In modern business, a philosophy of flexibility reigns. Early product release and quick feedback from customers is the key to successful trading and high profits. A number of techniques have been developed for the proper organization of the workflow, united by a common concept of readiness for change. Agile methodologies originated in the field of information technology, but have already proven their effectiveness in different sectors of the market.
Agile Philosophy
Translated from English, the name of the concept means "quickly and easily move, think or understand." In Russian, the definition of "flexible" has taken root .
The approaches and techniques hiding under the term Agile methodology are primarily aimed at ensuring the responsiveness of the product to customer requests. When the market situation changes, the flexible product changes after it and quickly receives recognition.
Agile vs waterfall
In nature, technology, ordinary life, all processes occur sequentially, passing through a series of stages. The business initially adopted this concept, called the "cascade model" or "waterfall model", and for many years successfully followed it. First, the planning and design phases went on, then the product was implemented, tested and implemented. Years could pass from start to finish.
In modern business, this is the sure path to collapse. The client is not ready to wait, he wants to receive the product right now. Moreover, the consumer is volatile, unstable, today he wants one thing, and tomorrow - another. If with each change you have to restart the entire cycle of work, the product will never go into the world.
At the end of the 20th century, the most dynamically developing market area was software development. Here, the need for change was felt most acutely. Several new approaches to the organization of the production process appeared, striving to get away from the model of the waterfall. They differed in details, but were unusually similar in the main. It took some time to put them together and create a single philosophy.
In 2001, in Utah, USA, a team of developers created and promulgated the “Agile Manifesto Software Development Methodology Manifesto,” known as Agile Manifesto. It did not contain any specific instructions on how to work. Instead, the basic ideas and principles to be followed were outlined.
Agile ideas and principles
In the manifesto four values of the methodology are formulated:
- People are more important than things and processes.
- A product is more important than documentation that no one reads.
- Collaboration is more important than contract.
- Constant readiness for change.
These basic ideas are revealed in more detail in the principles:
- The main priority of the work is customer satisfaction.
- The main condition for work is the daily communication of developers and the customer on equal terms.
- Work should be carried out in short iterations, which allows you to quickly make changes to the requirements.
- A working product is the main indicator of progress and should be released as often as possible.
- Each member of the development team must be motivated.
- The key to success is simplicity and quality performance.
- Constant monitoring of team work in order to increase productivity and correct errors.
Agile itself is not a specific methodology, but a single project management philosophy, a way of thinking. This is a humanistic approach that takes into account both the needs of the business and the interests of people.
Flexible organization example
Consider the concept of flexible project management in his native field - software development.
It is important to correctly assign roles:
- The owner of the product is a person who knows exactly what should turn out in the end, and can explain this to the team.
- A team is a small group of specialists capable of creating a product.
- Master, coordinator - a person who monitors the proper organization of the work process in accordance with the accepted methodology.
Agile development begins with a backlog — a complete list of the owner’s current product requirements. In the process of work, changes can be made to the backlog, new items are added, irrelevant ones are deleted, priorities are changed.
The first meeting of the client and development team is held under the supervision of a wizard. The list of requirements is reviewed, adjusted. At the first meeting, preliminary estimates of time costs are made, large goals are broken down into their constituent parts, and a goal map is compiled.
The Agile methodology involves iterative development: short sprints lasting from a week to a month. Before each iteration, a list of specific tasks that the team will work on is formed. Until the end of the sprint, changes to this list are no longer made. The result of the work should be a workable product that can be presented to the consumer.
During work, the team organizes short mandatory meetings daily, where each participant tells what he did yesterday as part of the sprint tasks, what he will do today and what problems he has encountered. This allows each member of the team to understand what others are doing.
At the end of the sprint, a meeting is organized at which the results of the work are presented to the owner of the product. Then the team conducts a retrospective - analyzes the past iteration, discusses problems.
Disadvantages of Flexible Management
Agile methodologies have enormous potential if properly applied. This reservation is not accidental, it is not in vain that there are a huge number of business trainings on “implementing Agile”. It is important to understand the essence of a flexible philosophy, and not to follow every letter of Agile Manifesto thoroughly.
The thoughtless use of the principle “product is more important than documentation” can lead to a complete absence of project documentation and complete chaos. “Readiness for change” sometimes results in constant alterations of the product due to the vagaries of the client.
Proper application of flexible techniques can unleash the potential of any project and make it successful.