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Blog AuthorStaragile
PublishedDec 26, 2024
Views2,024
Read Time15 mins
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Agile SDLC is defined as the Agile Software Development Life Cycle. It is the most modern method for developing software, following a set of principles and values for an iterative, gradual, and collaborative approach. Unlike traditional methods, such as the waterfall method, which focuses on linear and ordered growth, Agile aims for flexibility, adaptability, and efficiency.
In this digital era, the adoption of Agile methodology for software development has become exponentially popular as it caters to numerous benefits. It includes rapid delivery, the ability to adhere to constant feedback at times, and improved collaboration for software development.
In this article, I will share comprehensive knowledge of the Agile SDLC model and how it helps in software development. In addition, you’ll come to know the basics of Agile and Agile methodology in brief, along with the phases of the Agile SDLC life cycle and the reason for the adoption of Agile in the software industry.
Let’s understand the Agile framework briefly, learn what SDLC is, and learn how you can apply it to the software development path.
Like the name, like the definition. Agile methodology is a project management method that offers adaptability, collaboration, flexibility, and improvement to complex and large-size projects. In this method, the complicated nature of projects, such as software development, is broken down into different phases, adhering to Agile manifesto principles and values for an iterative process, quick delivery, and constant feedback.
The Agile Manifesto is a key document for Agile methodology that contains 12 guiding principles and 4 core values. It was developed by a team of 17 software developers in 2001 to simplify the process of software development. Due to certain limitations and challenges of traditional methodology, it came into existence to fulfil.
Since the Agile SDLC life cycle is complex and lengthy, an agile method is required for effective and efficient development. The Agile methodology provides the same platform for any software project. The included key principles and values are mentioned below:
In the Agile software development life cycle, the key principles provide guidelines for software development paths, decisions, and others. Here is the list of 12 guiding principles that are leveraged in the Agile model.
Satisfy customers with frequent and continuous software development.
Embrace change even though it is late in the software development cycle.
Iterative development with regular feedback in the loop and constantly measuring progress.
Promote collaboration with stakeholders for all projects.
A motivated team with empowered individuals who make decisions to deliver high-quality work.
Encourage understanding and foster openness with regular communication.
Maintain a pace for sustainable development.
Excel in technicalities for high standards and design.
Simplify complex projects and avoid unnecessary complications.
Promote respect among the teams.
Review and resolve with feedback and experience.
Track progress with working software instead of complete and documented working software.
In the Agile SDLC model, the below-mentioned 4 fundamentals guide the course of action, help in making decisions, and steer the behaviour of the team members.
A right individual with interaction abilities with tools and processes.
Beta software development method over comprehensive working software.
Continuous development with regular feedback from customers.
Adapt to change for a flexible roadmap to success.
In the software industry, the Agile methodology and its adoption have become the need of the hour as it offers simplification, adaptation, and flexibility to the Agile team. Hence, regardless of the organisation type, adopting and leveraging these strategies is essential for improved development processes.
Leveraging and adopting Agile practices requires a change in mindset, dedication, organisational commitment, strategies, and planning. Thus, follow the below-mentioned approach for effective adoption and to leverage Agile practices.
Get to know about Agile and its basics through an educational training program.
Understand the key principles and values mentioned in the Agile manifesto.
Define roles, duties, and responsibilities, ensuring efficiency and effectiveness.
Plan wisely for focused, organised, and visioned product development.
Take an iterative or gradual development approach.
Access to numerous resources and tools.
Assess your progress for continuous improvement and identify as well as eliminate the roadblocks.
Promote a coordinated work environment.
Embrace an Agile mindset for growth and leverage Scale-Agile frameworks like Scale-Agile Framework (SAFe), Large Scale Scrum (LeSS), and Scrum of Scrum (SoS).
In the software industry, like other industries, there is a process to develop products effectively and efficiently. The software development process is called the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). The Agile software development life cycle includes development, maintenance, adaptation, and continuous improvement; hence, it is a method for producing high-quality software with an efficient development process.
Compared to traditional SDLC, the Agile method is preferred because of its advantages. It offers flexibility, enables adaptability, offers an iterative software development approach, and others. Hence, it becomes most suitable in this competitive era where the market is changing before the product is ready. Here are some key benefits of the Agile software development lifecycle over the traditional approaches.
Adaptability
Iterative Development
Customer Satisfaction Approach
Collaboration
Better Communication
Transparency
Reduced Risk
In the course of software development, Agile encompasses numerous other frameworks for effective and efficient product development. Each framework offers its own unique approach but adheres to Agile principles and values for high-quality work delivery. Here are some briefly explained frameworks that are used during software development.
Scrum derived its name from a game called ‘Rugby’, where the team achieves the goals with their specified roles in the short term. It is one of the most popular Agile methodologies for project management.
It offers a breakdown of complex software development projects into simple and fixed-length iterations called sprints. The sprints usually last between 1 and 4 weeks and define roles for every individual with their duties and responsibilities.
In the software development process, another type of methodology used for continuous improvement is the Kanban framework. It utilises visual tools to help the development team track and check the status of the workflow.
In the Agile SDLC life cycle process, the Kanban system offers transparency with work-in-progress (WIP) limits that help limit the number of tasks that can be in a column for a given period to improve focus and prevent multitasking.
Another software development methodology that aims to deliver improved software quality with adaptability as and when required is Extreme Programming (XP). This agile method uses pair programming, continuous integration, frequent releases, and test-driven development (TDD).
It offers a base to build better relationships between developers and customers with a focus on delivering high technical excellence.
With an aim to deliver continuous improvement, the Scaled-Agile Framework (SAFe) leverages principles from lean and practices from the Agile methodology to manage, track, and deliver large-scale software development projects.
In the case of software development, as the process and project are lengthy and complex, the SAFe lean-agile practices are implemented with defined roles and levels across the organisation.
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The Agile SDLC life cycle is an iterative and gradual developing process that focuses on delivering products in chunks of functional increments in several sprints. Hence, it requires several phases to shape the idea into reality, with the following briefly discussed phases:
At first, the concept of software development is defined based on requirements, goals, and vision. And the roadmap to achieve priorities and goals is done by creating a detailed plan. It also includes breaking down complicated projects into numerous sprints and chunks for the best achievement.
Once the sprint is defined or set, the development team begins the development or designing process, which usually takes 1 to 4 weeks. It involves coding, designing, and unit testing upon completion of each sprint.
After the completion of each sprint, the developer team conducts a sprint review, and stakeholders or the product owner conduct sprint retrospectives and provide insightful tips and instructions as per market needs.
Hence, leading to continuous improvement with constant feedback from stakeholders or product owners. Thus, at the end of each sprint, high-quality and effective working software is produced.
In software development, quality is assured with testing and inspection. Hence, continuous testing is done by the team during the development cycle with automated and manual testing on the increment or working software. It results in the identification of defects, errors, and problems in software development increments and processes.
After the deployment or release, the developed software enters the maintenance mode or beta-testing. In this phase, the bugs are fixed, and user feedback is considered for improvements and followed up for continuous updates in the next stages.
In the Agile SDLC life cycle, leveraging Agile methodology, you can assign roles and responsibilities to each individual with their duties to perform. It ensures project delivery with a collaborative approach and fulfilment of specific responsibilities that contribute to the whole cycle of software development. Here are some key roles that can help in project success, explained in brief.
The stakeholder is the person who provides all resources and sources required for project success. In addition, stakeholders provide feedback, validate increments in value, ensure businesses align with market needs and are responsible for a customer-centric approach.
The product owner is a person who performs duties on behalf of stakeholders in the Agile team. The product owner ensures that the team works with effective value by defining visions and features required using product backlog features.
The Scrum Master in the agile team is a man with variance responsibilities, such as coach, facilitator, problem resolver, mediator, and guide. Majorly, the Scrum Master's Roles are to facilitate Scrum events, remove obstacles, and ensure the team adheres to agile principles.
In the software development agile team, the most important team is the developer's team. It is a cross-functional team that codes the software product as per requirements, vision, scopes, scrum goals, and market needs with an incremental process. The developing team is self-organised and aims to deliver the highest-quality product regardless of the nature of the project.
The Agile testers are the individuals who ensure the product quality with test casing, conduct automated and manual testing of released software, and provide feedback on quality as well as the quality of the team.
Also Read: Product Owner in Agile
In agile methodology, gaining leverage stands for using the guiding principles and core values to drive maximum agility and high efficiency, improve software development quality, and increase agile team productivity. In addition, there are some more aspects that should be leveraged with Agile practices for outstanding software development, as discussed below.
Incremental and iterative delivery
Collaboration with customers and stakeholders
Continuous development and improvements
Flexibility
Adaptability
Transparency
Continuous integration ensures quality
A cross-functional team with open communication
The calculation is necessary to ensure the efficient and effective use of sources and resources in project management for software development. To do that, adopting a strategic and data-driven approach is a key practice. Here are some ways through which you can achieve software development as per market needs.
To ensure aimed efforts and desired results with complicated software development projects, agile practices define timelines, scope, and goals as well as leverage resources. In addition, you may take advantage of tools like Gantt charts to track and visualise progress.
The Agile SDLC model for software development emphasises the delivery of gradual development through frequent releases. The incremental value starts with planning, designing, developing, and testing each sprint of the software development, which usually lasts from 1 to 4 weeks. Then, it is reviewed and given feedback by the stakeholders to manage and adjust changes and prioritise in real time.
In the Agile approach, evaluation and removal are very important for making the software development process go smoothly. To find, track, manage, and get rid of risk factors, you need a proactive and iterative strategy. It involves finding problems early on through sprint planning, review, and retrospectives so that help can be given quickly.
It is suggested that the Agile SDLC model be used to create and deliver high-quality products because it is flexible in its approach, structure, use of many frameworks, and focus on customer satisfaction. It also encourages adaptability, cooperation, and constant feedback to make sure that quality standards are met while meeting user expectations and market demands
Also Read: Product Planning Process
Adopting Agile SDLC can enhance the development process, fulfil customer needs, and maximise agility with efficiency for the business. It offers a flexible, collaborative, and dynamic approach to the Agile software development life cycle. The Agile SDLC life cycle provides a base for adapting customer feedback and improving product development as per requirements, hence effective and efficient evolution.
However, implementation or embracing the Agile methodology requires commitment, dedication, training, and a comprehensive understanding of applications in software development. It involves getting familiar with terminologies, fundamentals, basics, background, and a thorough understanding of principles and values. For that, you can take CSPO training from an authentic institute, such as StarAgile, affiliated with the Scrum Alliance. The affiliation organisation offers CSPO certification after the successful completion of the training.
If you want to become a valuable asset to the software development team, then it is the right time to get CSPO certification by enrolling in certified courses offered by StarAgile. As the demand for SDLC project managers is at its highest, give your professional career a wing with entry-level courses and then advanced courses for enhanced career prospects and increasing earning potential.
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