PART TWO

Hi, Techies! Welcome back to this week’s edition of Tech Tuesday. Last week, we got started on the topic of Agile, and this week, as promised, we will begin covering the Agile Manifesto and the 12 Principles.

The Agile Manifesto is a document outlining the four key values and twelve principles of Agile that was penned by a group of seventeen male software developers, who dubbed themselves the “Agile Alliance”, during an early 2001 ski trip to Utah. The four values of Agile are:

1. Individuals and Interactions over Processes and Tools

2. Working Software over Comprehensive Documentation

3. Customer Collaboration over Contract Negotiation

4. Responding to Change over Following a Plan

In addition to the four core values of Agile, the Manifesto describes what they called the “12 Principles” of Agile development practices. It is important to note that the twelve principles are not considered rules; rather, these principles are intended to guide an individual as they work on developing an Agile mindset.

If that seems a bit confusing, consider this pop culture example: the pirate’s code from Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean. As Captain Barbossa says to Elizabeth Swann in the film The Curse of the Black Pearl, “The code is more what you’d call ‘guidelines’ than actual rules.” The Agile Principles are intended to guide a person as they develop an Agile mindset, not lay out specific behaviors an individual must adhere to. The 12 Principles are:

1. Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.

2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage.

3. Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.

4. Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.

5. Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.

6. The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.

7. Working software is the primary measure of progress.

8. Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.

9. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.

10. Simplicity—the art of maximizing the amount of work not done—is essential.

11. The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.

12. At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

Next week, we will delve further into the Principles and Values of Agile, exploring how the application of Agile practices to your business can be beneficial for you. Until then, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out or schedule a one-on-one consultation with us!