Agile Manifesto Explained

Agile Manifesto consists of 4 values and 12 principles written by a group of 17 developers, It is the basis of any type of project management which follows the Agile Methodology Framework.

The 4 Values of Agile

Individuals and Interactions over processes and tools

Agile values people over process. This emphasis on individuals and teams puts the focus on people and their energy, innovation, and ability to solve problems. You use processes and tools in agile project management, but they are there to support the product creation.

An agile environment is human-centric and participatory suitable to new ideas and innovations.

• Communication can be quicker, more efficient and clear
• Teams can self-organize
• Teams have more chances to innovate
• Teams can customize processes if necessary
• Team members can take personal ownership of the project
• Team members can have deeper job satisfaction and be more motivated

Working Software over comprehensive documentation

On a traditional project, if you’re 80 percent done, you don’t have any working  software to give to the customer – “80 percent done” traditionally means you’re 80 percent in progress and 0 percent done.

In agile project management, however, if you’re 80 percent done the customer have a working product that have 80% of the features ready just now, they can continue to add functionality, work on the design or stop. They have the option to do what is best for them and the project. There is value and options during the whole project. After all, the working product is the reason for the project.

There is also documentations like this in Agile:

• Documentation that helps users understand how to use the software
• Documentation that helps programmers understand how to fix, maintain, and extend the software.

Customer Collaboration over contract negotiation

The regular and continuous interaction between the customer and the developers assures that the product built fits the customers needs. When the customer is effectively participating with the team they will produce the right product!

Agile teams release the product into actual use as early and as often as possible during the project, to make sure end-users gets the best user experience possible. Nothing makes better usability than the actual users trying it out!

All of this interaction has the effect of keeping the customer’s expectations reasonable. Because of the high visibility into the developer’s work, the customer quickly comes to appreciate the work and respect them.

In addition to uncovering misunderstandings early in the project, interaction helps the client to form a better vision of the product. The interactions helps the customers gain a better understanding of their own needs. It also allows them to identify when their needs change.

Responding to Change over following a plan

This is the basic values of Agile Software Development and it has grown and is used on different types of projects and not only on software development.

Agile projects accommodate change systematically. The agile approaches to planning, working and prioritization allow project teams to respond quickly to change.

The flexibility of agile approaches actually increase project stability, because change on agile projects is predictable and manageable.

The iterative and incremental nature of the Agile planning process makes these changes much less disruptive and cause little or no rework.

Agility is more than an effective response to change, It adopts customers as a part of the team to eliminate the “us – them” attitude to help them recognize that planning in an uncertain world has its limit and project plant must be flexible.

The 12 Principles of Agile

The set of 12 principles which is based on the 4 Values of Agile Methodology.

1. Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through 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 to the 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 get the job done.
6. The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.
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. At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

The Authors of Agile Manifesto

Kent Beck, Mike Beedle, Arie van Bennekum, Alistair Cockburn, Ward Cunningham, Martin Fowler, Robert C. Martin, Steve Mellor, Dave Thomas, James Grenning, Jim Highsmith, Andrew Hunt, Ron Jeffries, Jon Kern, Brian Marick, Ken Schwaber, and Jeff Sutherland.