It’s not a secret anymore that Agile methodology has started to dominate businesses. Agile Software Development methodology has already become an inevitable part of technology enterprises due to its efficient and flexible nature, and continuous delivery. When we say Agile software development, it means frequent delivery of individual pieces of product continuously through cross-functional teams with scope of course correction along the process. But this methodology has been here for some time and we know it’s here to stay because of its evolving character.

Now that we are closer to the end of 2022, we can clearly see that this methodology, which took off after the design of Agile Manifesto in 2001, continues to be the most popular methodology and is spreading across fields and reshaping businesses already.

Let’s look at 5 of the prominent trends that are either already here or could be the next big thing in Agile:

1.Simpler Agile tools:

First things first, the tools used in Agile methodology might need prior knowledge or experience but this is now changing as companies are trying to find simple Agile tools that have user-friendly interfaces. Enterprises are trying to develop tools that can solve difficulties like Kanban board and task backlogs and help developers during project operations.

2.Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in Agile:

AI and ML is everywhere. So why should Agile miss out on it? AI and ML can help in tracking and eliminating bugs during code evaluation. AI and ML can evaluate a code and offer real-time predictions and solutions. It can help Agile software development evolve further by bringing in innovations and in turn resulting in faster and better releases.

3.Combining Agile and DevOps:

Let’s first understand what is DevOps, which also is not an alien concept anymore. Simply put, it means combining software development with IT operations. DevOps and Agile go hand-in-hand. 75% of respondents of the 15th Annual State of Agile survey indicated that DevOps is important or very important to their organization in achieving their goals. Continuous delivery is one of the major benefits of Agile software development, combine it with continuous pretesting to eliminate software complexities before delivery and you will have a high-quality product in less time.

4.Scaled Agile Framework:

According to the 15th Annual State of Agile survey, the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) continues to be the most popular with 37% of respondents identifying it as the framework they most closely follow. SAFe guides the company in improving its productivity on an organizational level and not just on a team level, which is the focus area of Scrum of Scrums. Basically, Scrum is a useful tool at team level and SAFe is useful for development at scale.

5.Beyond software development:

Finally, Agile is a mindset and it is above and beyond just software development. Agile can be applied in other areas of business as well that can help in streamlining the company’s priorities and be advantageous in the short as well as long run. For example, Agile can be part of human resources and finance departments as well. It can help in setting objectives, continuous improvement and in getting quicker results.

While Agile methodology is arguably the most effective method currently, the full potential of this methodology is yet to be extracted. The Covid-19 pandemic has taught us that we never stop evolving and innovating and there is so much more that can be done with a single idea. But, one thing that will continue to be true is Agile Software Development methodology is the way to go for technology enterprises.

Aspire Systems’ homegrown methodology– Software Infinity is driven by Agile software development principles and efficient accelerators to help deliver reliable software services quickly.

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