The scrum team is a role model, which characterises not just a helpful leadership style but also what individuals do on a frequent basis.

Role of an Agile Business Analyst

Although a business predictor may not continuously have the executive power required to be a successful product proprietor, they might become indispensable by filling in for a market owner’s time constraints or business analytical thinking. A product owner benefits from a business analyst’s assistance in evaluating the commercial domain, keeping the invention backlog, and training the artefact backlog. The business analyst’s role in agile, like in other methods, is to ensure that the design and development are aligned with the business objectives, stakeholder needs, and performance objectives as the project progresses (Shastri, Hoda & Amor, 2017). They are also in charge of ensuring that all partners are on the same page. This is especially true in agile since scope isn’t set, thus there’s more change to manage as re-planning and re-prioritization are necessary to adapt to change over several iterations. The business analyst’s ability to communicate and collaborate will be crucial.

Conclusion:

Thus, from the report it can be concluded that Agile techniques aren’t right for every project. Agile Methodologies will not produce the best outcomes when connection between the architect and the user is difficult, or when the design team lacks trained professional. When there has been a great communication mechanism in between project team and the client, and the design team consists of experienced colleagues, these approaches produce the best outcomes. Agile techniques are the most optimum way for a consulting company when there is a risk of misinterpreting precise client needs, or when timelines and budgets are limited. These techniques reflect a sequential development paradigm in which the entire effort is split into numerous releases throughout order to meet the objectives set for each phase.

References:

Azanha, A., Argoud, A. R. T. T., de Camargo Junior, J. B., & Antoniolli, P. D. (2017). Agile project management with Scrum: A case study of a Brazilian pharmaceutical company IT project. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMPB-06-2016-0054

Buganová, K., & Šimíčková, J. (2019). Risk management in traditional and agile project management. Transportation Research Procedia, 40, 986-993. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trpro.2019.07.138

Loiro, C., Castro, H., Ávila, P., Cruz-Cunha, M. M., Putnik, G. D., & Ferreira, L. (2019). Agile project management: A communicational workflow proposal. Procedia Computer Science, 164, 485-490. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2019.12.210

Noguera, I., Guerrero-Roldán, A. E., & Masó, R. (2018). Collaborative agile learning in online environments: Strategies for improving team regulation and project management. Computers & Education, 116, 110-129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2017.09.008

Rasnacis, A., & Berzisa, S. (2017). Method for adaptation and implementation of agile project management methodology. Procedia Computer Science, 104, 43-50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2017.01.055

Shastri, Y., Hoda, R., & Amor, R. (2017, February). Understanding the roles of the manager in agile project management. In Proceedings of the 10th Innovations in Software Engineering Conference (pp. 45-55). https://doi.org/10.1145/3021460.3021465