Agile Methodology is a set of values and principles that can help your team write software more efficiently. It’s less of a manifesto, as it’s sometimes referred to, and more of a collection of beliefs that teams can use to make the best decisions about how to do the work of developing software.
What is the Agile Methodology? And what does it mean to develop in an agile way? Agile is a set of values and principles that can help your team write software more efficiently. It’s less of a manifesto, as it’s sometimes referred to, and more of a collection of beliefs that teams can use to make the best decisions about how to do the work of developing software.
This belief is listed as the first of 4 epic Agile Values which serve as benchmarks for its 12 principles which we explained here. In this article, we explored the first Agile Value that prioritizes individuals and interactions over process and tools. In this article, we take a look at the second Agile Value of working software over comprehensive documentation and how it leads to the creation of software that is valued by end users.
Working Software over Comprehensive Documentation
The waterfall method use to start with a heavy documentation process. A lot of documentation was done even before starting to build the software. The features, specifications, layouts, requirements, test cases and more where documented long before they were submitted to your client. This approach had it drawbacks because much of what you documented would be outdated by the time you were done with it, resulting in features never used by your end user. In other words, time spent in vain! Too much documentation delays the project which also becomes an opportunity loss for your business. This second Agile Value values working software over comprehensive documentation and taking feedback not at the end of a project but throughout the project. In other words, you create a basic software with basic features first and then you give it to your end users and stakeholders for feedback. Their feedback will inform the way in which you will carry out further development. This way, you save time and create a software that has features highly valued by your end users.
Understanding this second value is key to understanding the advantages of the Agile methodology over other methodologies.
This is the second in a series of articles where we explore the 4 Agile Values. Learn more about how the Agile Methodology values individuals and interactions, working software over comprehensive documentation; customer collaboration over contract negotiation, and responding to change over following a plan.
We provide the most effective and innovative project management, agile, and business analysis training available. Contact us for more info about our PMP Agile exam course which explores, in great detail, these decision-making techniques, as well as our project management certification services.
