Agile is a methodology for software development that has become increasingly popular over the past few years. In fact, it’s now the most widely used framework for Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) processes and third-party vendors now offer services that specialise in creating custom Agile projects. Even so, many business leaders find it difficult to understand what exactly Agile programming is and how it can be useful in their own organisations. If you are one of those business leaders, you’ve come to the right place! This article will provide a general introduction to Agile and go into more detail about its different principles, continuous integration, and iterative process. Let’s get started!
What is Agile? #
Agile is a methodology for software development that has become increasingly popular over the past few years. In fact, it’s now the most widely used framework for Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) processes and third-party vendors now offer services that specialise in creating custom Agile projects. Even so, many business leaders find it difficult to understand what exactly Agile programming is and how it can be useful in their own organisations. If you are one of those business leaders, you’ve come to the right place! This article will provide a general introduction to Agile and go into more detail about its different principles, continuous integration, and iterative process. Let’s get started!
Why Is Agile Important? #
The most important aspect of Agile programming is that it has a strong focus on creating something that users can start using almost immediately. This is in stark contrast to the traditional waterfall model that many companies still use. Because of this, the ultimate goal of Agile is to create an end product that is a minimum viable product (MVP). The MVP is a version of the product that can be used by real customers in their day-to-day life, so that the company can start seeing how they react to it. This means that the product can be (and often is) incomplete and unpolished. The goal of the MVP is to give customers an opportunity to provide feedback on the product itself, as well as on the overall user experience. That is why the end product is not expected to be of the highest quality – it’s actually designed to be as minimal as possible.
The Importance of Continuous Integration #
Another key feature of Agile is the concept of continuous integration. While the traditional development process focuses on a single project, Agile’s continuous integration encourages developers to work on multiple projects at the same time. That way, if one product is going to take longer than planned, the team can shift their focus to another project and keep the product on track for completion as quickly as possible. Being able to switch to a different project quickly is only possible if each project uses the same codebase. To create that kind of consistency, developers must apply the same source control standards to every project. The biggest benefit of using the same codebase across a number of projects is that it allows the team to perform continuous integration. This means that all of the code used across different projects is automatically tested and compiled together whenever a new change or line of code is added to it.
What is Continuous Delivery? #
The ultimate goal of every software development process is to create a product that can be used by real customers as soon as possible. Of course, in a perfect world, this would mean that the product could be released in its finished form on the very first day of development. Realistically, however, that would rarely be the case. Sometimes, the product may be far from being finished, or the organisation may need to do more testing for security purposes. In these cases, it may take weeks or even months before the product can be released to customers. This can be problematic, especially when the company is trying to create a product that is intended to generate revenue quickly. For example, if a company is developing a new app for a mobile device, it may be able to create an MVP in a few weeks. However, it may take several months before the product can be released.
Conclusion #
In general, it’s important for business leaders to understand that Agile software development is not the same as using an agile approach in your business. As we’ve seen, it’s important to understand all the different aspects of Agile, so that you can use it to your advantage and create a software product that will be useful and relevant to your customers. In order to do that, you need a strong team and clear goals. With the right people, you can create an MVP that is a strong starting point and can offer a high-quality experience for your customers.
