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Agile background

Agile is a globally recognised term for a set of methods and practices that have emerged in the technology sectors to improve the development of software (first named as a software development methodology in 2001 in the ‘Manifesto for Agile Software Development’, http://agilemanifesto.org). Agile draws upon other management methods such as lean, kanban and coaching. Agile has evolved within the software sector to support project management, time management, quality improvement and team performance. The agile methodology provides a change and decision support structure and toolkit.

‘Agile software development is a group of software development methods in which requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams. It promotes adaptive planning, evolutionary development, early delivery, continuous improvement and encourages rapid and flexible response to change. ’

AGILE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT – WIKIPEDIA, 2014 (available under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike License)

Lean is a methodology that was developed within the manufacturing sector (derived from the Toyota Production System in the 1990s) to support mass production with an ability to continuously improve both the products and manufacturing processes. Lean emphasises a model that looks to take out cost and add value in a business’s core activities. Agile draws on the objectives of reducing waste and that of promoting and prioritising activities that add value.

Kanban is a Japanese word meaning signboard. Within agile is it used as a visual representation of work in progress. The method was developed as a system by Taiichi Ohno, Toyota’s chief engineer, to maintain a high level of production as well as to manage continuous improvement of products. Kanban is demand-driven in that work is produced on demand, based on customer behaviour and, where possible, just in time. Improvements are responded to quickly when demand for change is observed and integrated into production and delivery processes. The use of kanban within software development has been developed since as a visual tool to help manage the delivery of software solutions (by David J. Anderson, see Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanban_%28development%29) and, more broadly, particularly in the knowledge sector.

Coaching as a process is a person-centred methodology, which promotes a solution-focused, goal-orientated approach to personal and professional development. The method works to enable an individual to achieve a greater state of self-awareness and of the environment and people around them. Agile coaching aims to empower the individual or team to become self-managing and self-organising in reaching their goals.

According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT, research into the use of agile practices within a business suggests that high-agility businesses generate 30 per cent more profit and grow 37 per cent faster than companies with low agility (Project Management Institute, 2012) , see Figure 2.1. Others are beginning to recognise that management methods being used in the technology sectors, particularly in the software sector, are 20 years ahead of traditional management techniques: legacies from the 1980s and 1990s that continue to be used despite significant changes to the business environment since.

Traditional management tactics are unable to cope with the rapid change needed to keep pace with global markets and emerging technologies. Plans are often out of date before they are completed and, by the time a product reaches the market, the consumer has moved onto the next new innovation.

Agile provides a new approach to delivering success in today’s working environments, addressing growing issues. Agile is agile in its own right and is evolving and flexing continually to meet changing needs and improve its performance as a management tool.

This book aims to introduce the necessary and essential agile concepts and approaches to help you to begin your agile journey.