The software development industry has two main methodologies used to guide the planning and execution of every project. Waterfall and Agile.
The Waterfall method breaks a project down into smaller sections and builds each of them in a sequential order. Typically starting with a large planning meeting, then a design phase, followed by development, and finally testing and debugging. This process can take an exorbitant amount of time as each of these phases cannot be started until the previous stage has been deemed complete.
While the Agile method is similar in phases, it has a key difference; allow continual development of shippable software pieces to the client. This allows, and encourages, clients to bring new ideas throughout the project as obstacles arise and ideas evolve.
At Agilx we practice the Agile method wholeheartedly. There are dozens of features and benefits to the process but we broke it down into the 6 features we consider the most important.
Sprints
Sprints are the basic units of development that divide a project up into accomplishable sets of features to be completed every 2 weeks.
Daily Scrums
Daily updates among team members are needed to keep the project on track and flowing smoothly. This is very effective in development as it allows all team members to work simultaneously.
Sprints
The communication daily scrums allow shine a spotlight on any problems early on. Quality assurance is also involved in each sprint allowing bugs to be fixed as the come up, rather than building up until the end.
Quality Focus
The agile process places an emphasis on a working product. There is a consensus that the majority of time spent on any feature or project should be used to ensure a quality result that performs well instead of spending time writing documentation that will rarely be touched.
New Idea Integration
As a project is built it often evolves, leading to new ideas and suggestions from both clients and team members. The agile process welcomes changing requirements throughout development and new ideas can be easily incorporated into sprints.
Iteration Planning
Each sprint or iteration has it’s own planning phase. This allows teams to plan and agree on stories and features they are confident they can complete and to task out each piece of those features to the right team member.
This is just a brief overview of the processes we use at Agilx. Check out a previous blog post to learn some key terms our clients should know and give us a call if you are interested in starting a new software project using the Agile Method.
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About Agilx
Agilx is a software development firm located in The Haymarket in Lincoln, NE. Agilx builds custom software for startups, medium size business and enterprise clients around the world. The team is committed to providing the best experience for it clients throughout the entire software development lifecycle. Can your company benefit from developing custom software to automate process and improve your bottom line? We would love to hear from you, feel free to call or email us at any time. 402-817-4313 or support@agilx.com. www.agilx.com