A fast-paced and highly dynamic approach to project management, the agile method is thought to be the best approach to responding and adapting to uncertainty or unpredictability; the method unfolds through incremental and iterative processes or workflow known as sprints. However, it is instructive to note that applying agile method is not just about quick decision and execution; it involves accelerating at a deliberate, stable pace. Essentially, the agile method was developed to deal with situations where there is a high level of uncertainty in terms of requirements and user quality expectations.
Unlike the spiral method whose iteration is fixed, since you have to plan for all the iterations in the beginning, agile methods allow you to kick-start the project with as little information you have and leave the rest of the planning for the next iteration. This gives room for flexibility and opportunity for incremental innovation in the building process of the product or service.
The six stages of agile methodologies include the following:
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Conception. This involves properly defining user requirements. At this first stage, the objective and the scope of the project are determined. The product owner prepares a document outlining the key requirement of the product which is then used to determine the timeframe of the project completion.
Identification. Clients are engaged and fed on high-level use cases and plans. The product owner also confirms the availability of co-developers and engages the best people for the project’s success.
Iteration. This is the crux of the agile life cycle. The development team starts working on a prototype, combining all the requirements of the product gathered in the first two phases. The prototype goes under several reviews and revisions for improvement until finalized. This often involves unit tests, system tests, and evaluation from a representative of the end users. Refinement is made to the product based on reviews generated from each of the testing stages.
Product release. The product is officially launched after a series of evaluations and refinement.
Maintenance. The team provides regular support to customers to ensure the product continues to serve its purpose and is hitch-free or meet customers’ expectation. Over time iterations can happen to make the existing product more convenient and useful for the customers.
Retirement. When a product becomes outdated or no longer serves its original purpose, the developing team can withdraw the old model and replace it with a new one.
Strengths and Weaknesses of Agile Methodology
Agile development methodology provides the opportunity to assess the direction of a project throughout the development lifecycle. It also gives an early view to the user about how the final product might look and behave and this helps in finalizing the user requirements
Entire requirements do not have to be finalized to start the development work. It enables one to build and test start as soon as initial high-level requirements are available.
It saves costs for both suppliers and customers as it involves using resources for less time. More so, customer involvement in all the stages of development encourages quality and highly satisfied customer products.
However, the disadvantages include a high likelihood of a lack of proper design and documentation and a lack of customer clarity due to the ambiguity that may emanate from the process. Also, since there is limited time to plan, it may lead to a deficient strategy.
Resources:
https://www.decipherzone.com/blog-detail/agile-development-lifecycle