Everything You Need to Know About Agile Methodology

It is far from a secret that you cannot just take and create successful software at a jump start. You need a specific work plan, and you should adhere to a particular methodology that will help you create a general development workflow. And one of the most popular development methods is Agile. And this is not surprising since projects developed using the Agile methodology are 28% more successful than traditional ones.

In this article, we will analyze in detail what Agile methodology is, discover what this methodology consists of and what structure a team of developers working on the Agile system takes. Without further ado, let’s get started.

What Agile Is All About?

Before delving into the jungle of this topic, it is worth first knowing the basic things, namely, what is Agile.

Agile methodology is a way of software development, which is based on certain iterations and steps, and at the same time, the whole methodology is extremely flexible due to several principles:

• Mandatory adaptive planning for quick response to changes in the project
• Requirement development that engages the entire team
• Streamlining developer tasks
• Step-by-step development and adherence to strict deadlines
  

Now it is time to dive into Agile work principles.

How Agile Methodology Works?

Agile software development process is based on rather short development cycles, which often last 2-3 weeks, at the end of which the customer is presented with the result of the work, and this happens every cycle. This allows the customer to constantly be aware of the development and influence certain stages of the cycle. There are six consecutive stages in the cycle

• Planning
• Requirement analysis
• Design
• Development
• Testing
• Creation of documentation 

At the end of each cycle, developers receive feedback from the customer on the already developed functionality and receive new requirements that they use to adjust the development plan, and the cycle repeats again.

Agile Development Team Structure

Despite the fact that all companies are different and some roles may be called differently, the structure of Agile teams remains the same in any company. In addition, the number of roles can also be different, as it can depend on the size of the company and the complexity of the project. However, today we will talk about all the possible and most important roles in an Agile team.

• Team lead. If you thought that in Agile methodology Team lead performs the same functions as in other methodologies, then you are greatly mistaken. In the Agile methodology, Team lead fully manages the team, monitors the completion of tasks, allocates available resources, and prevents possible project risks.
• Team member. Here the name speaks for itself and includes all project participants such as developers, UI / UX designers, testers, DevOps engineers, and others. All of these specialists can be called team members, and each of them is vital for the implementation of the project.
• Product owner. The product owner or simply the customer owns the product being developed. His responsibilities include the approval of the work performed, the definition of the goals of the project, its future appearance, and content. However, the product owner does not manage the development process but only transfers his requirements and vision to the development team.
• Stakeholder. If you do not go into details, Stakeholder is all people who, in one way or another, are interested in the product being developed to be of the highest quality.
• Architecture holder. Quite an important figure in Agile methodology since these specialists are responsible for developing the architecture of the future software. In addition, the Architecture owner is responsible for the management of the team that develops the software architecture, and the presence of this specialist in the team is mandatory when developing large and complex projects.
• System integrator. These specialists are responsible for system integration after each Agile cycle.

Reasons Why Agile Methodology Is a Great Mobile App Development Method

Now is the time to talk about the benefits that Agile methodology brings to mobile development. Considering the specifics of the mobile market in general and mobile applications in particular, Agile is an excellent way to develop mobile applications. And all thanks to one common but no less significant similarity - mobile applications require a flexible approach to development, and the Agile methodology fully satisfies this requirement.

In-Depth Real-Time Planning Process

Planning the development process is not the easiest process, and developing a plan for the entire process from start to finish is even more challenging. Agile methodology frees you from this headache and instead provides the ability to develop smaller plans for each individual Agile cycle. It also greatly simplifies the process of making edits and correcting errors since all changes can be made at the end of each individual cycle without harming the rest of the project.

In addition, this approach helps to determine the final cost of development many times faster and more accurately.

Sprint-Based Development Process

As we mentioned earlier, Agile development consists of 2-3 weeks intervals. And these intervals are called sprints. At its core and as the name implies, the Agile development cycle is a small race for which developers must manage to create a pre-agreed functionality and present it to the customer at the end. Breaking down the development of a project into small intervals helps to determine the development time more accurately and to more easily meet the agreed deadlines.

Ease of Making Changes

The flexibility of the Agile methodology is one of the biggest advantages of this development approach, which is very suitable for creating mobile applications. All thanks to the division into sprints and constant feedback from the product owner. It is often easier to make edits and changes in such conditions since the functionality is developed in parts and is gradually combined together.

Efficient Risk Management

The golden rule of software development is to release a bug-free product. And this rule has existed for many years since it is no secret to anyone that the user will be disappointed with a poorly working product with bugs and crashes. Agile methodology allows for the phased release of the software. 

For example, the first stage will be the release of a beta version of the application that users can try out and leave their feedback on what should be improved or reworked. After that, based on the feedback, the developers will make all the changes and roll out a flawless product to the delight of users.

Constant Communication With Customer

Showing the development result to the customer only at the very end of the entire product creation process is not a good idea. Not only is the customer in the dark about how the development process is going. Besides that, the customer may still have new ideas, and when you present the product, so you can’t avoid a huge number of edits and unjustified expectations.

Agile methodology provides the customer with constant communication with the development team, and everything is not limited to just one connection. At the end of each sprint, the customer is presented with the work done, which allows you to assess the progress, understand at what stage of development the entire project is and provide the developer with feedback that serves as the foundation for edits.

Wrapping Up

As you can see, Agile methodology is a real gem when there is a need to develop a unique mobile app or any other kind of complex software. With this methodology, you can be sure that the development process will be clockwork, all deadlines will be met, and you will be in constant communication with the development team