There has been so much talk around ‘Agile Methodology’ that is said to be arguably the most popular and efficient methodology in the software development world. But why has it garnered so much attention? Let’s find out.

It’s been more than a decade since most technology organizations moved on to Agile software development or methodology. But what exactly is it? It is a type of software development methodology that aims at frequent delivery of individual or small pieces of product continuously through cross-functional teams with scope of change and course correction along the process as and when needed. It is an answer to all the challenges that the ‘Waterfall’ methodology faced that delivered the whole product at once after a long period of time without being able to incorporate changes according to varying customer needs.

Agile methodology focuses on collaboration and flexibility. This means that the self-organizing cross-functional teams are quick to anticipate changes in customer needs corresponding to the dynamic market and come up with pragmatic solutions along the course.

It was in 2001 that 17 software development professionals discussed the far-reaching benefits of Agile methodology and drafted Agile Manifesto. It has four core values that still remain at the centre of this methodology even if the market and its needs have evolved over the years.

1) Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
2) Working software over comprehensive documentation:
3) Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
4) Responding to change over following a plan

Why should you go the Agile way?

Every organization claims to have adopted the Agile methodology or at least some form of this methodology for better productivity at lower costs. The 15th Annual State of Agile Report, that was based on the State of Agile survey, showed a significant growth in Agile adoption within software development teams, increasing from 37% in 2020 to 86% in 2021. This is a huge indication that Agile methodology has proved immensely beneficial to the software enterprises.

What Makes it so Popular?

There are quite a few benefits of Agile development methodology, but the following are the major ones that attract companies to choose this over any other:

  1. Improved control: One of the advantages here is that the work can be broken down among individual teams and that allows more control over each part of the process. Regular interactions and clear communication among the teams ensure improved control over the entire lifecycle of the product.
  2. Higher customer satisfaction: At the end of the day, customer satisfaction is one of the main goals of any work and Agile development outdoes other methodologies in this field. As it is iterative, there is continuous improvement and deliverability. The teams are able to collaborate and get feedback from the customers at every point, which helps them make changes along the way and deliver an even better product than expected.
  3. Increased flexibility: In the ‘Waterfall’ method, it was necessary to plan the whole software development process ahead and making any change was possible only after the whole process was done. Making a change was rather costly too. However, in Agile methodology, flexibility is key, which follows the core value ‘Responding to change over following a plan’. This helps bring out superior quality products.
  4. Better quality of product: One of the major advantages of this methodology is constant testing to find problems and come up with quick solutions. The flexibility allows continuous improvement in the product.
  5. Better productivity: As the work is broken down and assigned to teams and there are continuous discussions around it, the project is easier to manage. The incremental nature allows quicker results. This results in increased and better productivity.
  6. High ROI: Everything aside, return on investment is the main reason for enterprises taking up any project. The iterative nature of Agile software development methodology makes the product market ready by taking care of the continuous changes corresponding to the evolving market and changing customer needs. Using tools like Scrum and Kanban in the Agile software development helps enterprises anticipate changes and come up with solutions. This means quicker benefits and higher returns. Amid pandemic, the world has evolved drastically when it comes to technology and is moving faster. These benefits of Agile software development methodology make enterprises stay relevant and adapt to the ever-changing market.

How Aspire can Help?

Aspire Systems offers Agile development approach with Scrum or Kanban as methodology depending upon the need of the client to handle their rapidly changing environment and ensure timely and quality deliverables.
Looking to understand better? Head to our Agile software solutions to learn more.

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