What Is Agile?

(10 Key Principles of Agile)

by Kelly Waters, 10 February 2007 | 10 Key Principles of Agile Development
What is agile? Agile is one of the big buzzwords of the I de!elop"ent
industry# $ut e%actly what is agile de!elop"ent?
Put si"ply& agile de!elop"ent is a different way of "anaging I de!elop"ent
tea"s and pro'ects#
he use of the word agile in this conte%t deri!es fro" the agile "anifesto# A
s"all group of people got together in (001 to discuss their feelings that the
traditional approach to "anaging software de!elop"ent pro'ects was failing far
too often& and there had to be a better way# hey ca"e up with the agile
"anifesto& which describes ) i"portant !alues that are as rele!ant today as they
were then# It says& *we !alue+
Indi!iduals and interactions o!er processes and tools
Wor,ing software o!er co"prehensi!e docu"entation
-usto"er collaboration o!er contract negotiation
.esponding to change o!er following a plan
hat is& while there is !alue in the ite"s on
the right& we !alue the ite"s on the left "ore#/
0!er since then& the use of "ethods that support these !alues has beco"e
increasingly popular#
1ro" "y use of !arious agile "ethods& I ha!e written about 10 ,ey principles of
agile# hese are characteristics that are co""on to all agile "ethods& and the
things that I thin, "a,e agile funda"entally different to a "ore traditional
waterfall approach to software de!elop"ent# hey are+
1# Acti!e user in!ol!e"ent is i"perati!e
(# he tea" "ust be e"powered to "a,e decisions
2# .e3uire"ents e!ol!e but the ti"escale is i!e"
)# -apture re3uire"ents at a high le!el4 lightweight 5 !isual
6# 7e!elop s"all& incre"ental releases and iterate
8# 1ocus on fre3uent deli!ery of products
9# #omplete each feature before "o!ing on to the ne%t
:# Apply the :0;(0 rule
<# esting is integrated throughout the pro'ect lifecycle = test early and often
10# A collaborati!e 5 cooperati!e approach between all sta,eholders is essential
here are !arious "ethodologies that are collecti!ely ,nown as agile& as they
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1 of 10 02/07/2014 02:58 p.m.
pro"ote the !alues of the agile "anifesto and they are consistent with the
abo!e principles# he "ost popular ones are+
7>7? is probably the original agile de!elop"ent "ethod# 7>7? was around
before the ter" @agileA was e!en in!ented& but is absolutely based on all the
principles weA!e co"e to ,now as agile# 7>7? see"s to be "uch less
wellB,nown outside of the CK#
>cru" is also an agile de!elop"ent "ethod& which concentrates particularly on
how to "anage tas,s within a tea"Bbased de!elop"ent en!iron"ent# >cru" is
the "ost popular and widely adopted agile "ethod = I thin, because it is
relati!ely si"ple to i"ple"ent and addresses "any of the "anage"ent issues
that ha!e plagued I de!elop"ent tea"s for decades#
DP (0%tre"e Progra""ing) is a "ore radical agile "ethodology& focusing "ore
on the software engineering process and addressing the analysis& de!elop"ent
and test phases with no!el approaches that "a,e a substantial difference to the
3uality of the end product#
7>7? is probably the "ost co"plete agile "ethodology& whereas >cru" and DP
are easier to i"ple"ent and co"ple"entary because they tac,le different
aspects of software de!elop"ent pro'ects and are both founded on !ery si"ilar
concepts#
E!er the last 10 years& there is an e!erBincreasing !olu"e of success stories&
where co"panies ha!e dra"atically i"pro!ed the success and perfor"ance of
their I de!elop"ent tea"s and pro'ects# his has caused agile to be widely
adopted across a !ariety of industries& including "edia and technology& large
corporates& and e!en go!ern"ent#
In reality& though& agile is not a "agic bullet for all software de!elop"ent issues#
he real tric, is to ,now lots of techni3ues fro" !arious waterfall and agile
de!elop"ent "ethods& and to select a "i%ture of the best approaches that are
"ost appropriate for any gi!en situation# o do this reliably with any degree of
success really re3uires a lot of e%perience and s,ill#
In agile software pro'ects& pro'ect "anage"ent ta,es a slightly different for"&
relying far "ore on the pro'ect "anagerAs s,ills in co""unication& facilitation&
coordination& and e"phasising far less on planning and control#
Agile de!elop"ent can be a !ery e%citing and in!igorating approach& although
so"e pro'ects suit agile "ore than others# he collaboration and !isibility can
pro!ide a "uch richer and "ore rewarding e%perience for tea"s to de!elop
great software products# Agile de!elop"ent can be a lot "ore en'oyable than
the waterfall approach& which re3uires lots "ore docu"entation and is less
Fle%ible by its nature# And when people en'oy their wor,& itAs a"azing what they
can achie!eG
Kelly#
>ee also+
10 Key Principles = PowerPoint Presentation
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2 of 10 02/07/2014 02:58 p.m.
Ho"e
Follow

29 Responses to What Is Agile? (10 Key Principles of Agile)
Paul Klipp says+
1( 1ebruary (009 at 1(+12 p"
Welco"e to agile blogging# 7onAt be discouraged if you donAt get a Flood of
readers for a while# he co""unity needs as "any !oices as it can get#
Paul Klipp
agileacti!ist#co"
1#
Anonymous says+
11 ?arch (009 at 1+)0 p"
Would you say that "aybe one approach to testing is deFining how to test the
results of what is produced in a sprint before wor, is done in the sprint?
I a" producing code to read data fro" a database then display it on a for"#
>hould I wait until iA" done or would it be prudent to deFine the tests for the
Fields and such before I start?
Personally I li,e to deFine how I a" going to test what I a" wor,ing on rather
than de!elop a test case or plug in unit testing after the fact#
What do you thin,?
han,s#
(#
Anonymous says+
(( Ianuary (00: at 6+1: p"
:J of the functionality of ?> Word?
IsnAt that called Word Pad? 7oes that "ean that ?icrosoft already considered
your argun"ent?
I did notice a few typos with so"e of the 10 Principles te%tK perhaps so"e of
the other <(J of ?> Word should ha!e been utilised?
2#
Kelly Waters says+
(2 Ianuary (00: at )+16 p"
Hi anony"ous&
?any than,s for the feedbac,#
I didnAt "ean to i"ply that ?icrosoft hadnAt considered the :J thing& i#e# that
"ost people donAt use "ost of the features# IA" sure they did# And WordPad "ay
well be the e!idence of that#
I was 'ust trying to highlight that software tea"s should proacti!ely consider
)#

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3 of 10 02/07/2014 02:58 p.m.
that fact too# And that "aybe this is the basis for a strategy for the earlier
iterations of a productAs de!elop"ent = business people "ay say that the
product needs all the features = and they "ay be right# $ut general e!idence is
that products do not need to be that rich in functionality to attract the "a'ority
of its users#
han,s for the feedbac, about the typos in "y blog postsG I use LoogleAs $logger
platfor" to write "y blog& which unfortunately has less than :J of Word =
perhaps e!en as little as 1J& and sadly not a spell chec,GGG IAll go Fi% "y typos +B)
Kelly#
Kart$iganes$ says+
1( August (00: at 8+22 a"
Hi Kelly&
It is really good wor,# I a" e"ploying Agile 7e!elop"ent ?odel for "y current
pro'ect# 0arlier I e"ployed .A7 and Waterfall# $ut current situation "a,es "e
use Agile 7e!elop"ent# Initially I a" reluctant to accept that I a" using Agile
7e!elop"ent ?odel& as I did not ,now "uch about this# After reading your $log&
I can afFir" that I a" using this#
I found this blog is useful#
I will post "y co""ents regularly#
-heersG
6#
Kelly Waters says+
1( August (00: at 8+66 a"
Hi Karthiganesh
?any than,s for your co""ent& itAs really great to get such positi!e feedbac,#
Kind regards
Kelly#
8#
Anonymous says+
1( Ectober (00: at <+66 p"
1irst of all I li,e your top ten and agree that they are all i"portant principles#
Cnfortunately I "iss a co""on !ision in the top Fi!e to dri!e de!elop"ent# I
Find that a co""on !ision is a great practice to align business and I& both when
things are going *according to plan/ and especially when they donAt#
-hec, out "y own top 8 on http+;;www#agilethoughts#d, = we pretty "uch
agree on the other 6 4B)
;?artin
9#
Kelly Waters says+
12 Ectober (00: at :+(1 a"
Hi anony"ous&
:#
What Is Agile? (10 Key Principles of Agile) | All About Agile http://www.allaboutagile.com/what-is-agile-10-key-principles/
4 of 10 02/07/2014 02:58 p.m.
?any than,s for the feedbac,K
>hared Mision is of course a !ery i"portant principle of any pro'ect& whether itAs
agile or not#
I wouldnAt include it in "y ,ey principles of agile& si"ply because I donAt thin,
itAs a differentiator# raditional de!elop"ent "ethods e"phasise !ision as "uch
as agile "ethods#
Anyway& 11 ,ey principles doesnAt ha!e 3uite the sa"e ring to it +B)
Kelly#
%ar& says+
(6 1ebruary (00< at <+)) p"
I belie!e an i"portant aspect of Agile is not only releasing what is functionaly
re3uested by the user base and generating re!enue for features;product that
people want to buy !s# features no longer wanted& but usability has to co"e into
play as well# If you deli!er wor,ing software without the desired usability& you
still ha!enAt succeeded#
I would also reco""end reading 7a"on PooleAs blog fro" Accure!# >o"e !ery
insightful and regular posts that we Find !aluable#
http+;;www#accure!#co"
<#
Pro'ect %anagement (emplates says+
10 Iuly (00< at 8+62 a"
han,s for this infor"ati!e post
10#
Pro'ect %anagement )oft*are says+
2 Iune (010 at <+)0 a"
It really great to participate in con!ersation# i got the infor"ation fro"
happening discussion here#
HANK>
11#
Anonymous says+
1< August (010 at 10+20 a"
han,s Kelly&
his is one of the best AgileOs blogs I ha!e e!er co"e across#
It is si"ple and clear in e%palining Agile "ethodology#
Ah"ed#
1(#
Kelly Waters says+
1< August (010 at 1+6< p"
han,s Ah"ed& thatOs really nice of you to ta,e the ti"e to say that#
Kelly#
12#
+li,abet$ says+
(< August (010 at 6+)2 p"
1)#
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5 of 10 02/07/2014 02:58 p.m.
Hi Kelly& his blog is great# han,s for all your wor,# I a" writing a boo, on
Agile P can I 3uote you in it? QouOd "a,e a wonderful e%pert for it#
+laine says+
(0 ?arch (011 at 10+(6 p"
Hi Kelly&
I hope you can help "e in "y research for "y "aster degree# I a" trying to Find
out where the ter" Agile wor,ing ca"e fro" and how it e!ol!ed#
I a" trying to see if it is practical to "a,e the bac, ofFice e"ployees in a Finance
co"pany @AgileA& and how Agile could inpact on "oti!ation and go!er"ent
directi!es#
0laine
16#
An"re' says+
< ?ay (011 at )+0: p"
great list# i always ha!e one "ore ite" in "ind for "yself#
*ItAs i"portant what you are doing& but not how you are doing/
18#
Waterfall %o"el says+
(( ?ay (011 at 6+1< a"
Hello Kelly
Nice blog you "ade here& I got a website about the waterfall ?odel and also
about agile software de!elop"ent# I hope I can call your na"e here and there##
since you pro!ided "e with so"e really usefull infor"ation about agile#
19#
#asey says+
10 Iune (011 at 6+11 p"
Lreat post# I ,now IA" late to the post& but 'ust di!ing into >-.C? and whatnot#
7eFinitely a lot to learn& but so !aluable# han,s#
1:#
-$arat$ )es$a"ri says+
(1 >epte"ber (011 at (+09 p"
Iust spare ( "inutes to thin, that building a software is li,e constructing a
ho"e#
1# Qou can construct a ho"e without a blueprint## It will deFinitely be builtK# but
if so"e one else purchases the house to"orrow will he ,now the wiring&
strengths and wea,ness of the house#
(# Will the new co"er ,now the security ad!antages and restrictions of the
house or should it re"ain an assu"ption#
2# o"orrow if so"ebody wants to add a new roo" in a new Floor wouldnAt it
help to ha!e a blue print of the house or does he ha!e to study the house or 'ust
brea, the house and start allo!er again because he does not ,now the wiring
details etc
)# Houses if properly planned can be built to e!en be earth 3ua,e resistant as
they are now present in earth 3ua,e prone regions after a pre!ious earth 3ua,e#
6# Watch the news and serials where day in and day out buildings are collapsing
or roof is falling or there are water lea,ages& all due to poor construction wor,#
1<#
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6 of 10 02/07/2014 02:58 p.m.
In short Waterfall "odel is one e%tre"e and Agile is another e%tre"e# We need
to stri!e to achie!e the perfect results of a waterfall "odel while using the pace
and speed of an agile "odel# ry to thin, of the two "odels as a weighing
balance where the product is stable only if the weights are e3ual#
-onclusion+
1#Iust because a region has fre3uent earth 3ua,es& it is wrong to infer that we do
not re3uire a blue print for constructing the house and changing the blueprint
as and when new additions are "ade# En si"ilar ter"s 'ust because the
re3uire"ents are changing it is wrong to conclude that changing re3uire"ents
should not be recorded in a for"al approach#
(# We need to ai" at 0arth Rua,e resistant houses that ha!e good blue prints
and with good e%planation of all its whereabouts such as security features&
positi!es and negati!es that are not assu"ed but are e%plicitly stated# >i"ilarly
we need software that are robust and ha!e all re3uire"ents captured and that
ha!e well docu"ented artifacts that donAt "a,e roo" for assu"ptions#
.ames says+
1) Ianuary (01( at 9+1( a"
Hi Kelly&
Aweso"e blog you got here# .eally helped "e through "y studies on agile
de!elop"ent#
han,s alotG
(0#
(us$ar says+
6 1ebruary (01( at 1+6: p"
Hi Kelly&
I resonate with you when you said *what is agile/ is one of the "ost searched
3uestion and the count is going up#
1or "e& agile is not agile "anifesto or different "ethodologies li,e scru"& DP
etcK Agile is "uch "ore and beyond !alues& "anifesto& principles and
"ethodologies# It is "uch "uch deeper than all of these#
his is what I e%plained in "y blog post
http+;;tusharso"aiya#co";wordpress;inde%#php;(01(;01;agile;coachingB
agileBtea"s;
0dited !ersion of the post also features on >cru"Alliance#org at
http+;;scru"alliance#org;articles;2<6BcoachingBagileBtea"s
What is agile? he 1ree 7ictionary deFines it as *characterized by 3uic,ness&
lightness& and ease of "o!e"ent#/ Webster notes that it is *"ar,ed by ready
ability to "o!e with 3uic,& easy grace#/ he way I li,e to put it is& *Ruic,ly
responding to changes deFines agility#/
In the conte%t of software de!elop"ent& how 3uic,ly& lightly& easily& readily& and
(1#
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7 of 10 02/07/2014 02:58 p.m.
gracefully we respond to changes while de!eloping software deFines our agility#
(Notice the word respond and not react#)
Hope this helps and adds !alue#
-an I ha!e this post of yours on "y site too?
Would you li,e to write a guest post e%clusi!e for "e?
han,s in ad!ance and best of luc, for all you do#
ushar >o"aiya#
Agile -oach& .esults -ertiFied -oach 5 >er!ant Seader
%e$met )e&er says+
(1 ?arch (01( at 8+0< p"
I totally agree with you on "i%ing up useful part of the other "ethodologies that
Fits your pro'ect better instead of conFining into a single "ethodology#
((#
Agile Developer says+
< ?ay (01( at :+06 p"
han,s for the nice and detailed article& "y fa!orite part is *A collaborati!e 5
cooperati!e approach between all sta,eholders is essential/
It ta,es ages to co"e to a collaboration and cooperation approach& specially
when people are used to wor, in their own silos#
(2#
)uni .ain says+
(: ?ay (01( at (+() p"
A perfect and "ost basic article for agile# I studied it fro" starting to end and
got basic ,nowledge about agile#
()#
)teve )$iel"s says+
< August (01( at <+11 a"
I ha!e read se!eral articles that ad!ocate that the @AgileA ea" would be re3uired
to be coBlocated& but surely with "odern technology etc and the fact I
suppliers are not always inBhouse that this is not a preBre3uisite?
(6#
/araprasa" says+
(< Iuly (012 at <+(2 p"
Hi Kelly&
Nice Article# Li!en clear high le!el idea on Agile principles# 10 principles are
articulated in !ery understanding "anner# I ha!e wor,ed for ( "a'or
de!elop"ent pro'ects# Initial one ha!e lot of issues due to larger single release
with lot of re3uir"ents and ti"e duration(?ore than ( years)# Knowingly or
Cn,nowingly& we follow the "ost of these Agile principles in the (nd pro'ect
and able to deli!er "ultiple "odules in iterati!e "anner and able to release
ti"lely deli!erables and able to "a,e custo"er happy#
.egards&
Maraprasad
(8#
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8 of 10 02/07/2014 02:58 p.m.
ac$i says+
20 Ectober (012 at )+2( p"
than, you s "uch ,elly +) +) +)
(9#
'o$n says+
16 April (01) at 9+(( p"
After reading this I still donAt understand Agile (or DP or >cru")#
ArenAt the 10 characteristics part of e!ery pro'ect planning "odel? What are the
success stories?
IsnAt agile all about+ a chaotic& de!elope"nt approach steered by custo"erAs
changing de"ands but whithout docu"entating?
(:#
-rian says+
: ?ay (01) at (+1< a"
Hi Iohn&
In a traditional software de!elop"ent& you would typically ha!e a re3uire"ents
gathering phase (analysts plus business sta,eholders)& design (analysts plus
architects or senior de!elopers)& coding (de!elop"ent tea")& testing
(de!elopers plus RA)& then user acceptance testing& before sign off and release#
he ,ey thing to note here is that each part of the process happens only once#
In this "odel sta,eholders are in!ol!ed at the start and at the end only = this
can be "onths or e!en years apart = this is considered to be not *acti!e/ by the
EP# 03ually& they only see one *release/ and therefore get no chance to steer the
software if it is not what they re3uire# he assu"ptions in waterfall pro'ects
that allow a detailed plan to be produced are that the custo"er ,nows what
they want and that it will not change during the lifeti"e of the pro'ect#
0%perience suggests this not to be the case#
En your Final point& agile software de!elop"ent fa!ours wor,ing software that
deli!ers !alue o!er docu"entation# Howe!er& if docu"entation is the "ost
!aluable ite" your tea" could produce at a gi!en ti"e then that us what they
Tshould beT producing# Agile de!elop"ent does NE e3uate to undocu"ented
de!elop"ent
(<#
ea!e a Reply
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Website
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"ec#rity $#estion%
What is ( U 10 ?
Please do this si"ple su" so I ,now you are hu"an+)
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