Agile methodology is used in software development.
Unlike traditional sequential development, Agile methodology allows teams to respond to unpredictability in an incremental and iterative manner. This method helps bring a more optimized approach to project management, thereby making it easier to assess a project throughout its development cycle.
Agility is the ability of an organization to create value and delight its customers, while favoring and adapting to changes in the environment, on time. In software development, Agile methods attempt to minimize risk and maximize productivity by developing software in short iterations and de-emphasizing work on secondary or interim work artifacts.
Going back in history, Agile methodologies came into existence after learning from practical experiences of software development. In 2001, seventeen prominent figures in the field of software development came together at the Snowbird ski resort in Utah, USA, to discuss the unifying theme of their methodologies. They emerged with a unique and customer oriented process – Agile methodology. Here are some insights into the process:
For the last five years, Agile methodology has been followed in ITEC (SG GSC) in identified pockets. After experiencing sustained benefits, an Agile centre was established to evangelize and coach teams in this methodology.
The journey so far for ITEC:
Continuous Delivery is an adaptation of the Agile philosophy for software development discipline where software is built in such a way that it can be released to production at any time.
In GSC, the Continuous Delivery methodology has been followed by various teams across business lines.
Continuous delivery is done when:
The software is deployable throughout its lifecycle
The team prioritizes keeping the software deployable over working on new features
The business owner can get fast, automated feedback on the production readiness of their systems when changes are made
Push-button deployments of any version of the software to any environment on demand can be done
The different building blocks of Continuous Delivery (heat map) is given below.
Various projects in GSC have seen improved productivity and great customer feedback after adopting the Agile way of working. Have you applied Agile methodologies? What are the challenges you faced while doing so? Comment with your views.
About the Author
Ebin John Poovathany has been with the Agile center in ITEC since the last two years. He has over ten years of work experience in companies such as Nokia Siemens, Alcatel Lucent, GE and Valtech. He started his career working as a developer, then moved on to become a Scrum Master, Product Owner and is currently an Agile coach. He is a certified Scrum Master (CSM) and Certified Scrum Practitioner (CSP) by Scrum Alliance.
