Agile Software Development: Strategic Management In The Field Of Software Development
The Birth of Agile
The Birth of Agile
The term Agile Development and its key features originated at a Snowbird, Utah lodge in 2001, where a select group of software developers had congregated to discuss light weight development methods. The formal use of the term actually began with the publication of the Manifesto for Agile Software Development, which precluded the formation of the non-profit entity - Agile Alliance. Agile Alliance currently promotes understanding of the agile development concept in the global software industry. Agile development methodology is at present represented by an iterative as well as an incremental development procedure, which allows companies to flexibly adapt to a wide range of rapidly changing market conditions and development requirements.
Though Agile Development has existed for over a decade now, it is only recently that leading software development companies and especially offshore software development companies have actually made significant attempts to implement the technique. The increased interest is probably a direct result of the financial crisis and the ensuing cash crunch, which has affected every segment of the industry. The fiscal crisis has resulted in increased competition within the IT industry, which led companies to determine new methods to gain differentiation from competitors. This need for differentiation led many a software development company to implement flexible development methodologies such as Agile.
How Agile Methodology helps Companies gain Differentiation
The implementation of this new form of development by leading offshore software development companies in India and abroad has the potential to completely revolutionize the development market due to the following features:
Increased Customer Collaboration
Agile requires active collaboration between the development team and the client/ client representative/ final user of the application. This active collaboration ensures that all the customers requirements are understood and met in every step of the way starting from UI design to final implementation. This approach also helps clients stay in the loop and facilitates superior trust between the developer and the client. In a majority of the cases, this close collaboration leads to superior customer satisfaction, which is vital for continued success in the field of software development.
Rapid Response to Changing Conditions
The relatively small team size suitable for this software development process and close client collaboration also facilitate rapid response to any changing market conditions. In todays rapidly changing market conditions, this flexibility is essential to ensure that the final application provided to the client is perfectly suited to the clients requirements. This development flexibility is pivotal to the success of Agile development with respect to the turmoil in financial markets all over the world.
Working Software with reduced Documentation
Agile development is focused on delivering working software to the client instead of providing increasing amounts of documentation related to the final product. The initial software need not be the final one, but this approach allows clients to identify and state their requirements better. After this the development team can work towards aligning their current product with clients requirements. An added advantage of this approach is the time saved due to possible miscommunication between client and developer.
Emphasis on Individuals and Interactions
The ideal environment for this development technique consists of a small team of not more than 10 people working at close quarters without being weighed down with the hierarchy prevalent in organizations. This improves communication between the team members and reduces communication gaps, while helping decrease the time required for the overall development process. In case of large projects, multiple smaller teams can operate in sync through video conferencing. This feature ensures that all developers in the team work closely towards achieving the clients requirements and collaborate to resolve any issues, which may occur during the development process. These methodologies are suitable for custom software development services provided by many a leading offshore software development company in India.
The Strategic Side of Agile
Considering these features of Agile and its apparent benefits, it is easy to understand why leading companies in the offshore software development market are implementing Agile development methodologies. A few benefits resulting from these methods include superior flexibility, closer client interaction and reduced time to market. These as well as many other factors also play a key role in generating superior client satisfaction, which in turn is the key to creating a unique value proposition for the developer. In challenging market conditions such as the present, any software development company implementing this development methodology gains significant benefits over the competition.
by: eXtendCode
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Agile Software Development: Strategic Management In The Field Of Software Development