What are the 12 Agile principles? What are their details? Refer to the article below of Viindoo to clearly analyze each principle. Thereby, businesses will have a more specific view of Agile project management. Read on now for more details!
Agile Principle 1: Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
This principle discuss 3 main points. The first is customer satisfaction. If businesses focus on detailed planning and follow the plan rigidly, it will be difficult to meet the constantly changing needs of customers, which hinders the failure of the project. Therefore, the project should put customer satisfaction first.
The second factor is to deliver product early and continuously. For example, a business should develop a product prototype and then test it as soon as possible. This will help the project collect real reviews from customers. Thereby, the team will be able to come up with a more complete product.
Last but not least, the software/product must work well and be useful to the customer.
Prioritize customer satisfaction
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Agile Principle 2: Welcome changing requirements, even late in development.
All events and situations can be changed no matter how carefully-prepared they were. However, changes do not means negative all the time. In some cases, these changes help businesses increase their competitiveness in the market. Therefore, according to the 12 Agile principles, businesses must have a team to handle changes to take advantage of opportunities.
For example: Customers see profit opportunity if the they build customer-care features on the fanpage's chatbot. However, this requires changing the features of the software compared to the previous plan. However, being flexible to changes does not mean to follow all requests from customers. The principle of Agile is always ready to respond to this requirement by learning, consulting and offering the most reasonable solution for customers.
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Agile Principle 3: Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.
People always want to prepare their work in the most perfect way. However, this perfection can be detrimental if the work is lengthened. As the preparation time is extended, the result may no longer be to taste. Therefore, businesses must regularly survey and evaluate to quickly come up with suitable products and versions.
Deliver working software frequently
In Agile project management, the delivery of software/products in a short time will create a connection between the team and the customer. For example, at the demo sessions, the two sides will be able to come up with new ideas about products, requirements or changes in the business strategy of the business, thereby creating favorable conditions to attract customers and increase revenue.
Agile Principle 4: Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.
Demo sessions are an example of how sales team and software developers must work together throughout the project implementation phase. Instead of exchanging online via email or phone, face-to-face meetings will be more effective for work and the relationship between the two parties also.
With a regular meeting density, the software development team will better understand the business to provide appropriate and quick solutions for the project. Customers also have the opportunity to understand more about solutions to evaluate efficiency, time, cost, etc. - which is hardly achieved if the team only meets with customers in the early stages of the project for consultation.
Business team and developer team need to collaborate continuously throughout the project
However, continuous interaction is not easy with either customers or the developer team. If cannot set daily meetings, the Agile team should schedule a meeting at least every 2-3 days for the best collaboration.
Agile Principle 5: Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.
Human resource factor always plays an important role in the success of the project. A good leader will know how to best create conditions for team members to show their abilities.
In addition, principle number 5 in the Agile manifesto emphasizes the importance of collaborating, organizing and managing individual
work
performance to build a perfect working environment.
Agile Principle 6: The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.
Messaging and emailing while working is useful, yet time-comsuming. Therefore, face-to-face communication is an effective way of managing work, helping to convey information quickly and fully through words, gestures, etc. For large agile teams, the meeting should only include representatives of each group.
Agile Principle 7: Working software is the primary measure of progress.
The progress of Agile projects will be determined by whether the feature can work or not. If the answer is no, the feature is still under development. Delivering a working product will help customers see where their software is being developed.
Agile Principle 8: Maintain a sustainable working pace.
Overtime is indispensable in many projects. However, this should not be the case for a long period of time. Too much overtime can affect the team’s health and product’s quality, causing delay in progress. Therefore, Agile sees sustainability as the key to creating growth.
Maintain the project sustainably continuous promotes the development.
Among 12 Agile principles, this is the North true for businesses to achieve the highest productivity and create a work-life balance for employees. This is also considered as a factor affecting the general working environment. If employees feel bored and pressured at work, they will decide to quit, which costs business a large amount of investment.
Agile Principle 9: Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
The project structure and the designs need to be neat and flexible to change. That will facilitate developer team to maintain and improve the software. If there are any inconsistencies, the Agile team should take time to re-structure and perfect the software design to ensure long-term quality.
Agile Principle 10: Simplicity - the art of maximizing the amount of work not done - is essential.
The characteristic of an Agile is flexibility. Complex projects will take a long time to complete, thereby increasing risks and costs. With Agile, the team will focus on simplifying the workflow, especially the unfinished work.
For example, it is not necessary to report progress to an Agile project team. Because each member already knows the general situation and how the specific tasks are divided. To complete the work in the simplest way, the Agile team will find a solution to eliminate or replace unnecessary work in the project.
Agile Principle 11: The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
Basically, this Agile manifesto emphasizes self-organization, decision making, and accountability for all one's actions. Emphasizing initiative and independence helps the project gain outstanding achievements. Once independence at work is achieved, the team will be able to find new and original ideas as well as effective solutions.
Creativity and initiative in work are important principles for Agile
The designs will work best when made by the creators. The team will be the one who knows best about the project, thereby making more precise, effective suggestions for improvement than other departments. However, independent self-organization must be guided carefully and follow basic principles. The effectiveness also depends greatly on the mindset and ability of each team member.
Agile Principle 12: At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.
Throughout the project implementation process, businesses will learn a lot of lessons. If all the lessons are reviewed and analyzed at the end of the project only, their practical value to the project can be washed away. To solve this problem, the Agile team will perform experience assessments on a more frequent basis. Therefore, after each project loop, everyone will organize an activity called Retrospective.
For effective Agile project management, the whole team review the lessons learned during the last project to find out what needs to be improved, changed, eliminated, etc. The more often the revision is performed, the more opportunities everyone has to make early and frequent changes to the project. As a result, the team will increase work efficiency and improve product productivity and customer satisfaction.
Viiindoo's article on 12 Agile principles has provided businesses a better view of the connection between Agile and actual daily work management. The application will not be simple and must be flexibly changed depending on the actual situation. Hopefully the above content will help businesses improve their ability to manage projects according to Agile.
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