Guide to Agile Product Development

There continues to be confusion on the agile methodology and how it can be applied to product development. Therefore, this article is aimed at clearing up the confusion while providing a sound introduction to agile product development.

The Waterfall Methodology

The agile methodology allows companies to create the right product but how does it help them? First proposed by Dr. Winston Royce from the waterfall methodology in the 1970s, the agility concept is still fairly new. The traditional example of the waterfall methodology is found in automobile manufacturing whereby parts and components are sequentially added in phases on the assembly line.

However, this idea is not applicable to software product development because it is too boxed-in, thus limiting communication between groups. Also, there is no assurance that all required information will be complete at the beginning of the product development process. Additionally, the entire process is inflexible and since software product development is considerably impacted by the rapid changes in technology, there must be flexibility. These limitations gave rise to agile product development.

Agility Concept Features

The greatest difference between the two methodologies is that agility requires project assessment throughout the lifecycle, whereas the Waterfall Methodology has a limited scope and is broken down into phases. The key features of the Agile Method include:

Cost Reduction / Speed-to-Market –ideal for companies that launch products quickly since development can occur simultaneously while gathering information and shorter time frames lead to cost reductions.
Incremental –team present a product increment at the end of each iteration.
Iterative –each aspect of the development process is continuously re-assessed throughout the life of the project.
Responsiveness –product development teams can quickly respond to unpredictable scenarios.

Impact on Development

The core principles of the Agility Method seen in product development translate well to software development as follows:

Collaboration Over Rigid Rules –the method prioritizes individuals within the team over the tools that are actually used within the process allowing for better partnerships.
Customer Involvement –most information is not available at the beginning of the development cycle so the addition of the customer can help answer many questions throughout the process.
Importance of Prototypes –there is a higher emphasis placed on prototypes over documentation since most clients appreciate experiencing tangible results, such as working software.
Quick Response to Change –groups that adhere to the method can steer away from standard operating procedures to respond quickly and effectively to development issues thus improving flexibility.

The best statements to describe the Agile Methodology include self-organizing product development teams, collaborative environment, and responsive teams. With regard to software development, this approach has been advantageous thus resulting in high-quality software produced cost-effectively. In the future, the Agile Methodology will become commonplace within organizations involved in product and software development.