What is Agile Methodology?
Agile is a project management system that was all the hype almost a decade or two ago. It first gained recognition in the year 2001, and soon become the model approach to create quality software. The methodology was particularly designed for software development and design, in order to improve communication and coordination among team members. In essence, a project is divided into smaller segments and distributed among teammates. Everyone completes their task and then collaborates to bring the elements together.
The process is repeated until the final product no longer needs improvement, modifications, or add-ons. Every phase or cycle involves planning, execution, and evaluation. The purpose of introducing agile principles in software development was to promote efficiency, organization, and productivity. The approach intended to tackle problems while the project was underway, rather than identifying them in the end and starting all over again. The concept sounds simple and feasible, though it is easier said than done. Agile radiated potential to take the software development industry by storm, though the glory and buzz died down pretty fast.
Is Agile officially dead?
Agile is dead in the sense that nobody talks about it anymore, and the concept was badly butchered by the millions of software development firms who tried to execute it. The Agile methodology is still a decent routine to deal with a complicated or multifaceted project, but it’s simply not everyone’s cup of tea. All the agencies offering Web Development & Design Services are not the same; hence, it is not surprising that one shoe did not fit all. You can bet that vague versions of Agile still exist in the software development industry, but the people applying them are oblivious.
Why did Agile Fail?
Perhaps the biggest flaw of the Agile methodology was that it lacked hard and fast rules. Freedom and creativity are excellent traits, but certain limitations are necessary. All the software development and design startup entrepreneurs out there assumed that it was a miracle or formula to success. Agile has worked for many businesses, but it’s worth noting that it wasn’t the sole reason for their accomplishments. Software development and design teams may have blamed Agile for their failures, even though the reality was very different and they chose to not reveal the full picture.
Several businesses that employed the Agile methodology shifted from a traditional work ethic that worked perfectly fine for them. Adapting to change takes time, and things get messy when everybody on the team is not on the same page. For example, DevOps is a popular drill associated with Agile, which promotes collaboration between the development and operations team. Normally, these two separate entities are not at home with with each other, and forcing them together overnight creates conflict. Agile is a complex philosophy, so the one endorsing it usually does not really understand it themselves; this results in confusion, unwarranted pressure, and complete burn out.
One aspect of Agile that turned out to be increasingly problematic was the involvement of the customer at every stage of development. The thing is that the majority of customers cannot make sense of technical explanations; they are only interested in an end product that works. Many teams work better when they’re following a predetermined plan; going with the flow or being spontaneous just isn’t their style. The intuitive and iterative approach of Agile ends up causing loss of focus and wastage of time.
Another critical point is that businesses are typically concerned with meeting deadlines and sticking to a budget. Therefore, software developers and designers are more worried about completing the project in time rather than concentrating on the dynamics of deliverables. The orthodox mindset and limited resources inhibit progress, yet ‘Agile failed us’ became the closing statement. So, do software developers and designers still use Agile? Not really, but fragments of the methodology remain.
