Agile Software Development: Making It Work

In both IT industry and business in general, agility is often referred to in a positive context. This trait has always represented skillful adaptivity while taking on challenges in a dynamic fashion. In software development sense, the agile approach incorporates methods and practices where separate self-organizing teams collaborate throughout the development stages, thus shaping the end result.  To familiarize you with the concept, the article will outline the core values and principles of agile software development, relevant methodology frameworks, as well as certain challenges along with empirically proven ways of overcoming them.

The core values and principles of this practice were in stone in Manifesto for Agile Software Development in 2001. Even though its creators conducted a series of heated debates in their efforts to outline the priorities and faced many disagreements in the process, they did manage to distinguish four mutually recognized values. Primarily, individual interactions are preferred over procedures. The main idea behind it is that agile software development needs to be lean, and trade all procedural inefficiencies for face-to-face work. Additionally, the concept values spending time on software itself rather than documentation, in order to maximize useful time dedicated to the final purpose. The spirit of agile software development further sticks out by being extremely inclusive of all final users from the very start. Therefore, customer collaboration becomes one of the critical process components, labeling its spot on the core values list. This phases out the traditional contract negotiation moments where the end user would have been hands-off for the whole duration of the development process but then proceed to ultimately demand all purchased features through legal means. Finally, understanding that agility incorporates adaptability, the creators of the Manifesto outlined responding to change as something that should be favored over rigidly following the initial plan. This accounts for any developmental aspects that could not have been taken into account at the very start, allowing them to be adequately addressed once they become relevant. The spirit of the Manifesto is quite clear: focus on software and software only throughout the whole developmental process and create it as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Although it accounts for flexibility and is more liberal in terms of involvement and documentation, agile software development process needs firm structure in order to generate deliverables successfully. That being said, different frameworks have been developed over time to serve as means of providing that structural foundation. Scrum framework is based on precise task-dependent division of development time. The process is cut into Sprints, which represent time periods whose duration is regulated by the nature of the software. However, Sprints take two weeks on a mean basis. Each of them serves in the capacity of a timeframe in which the team brings a part of the task to completion. This provides a step-by-step approach where both sides stay on the same page and have a transparent developmental overview at hand. The Scrum master links the product owner and the development team. They stay accountable for cross-communication, meeting of deadlines, general control and any retrospective tasks throughout the process. As much as Scrum relies on logical time distribution, Kanban framework relies on visualization as the basic development following tool. The tasks are represented as distinct cards on the Kanban board. Each card can move between different parts of the board, allowing teams to make educated estimates regarding the dynamics of the progress, as well as redistribute workload where balancing shows necessary. For example, one of the most commonly accepted task categorizations on the board is between To–do, In–progress and Done. Scrumban is a combined approach that incorporates elements of both. Numerous other ones have been tested out in practice. However, experts advise teams to develop their own methodology for each project and use the existing frameworks to guide to process. The agility principle is founded on the power of smart process adaptation, so the project developed in this way can potentially require a methodological approach that is quite unique and incorporate different elements of multiple previously established frameworks.

The effectiveness of any software development project, agile included, relies heavily on mitigating potential risks. Risk management starts with outlining the vital areas of interest that could potentially get affected. Technical risks refer to the concern over the final product quality and its ability to meet specification requirements. On the other hand, business risks are related to the actual revenue the owner expects to generate using the developed software. As much as these corporate risks revolve around the owner, social risks revolve around users: will they need the product and if so, will they need them in a way we hoped? Deadline risks are present whenever deliverables are in the game, as well as cost risks that inherently follow each development process that needs to be funded in agreed fashion. The degree of threat each of the mentioned factors carries depends on the project itself. For example, for a project that the defined users need and will use for sure, but it is technically challenging to create, technical risks outweigh social risks. For a project with opposite characteristics, the latter one might override any technical concerns. In order to plan an informed decision-making process that would incorporate a through risk assessment, a team needs to be aware of the specific areas where the current project could get affected. It should not be overlooked that just recognizing those factors through a quality analysis already gets the team halfway through successful risk management.

From that point on, application of right means further assures both sides. The number one tool that is entirely in the spirit of agile software development is communication. Going back and forth with transparent progress checks between the product owner and the development team increases awareness in both sides, all while allowing for timely input and addressing the interest points, thus minimizing risk. The Manifesto values interaction, especially combined with physical colocation, for that exact reason. Constant exchange of ideas along with black-on-white situational awareness in both sides is a risk neutralizer. Another important tool is setting clear standards. If the project manager moves a task to the Done section of the board, it is critical that firm criteria are met and nobody has any doubts regarding its status. Some of these things are defined at the start of the project and represent a foundation of minimizing risk in the long term.

Agile software development is a dynamic process with a lot of variables. All approaches are somewhat adaptive or somewhat predictive. Agile definitely leans on the adaptive side of the spectrum. It is a lean and effective process, although some argue that a downside of this effectiveness lies in its unsuitability for large organizations. It is difficult to accept an ideology that brings many inherent variables in such places where the scope of work already brings enough unknowns on a daily basis. Therefore, additional structure or rigidity might slow things down a bit, but will help bring some needed predictability for the sake of other projects the organization is involved in. Therefore, it is up to the development team which ideology they would implement and whether agile software development is for them. If it is, the outlined frameworks assist a team in developing the best possible methodology for the process. A quality risk assessment and mitigation tools, which we broke down into small parts, brings additional stability and structure.

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