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Also known as: Agile Development
Iterative development approach emphasizing adaptability, collaboration, and continuous delivery of value.
DESCRIPTION
Agile is a family of methods based on the Agile Manifesto that emphasize iterative development, customer collaboration, and responsiveness to change. Teams deliver small increments frequently, incorporating feedback to reduce risk and improve fit. Practices include backlog refinement, daily collaboration, and retrospectives. Agile underpins many modern delivery models and pairs well with DevOps and CI/CD.
ALTERNATIVE DEFINITIONS
Agile Alliance
Agile is the ability to create and respond to change. It is a way of dealing with, and ultimately succeeding in, an uncertain and turbulent environment.
Frames agile as responding to change and uncertainty.
Atlassian
Agile is an iterative approach to project management and software development that helps teams deliver value to their customers faster and with fewer headaches.
Emphasizes faster delivery and reduced friction.
Wikipedia
Agile software development is an approach to software development that values flexibility, collaboration, and customer feedback to deliver working software in small increments.
Highlights values and incremental delivery.
RELATED TERMS
Scrum Kanban Lean Software Development Extreme Programming DevOps Continuous Delivery Product Backlog User Story Iterative Development Retrospective
COMPETING TERMS
KNOWLEDGE AREAS
Software Engineering Collaboration Platform & Tooling
TARGET AUDIENCE
Software Developer AI Product Manager Data Scientist Data Engineer Digital Transformation Manager Chief Technology Officer
EXTERNAL SOURCES
- Wikipedia - Agile software development
- Agile Manifesto - Original Agile values and principles
- Agile Alliance - Agile basics and resources
- Atlassian - Agile overview and practices
TOP QUESTIONS
Why is Agile still relevant?
Rapid change demands iterative delivery and fast feedback. Agile reduces risk by delivering value in small increments.
Category: Relevancy
What are common Agile frameworks?
Scrum, Kanban, and Extreme Programming are widely used, often combined with DevOps practices.
Category: Overview
What is a common mistake when adopting Agile?
Following ceremonies mechanically without embracing collaboration and continuous improvement undermines outcomes.
Category: Mistakes
How does Agile relate to DevOps?
Agile optimizes product delivery cycles; DevOps automates and operationalizes delivery to production. They complement each other.
Category: Overview
How is success measured in Agile?
Lead time, cycle time, customer satisfaction, and outcomes over outputs are key measures.
Category: Testing
What’s the biggest misunderstanding about Agile?
Agile isn’t a lack of planning; it plans continuously and adapts as information emerges.
Category: Misunderstanding
What roles are typical in Agile teams?
Cross-functional teams include engineers, product owners, and testers collaborating closely to deliver value.
Category: Requirements
What’s a hot topic in Agile today?
Outcome-based planning and integrating product discovery with delivery are gaining momentum.
Category: Topic
Where should teams start with Agile?
Begin with a pilot team, adopt iterative planning, retrospectives, and build a continuous delivery pipeline.
Category: GettingStarted