What is the Agile Manifesto?
Written in 2001, The Manifesto for Agile Software Development was created by a small group of software development luminaries who gathered to discuss how to solve some of the issues plaguing the software development industry.
Detailed within are the 12 Agile Principles and 4 Agile Values. These ideas were created to address the inefficiency of existing software development methods which relied heavily on cumbersome documentation procedures and other unhelpful processes.
What the authors did not predict is the impact this document would have beyond the software development industry. Today, businesses in every industry from public relations to advertising make use of Agile in one way or another. That is because the authors of the Agile Manifesto created simple guidance that benefits both business owners and employees.
Agile aids product development by stripping away unproductive processes and choosing to focus on activities that directly contribute to aiding development.
In doing so, Agile not only speeds development and aids the implementation of creative solutions but indirectly benefits workers by making the entire process easier, less stressful, and more rewarding.
These Agile ideas are still used today in contemporary agile project management methods. If you choose to take an online agile project management course for example, you’ll notice the themes and principles therein closely resemble the ideas of the Agile Manifesto.
While the implementation of the agile framework may vary depending on which industry-specific methodology you are studying, understanding why the Agile Manifesto was written and why it is still relevant today is an ideal way to start your agile education!
The 4 Agile Values
The 4 Agile Values demonstrate how Agile differentiates itself from the traditional methodologies used to manage projects:
1. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
People respond to business needs and drive the development process, not tools. Tools are, by their very nature, less responsive to change and unable to meet customer needs.
2. Working software over comprehensive documentation
Agile is about streamlining rather than eliminating documentation. Documentation has its’ value but should never be prioritized over the product.
3. Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
In traditional project management, customers dictate requirements for a product before work starts and have little to no interaction with developers. Agile however, considers the customer to be an integral member of the development team.
4. Responding to change over following a plan
Agile works in short development iterations. This short timescale allows for changes to be implement quickly and cost-effectively. Agile sees change as a way to improve a project.
