Agile software development

Agile software development is an umbrella term for approaches to <a href="/facts/Software_development/UUfsAaYY">developing software</a> that reflect the values and principles agreed upon by The Agile Alliance, a group of 17 software practitioners, in 2001. As documented in their Manifesto for Agile Software Development the practitioners value: 

<ul><li>Individuals and interactions over processes and tools</li>
<li>Working software over comprehensive documentation</li>
<li>Customer collaboration over contract negotiation</li>
<li>Responding to change over following a plan</li></ul>
The practitioners cite inspiration from new practices at the time including <a href="/facts/Extreme_programming/UCeJIvhQ">extreme programming</a>, <a href="/facts/Scrum_(software_development)/Ih3ufnVB">scrum</a>, <a href="/facts/Dynamic_systems_development_method/w1hyYpQt">dynamic systems development method</a>, <a href="/facts/Adaptive_software_development/uSJvTGY9">adaptive software development</a> and being sympathetic to the need for an alternative to documentation driven, heavyweight software development processes.
Many software development practices emerged from the agile mindset. These agile-based practices, sometimes called Agile (with a capital A) include requirements, discovery and solutions improvement through the collaborative effort of <a href="/facts/Self-organizing_communities/NSGBKxUa">self-organizing</a> and <a href="/facts/Cross-functional_team/XghkMdXS">cross-functional</a> teams with their <a href="/facts/Customer/oGqcqmhf">customer(s)</a>/<a href="/facts/End_user/7IM9qu7N">end user(s)</a>.
While there is much <a href="/facts/Anecdotal_evidence/r8mQyKXW">anecdotal evidence</a> that the agile mindset and agile-based practices improve the software development process, the empirical evidence is limited and less than conclusive.

Agile software development open-in-new

Agile software development