What are Agile Methodologies?

Agile methodologies are frameworks and approaches that incorporate frequent iterations, communication, and flexibility throughout the software development phase.

While traditional project management has the primary characteristic of following a well-established plan, Agile is based on key principles such as delivering value in a steady fashion, engaging feedback, and change.

One of the foundational principles of Agile is outlined in the Agile Manifesto, which highlights four essential values: personnel rather than processes and tools, functioning software rather than detailed documentation, customer cooperation rather than contract discussions, and change adaptation more than plan adherence.

While utilizing Agile methods could increase flexibility and potentially expedite software delivery, it’s important to acknowledge that it could present opportunities for feedback during development, which, in some cases, may lead to quality enhancements.

An Agile team refers to a structured group of developers, a number of which are multifunctional, and its main role is to generate customer value with the help of iterative and incremental activities. Every member has the responsibility to ensure the success of the team by managing the product roadmap, prioritizing the backlog, and delivering quality.

• A Scrum Master sustains the Agile process, ensures that a team follows Scrum, and eliminates the barriers to progress.
• The Product Owner is a counterpart of the customer, manages the product backlog, and ensures the team produces the right products.
• Development team members are required to produce a working product that is Agile-compliant within short intervals, known as sprints.

Product managers have the most crucial role in Agile and enterprise transformation as they enable a product vision into business value, reflecting on business strategy and understanding customer needs. Their duties involve creating plans for the future, focusing on customer needs, understanding data, and leading teams from different departments.

Kanban and Scrum are two Agile frameworks used to manage the teams’ work, but they function differently.

Kanban is based more on delivering continuously with a focus on the method to visualize work and work in progress (WIP), while Scrum is based on deliveries in sprints with roles, ceremonies, and a sprint goal as the guiding element. 

Kanban’s flexibility allows for adaptation to changes, while Scrum’s framework focuses on optimized project delivery. 

Kanban is based on the principle of continuous and frequent workflow adjustment based on WIP limit, whereas Scrum is based on sprint walls, meaning planning and delivery within certain sprint time frames only.

Kanban uses a visual board to manage workflow and often changes it in the course of work, while Scrum uses the Sprint Backlog defines the tasks for each and provide guidance for each sprint.

Kanban is suitable for organizations with highly irregular and changing demands as it is easily adaptable to new changes, while Scrum is more efficient in environments where the requirements are well-defined and more predictable.

A software development team using Kanban can easily adapt newly requested features in the middle of the project, and a Scrum team would have to add those into the next sprint.

When comparing Kanban and scrum systems, consider the type of project as well as the preference of the working team. Kanban is more suitable for rapid change, while Scrum structure is good for well-defined work.

The Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) is an organization and venture development framework that supports businesses in scaling Agile principles and practices throughout large organizations. SAFe comprises key elements like Program Increment (PI) planning, Kanban boards, and Continuous Delivery Pipeline.

PI planning is an event that happens in cadence to ensure that all teams and stakeholders are rightly aligned with the respective mission and vision of the firm, and Kanban boards are used to visualize the Work-In-Progress on SAFe.