The most searched term related to Agile on Google is “Agile software development company”. People believe that agile is a methodology used for software development. So I decided to write a deep article about what agile is and how it is beneficial for startups.
Agile is a broad term which is described uniquely by different perspectives. Especially by the people who are trying to sell anything. If asked to a paper products manufacturer what is Agile they will tell you that Agile is writing the customer’s requirements on the sticky notes that are manufactured by them only. While, if you ask the same thing to a maker of orthopedic shoes, the answer would probably be it’s when people stand up a talk, making the shoe and the wearer more “agile”.
Likewise, different people have different definitions of Agile as per their point of view. This creates a lot of confusion.
YOU HAVE ALREADY READ A LOT OF ARTICLES ABOUT WHAT IS AGILE. SO NOW, I WANT YOU TO FOCUS ON WHAT AGILE IS NOT:
• A Methodology
• A Framework or process
• A specific way of developing a software
Let’s look at what Agile is: Agile Is A Set Of Values And Principles.
Most of the discussions around Agile involve a lot of discussions, and practices using various methodologies and developing specific tools for the decisions and process. Agile doesn’t make decisions for the team, but it gives you a foundation that the team can use to adopt a better software development process.
So the best definition of Agile can be; Agile is a set of beliefs that can be used by the teams to make the decisions about how to do the work of developing a software.
According to Agile manifesto, a team can develop software better by giving more values to some factors as compared to the others. But what are the factors that require more attention? Below table has covered it all:
Factors that requires high value
- Individuals and interactions
- Working software
- Customer collaboration
- Responding to change
Factors that require less value
- Process and tools
- Comprehensive documents
- Contract negotiation
- Following a plan
Agile Software Development Cycle
Prerequisite Analysis
Design Document and Prototype
Iterations, Demo and Feedback
Recognize defects and Resolve Bugs
Development and Technical Support
Why Agile Project Management Is The Best For Startups
Every huge enterprise today was a startup once; they haven’t done anything different than any other startup. But what they did was; they changed the culture of their organization. They have changed the way of working, they have opted the Agile practices for Startups. Following are some of the steps to opt for better business culture with Agile:
• Focus on a result-driven environment
• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
• Respond to change instead of sticking to the plan
The best way to utilize the best output from Agile is to adopt best Agile practices.
Best tools for agile software development
Agile development practices
At the beginning, you might believe that Agile scrum methodology is better later you may find that Kanban Agile methodology is much suitable for delivering values to the customers. Look out for practices that support your Agile practices and values.
Some of the best Agile practices are:
1. Track progress daily and openly.
2. Enhance migration to Agile concepts using Agile terms and examples.
3. Continuously improve Agile adoption at project and organization levels.
4. Look to identify and address impediments at the organization and project levels.
5. Get stakeholder/customer feedback often.
6. Empower small, cross-functional teams.
7. Include requirements related to security and progress monitoring in your queue of unfinished work.
8. Gain trust by showing value at the end of each iteration.
9. Use tools and metrics to track progress.
Introducing a unique approach for Startups: LEAN
The lean startup method is not about cost, it is about speed. -Eric Ries
Let’s consider a scenario, your developers have spent months to develop a perfect software or service. Later learns that the customer isn’t interested in some of the features or even the entire project.
This problem can be resolved with the LEAN approach. The Lean startup methodology project is introduced by Eric Ries to develop companies and launch their products faster with a more inline approach with the customer’s needs.
The Lean startup project introduces a Minimum Viable Product for startups (MVP) or a version of the same project that has the features that the customer wants. The company can use the MVP for Startups approach to learn the exact requirements of the customer.
The full stack developers around the world are following the Lean startup methodology for software development. The feedback from the customer is asked at the early stage to decide whether it is ok to continue building the project or a little tweak is required or the whole project is needed to be pivoted.
The lean startup project shortens product development cycles and builds projects as per the client’s needs.
The Basic Lean Cycle Looks Like:
| LAMP | MEAN |
|---|---|
| Obsessed with waste | Obsessed with users |
| Delivers values | Delivers working products |
| Customer validation | Customer feedback |
| Hypothesis | User Story |
| Manages process | Manages Uncertainity |
DevOps with Agile methodology can transform businesses
Our Approach Towards Agile Methodology
It’s been around more than 7 years that we are implementing Agile principles and values in all the teams of the organization.
• We value individuals and interactions over tools and processes.
• We focus on the working software instead of comprehensive documentation.
• For us, collaboration with the customer is more important than the negotiation of the contract.
• We are very flexible towards the plans and respond to the changes.
These four major facts we keep in kind while doing our 15 mins daily standup meetings.
Wrapping up, our team makes decisions based on agile principles and values. Our decision-making process makes us Agile has to lead us to the successful delivery of more than 700 projects. So if you are looking for an agile software development company then hires us.
Having a doubt about any technology? Let’s Connect & Grow together. We have proficient Full Stack and Mean Stack Developers that will resolve all your queries.
