Benefits of Agile Software Development

[1] Waterfall Vs Agile

Waterfall was probably the most popular development method before the agile revolution and is what we currently address as the “traditional development method”. In Waterfall, the project is typically broken down into 6 major phases - ideation, designing, coding, testing, deployment, and maintenance. The software development firm has to stick to the details defined in the ideation stage till the very end. Once a BRD is signed, the project is locked. Any new requirements/features that were either missed or newly introduced after finalizing the BRD have to wait for months or years (in some cases) to be implemented again. And this second cycle again needs an entire tedious cycle of its own. Which is not just frustrating for the clients but also places the company at a competitive disadvantage.

We’ve already established the fact that the current software development market is extremely nimble with technologies and features going from relevant to industry standards to obsolete within months. So, by the time a certain enhancement was introduced using Waterfall, it either became obsolete or the opportunity to gain a competitive advantage from the feature was completely lost.

This is where Agile’s sprint-based development comes into play. It not only allows a business to get the new functionalities on their software while it's still new and relevant, but it also gives the stakeholders enough legroom to make changes to the project goals in case they find an alternative idea that suits their business needs more after the project kick-off.

[2] Lean Vs Agile

The primary agenda of Lean’s implementation is to make sure that the product is delivered to the customers faster, while focusing on the core functionalities first, without adding unnecessary or optional quality-of-life features.

While Agile follows a similar concept when it comes to addressing customer needs, it differentiates itself from Lean with its more structured and organized operational layout. It allows a loop-based approach that is focused on working on the changing needs of the customer based on market shifts.

Think of it this way, if you’re building a house for an individual using Lean and Agile, you would quickly set up a room with a bed, table, cupboard, and AC using both methods. Now as time passes, let’s say the individual got married and had kids. Firstly, he has to make enhancements to his room and then set up another room for the kids. 

With Agile these changes can be easily implemented. However, with Lean, you will be stuck with the initial room layout, until and unless you decide to make a new solution from scratch with the updated requirements.

[3] RAD Vs Agile

Rapid Application Development (RAD) can be considered as a transitional method between Waterfall and Agile, as it draws similarities from both methods. Firstly, like Waterfall, RAD also requires a closed scope of deliverables that need to be defined at the beginning of a development cycle. With that in hand, RAD aims to deploy a prototype or an MVP of the solution as quickly as possible to get the initial feedback from the customers.

Once the initial prototype is approved, the development is continued across multiple iterations with feedback sessions with the client at the end of each round, similar to how Agile works.

While Agile provides more flexibility and faster adaptability, RAD is also a strong development method, and both methods can complement each other in some cases. Where the initial prototype can be built with RAD to lay a foundational structure, and then the development method transitions to Agile to make changes as and when the clients ask for them. 

[A] Better Product Quality

In Agile development, every sprint is followed up by a testing session from both the dev and client’s end. Any refinement needed for the solution is instantaneously discussed and addressed, improving the overall quality of the product at a very granular level compared to the other development methods. At the end of each iteration, the stakeholders also provide feedback regarding the things they liked and disliked about a specific sprint. This can give the developers a reference point regarding which aspects of the development are on par with the client’s expectations and which aspects need improvement.

[B] Improved Customer Satisfaction

The clients are receiving an early mover’s advantage along with the opportunity to enhance the product based on the response of their target audience. Given that the product is being developed in the most optimal way possible and is within the first batch of products that are launched in the market (with the latest functionalities), client satisfaction rates are consistently high.

[C] Faster Product Launch

The early mover's advantage is only possible because this development method does not need a complete version of the product to be developed first. They can start by positioning themselves against their competitors with just a basic model with the core functionalities. The clients can later focus on brainstorming the differentiating factor(s) for the product once the base model is launched. Continuous iterations across multiple sprints allow the product to reach a finished stage.

[D] Better Flexibility and Adaptability

Agile releases the clients from the obligation of describing every single detail of the entire project from the very beginning. It is particularly a challenge for entrepreneurs with limited technological knowledge, as they might not completely understand the impact of one functionality on another. As and when the software starts to take shape and the concepts become less blurry to the clients, a certain part of the software, that seemed to be the best option initially might not remain as relevant. With Agile, these situations can be easily avoided as nothing is fixed outside the ongoing sprint.

[E] Collaboration and Self Organizing Devs

Agile development allows different teams to work collectively as a massive team. The main difference between this approach and the traditional approach is the concept of self-organizing devs. Here, the devs across different teams are allowed to collaborate and share the workload based on the ongoing sprint objectives and open tickets without the need for a manager to oversee everything. This ensures that the developers always have work in their hands and allows them to showcase their efficacy and efficiency transparently.

[F] Enhances Project Predictability

By breaking down the project into smaller, more manageable sprints, development firms can compare the work done to the complexity of the sprint and predict the expected resources they will be spending on the upcoming sprints. This allows the firms to give the clients an accurate quotation for the upcoming work and also makes it easier for the project managers to manage the resources for various aspects of the project. 

Various Agile methodologies have additional practices that increase the transparency of the work done, enabling better predictability. Let’s discuss that, along with the core concepts of some of the major Agile development methods in the next section.

[a] Scrum

Scrum is the most popular Agile development process that is focused on returning visible improvements to the overall project between various project sprints. Normally, Scrum follows a team setup, including a -

1. Product Owner - The associated Stakeholders
2. Scrum Masters - Project Managers who facilitate the development
3. Self Organizing Devs - Developers who can collaborate with other teams to distribute the work among themselves depending on the priorities and deadlines.

The Scrum framework also encourages team members and clients to participate in sprint planning, feedback, and daily progress meetings to maximize the transparency of each cycle.

[b] Kanban

Kanban is more of a visual take on addressing and handling tasks revolving around Agile with the help of a board called, you guessed it - a Kanban Board. The main goal of this board is to limit the piling up of ongoing tasks, which is very frequent in environments where agility is the KPI. To ensure this, a Kanban board has some important structural definitions -

1. Cards - essentially the visual cards on the Kanban Board that allow the development teams to keep track of the ongoing objectives in hand for various phases of the project.
2. Columns - The previously mentioned cards are organized within columns that show the entire workflow from ideation to delivery on the Kanban board. The requirements on the cards might evolve as the development progresses from one column to another until it finally reaches the end.
3. Limiters - Each column has a fixed limit of slots to place the cards. Helping the development team to monitor and limit the number of pending tasks on the board.

This allows a continuous development process while minimizing the number of tasks that are overlooked or left incomplete. Kanban sets a threshold on the number of such tasks that can be placed in each step of the operation. Once that threshold is crossed, the process is automatically stuck and all the focus automatically comes to that point. The pending tasks are then quickly addressed to “unclog” the workflow.

[c] Extreme Programming

Extreme Programming (XP) has short development cycles typically having a cycle of 1-2 weeks, which is slightly shorter than Scrum (having a typical cycle of 2-4 weeks). Here are the primary ways XP differentiates itself from Scrum -

1. Mid Sprint Changes - XP allows the clients to make changes to their requirements in between sprints, something Sprint allows only after the end or before every sprint.
2. Features Aligned - As mentioned before, this method is focussed on delivering software solutions of the best possible quality, while Scrum’s focus is on collaboration.