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The following article was published in our article directory on June 16, 2011.
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Agile Software Process: Introducing Agile in Your Organization

Article Category: Internet

Author Name: Mark Stevens

The agile software process is more about an environment and mindset than a definitive methodology. At the heart of the agile software process is the Manifesto for Agile Software Development – a call-to-action delivered almost a decade ago in which some of the country's leading software developers outlined the tenets of developing software quickly, efficiently, and productively:

We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:

• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
• Working software over comprehensive documentation
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.

Since its introduction in 2001, the agile software process has become the leading software development methodology used throughout the industry, replacing the older, more rigid incremental development process which often took longer, featured less flexibility to meet market requirements, and produced less desirable and valuable results.

Agile Software Process: getting started
The impetus to adopt the Agile software process within an organization can come from many places within the team including the developers, managers, architects, and executive management. Successful Agile deployments most often rely on development teams that have bought-in to the Agile software process and are fully empowered by management. Choosing a project that can adopt the Agile software process is often a good starting point. The criteria for choosing the project include considerations about both the team members and composition, and the product itself.

The best way to get started with Agile is to pick a partner that has all the tools, expertise, and services you will need to get you from your first steps with Agile to the end of an enterprise-wide Agile transformation. Here's a simplified plan to help make it happen:

• Pick an Agile partner -- they will help you get started and even produce a detailed transition plan
• Create an Agile transition team and Agile pilot project
• Train the transition team
• Run an Agile pilot project
• Scale and optimize Agile throughout your organization

Successfully integrating Agile tools can deliver a fast ROI and greatly enhance Agile adoption and success rates throughout your enterprise. So where do you start?

Evaluate your toolset
Think of your software development tools like your carpeting. Often tools were installed many years ago and are now coming up at the seams, patched together with scripts, completely out of date, and nearly invisible. Why not maximize the results of your Agile transition by also reconfiguring your development tool stack and transitioning from your existing tool stack to an Agile tool stack?

An Agile tool is a tool that supports one or more Agile practices and does so in a way that fits into the overall Agile framework. For instance, a tool which allows you to maintain a ranking of all of the issues that you care about is one that supports the Agile practice of maintaining a backlog. Agile tools must support a high ratio of value to effort in order to fit into the short iterations of an Agile project.

Collocate cross-functional teams
Obviously, multiple collocated, cross-functional Agile teams will have a much greater affect on your organization than a single collocated, cross-functional Agile team, but you'll still get many of the benefits of Agile with a single team.

Distribute Agile development
By distributing Agile development across your organization, you'll gain increased productivity and scalability while reducing project risk. Distributed development also increases project visibility to help keep projects moving along.

Leverage a best-of-breed Agile toolset
A comprehensive, best-of-breed Agile toolset can make a major difference in quickly ramping up the Agile software process in your organization. A best-of-breed Agile toolset can provide:

• Optimal Agile development processes
• Flexible support for multiple process models
• Complete project management visibility
• Improved team productivity
• Fast ROI (as high as 100% in 6-12 months with teams of 25-500 developers)

Here are five tips to help you produce faster, better software with greater value and flexibility using the Agile software process:

Encourage pair programming
A key component of the agile software process, pair programming creates shared knowledge and a boost in quality coding while encouraging frequent and early testing for a more useable product earlier in the software development process.

Embrace change
Traditional, incremental, "waterfall" software development resists change and does not respond favorably to anything that disrupts the predictive process. But the ability to respond quickly to change creates new efficiencies throughout the software development process.

Make client stakeholders part of the team
By including a customer representative on your agile software development team, the client is involved in the review process for each iteration, ensuring that product development aligns with client goals throughout the entire process.

Test constantly
Testing is one of the major cornerstones of the agile software process. By testing early and often in the coding process, mistakes and potential problems are caught earlier, minimizing QA issues at the end of development, where it can be more costly in both time and money.

Plan not to plan
The agile software process encourages a healthy disrespect for planning. Client changes are practically inevitable with a client representative as part of your agile development team. By embracing change and not adhering to a strict plan, altered customer requirements and new opportunities foster more creative, responsive approaches to development that often yield a more useful and ultimately valuable product.

To get the full benefits of the Agile process requires going through three stages: introduction, enterprise-scaling, and optimization. Fully implementing the Agile software process as your development methodology of choice can have a significant impact on the quality and timeliness of your products. Whether you're at the beginning or the end of this process, you'll clearly see and feel the benefits throughout the entire journey.

Keywords: agile software process, optimizing agile software process

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