Modern Management Theory: Agile Methodology

 Modern Management Theory:  Agile Methodology 

Agile Software Development [1] was created in 2001 by a group of developers who needed a better way to develop their products. It was later incorporated in a 12 principle Agile Manifesto. It is very attractive both for big and small companies because it is very social. Agile Project Management21is the process by which projects can be implemented in small chunks of work. Agile Projects deliver value to the business in frequent small deliveries of product called features. In a traditional Waterfall Methodology, the requirements for the projects can be documented upfront, then the design of the whole solution would be completed, followed by the development, testing and implementation of the product. The value for the business is only seen at the very end of the cycle. With Agile projects, small logical pieces of work called iterations or Sprints are created. Agile is a great technique to use when business needs are frequently changing or when the business wants to receive product benefits earlier. With Agile, you can focus on what the business needs now, and if that changes the new business needs can be accommodated in the next iteration.  

Agile is frequently used to manage IT projects, but can also be used to manage non-IT Projects. Any project can use Agile if deliverables can be produced and implemented in a short period of time and can be expanded or added to with future capability. Agile projects build capabilities one piece, or a few pieces at a time. Scrum enables you to keep everything visible and it allows the team to know exactly what’s going on and make adjustments to the project to keep moving forward. The Software is built in pieces, so that the client can experience each part and determine what to do next. The most basic steps to apply Scrum are the following:
#1 Create a Backlog: The Project backlog is a list of all the features that clients would like to have as part of the complete product. It includes the client’s dreams and wishes. The backlog is created by the Product Owner, and it represents the interests of the Clients.
#2 Estimate and Prioritize: after completing the backlog list, the Product Owner estimates the time it takes to develop each item. Prioritization focuses on what brings value to the business, from the most important at the top to the least important at the bottom. The features that will be included in the Release creates the Release backlog. 
#3 Sprints: they are development units between 3 to 30 days. A project includes several sprints. In a Sprint Planning Meeting, the Product Owner and the Team get together and decide what will be done in each Sprint. They select the items of higher priority from the Team Backlog. The team decides how much of what is desired they can complete in this Sprint. Bugs that are related to the features on the Sprint backlog should also be fixed as part of the Sprint. 
In a Sprint review meeting, the team presents what was developed during the Sprint to the Product Owner and other stakeholders. This meeting helps decide what to do next. The customers can see the project progress and submit feedback. Step #3 is repeated until all features on the Release Backlog are developed and the product is ready to be released. 
Agile is one of the newest and most effective software development methodologies, although not the latest. I have personally applied it to good results. It encourages teamwork and communication. It helps managers to stay updated as to the status of the employees. In that way, efficiency is increased as well as transparency. Issues that come up are quickly resolved. It also involves the customers in feedback and communication. Still, Agile is more of an internal way of organizing processes than to encourage innovation. Our NeXT tool is in my opinion the best and most innovative in Modern Management Theory. It is called LEAN.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agile_software_development