In 2001, the Manifesto for Agile Software Development was created. This is an alternative to the cascaded way of generating software. The manifesto describes agile as a philosophy for carrying out various projects, including IT projects.
The basis of the Agile Manifesto includes four basic principles:
- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
- Working software over comprehensive documentation
- Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
- Responding to change over following a plan
The manifesto means that the values described on the left are more important than the ones on the right. It's no coincidence that people are placed first. The success of each project depends on them. If the team has the right skills and a lot of commitment, there is a good chance that each project will be successfully completed. Interactions between team members speed up the work and allow the use of maximally positive aspects of teamwork.
The second point indicates what is most important from the point of view of the software recipient. Even the best documentation cannot replace properly working software. The working end product is the basis for considering whether the project has been successful.
A quick response to changes causes the team to be able to deliver the ideal product to the recipient. It builds a sense of professionalism and can contribute to the expansion of business cooperation with the current investor. Agile is a great project management tool that helps to eliminate the likelihood of an IT project failure.
Work based on agile methodologies takes advantage of an iterative and incremental approach. This means that the team of programmers is focused on the fast, cyclic, and orderly delivery of product elements. The result of this is greater flexibility. This is very important due to the high frequency of changes, along with building solutions. Agile methodologies of software development do not have rigid conditions and assumptions regarding every aspect of the project.
