Editing Agile software development (section)

== Agile management ==
{{main|Agile management}}
Agile project management is an iterative development process, where feedback is continuously gathered from users and stakeholders to create the right user experience.  Different methods can be used to perform an agile process, these include [[Scrum (software development)|scrum]], [[extreme programming]], [[Lean software development|lean]] and [[Kanban (development)|kanban]].<ref name="europeanbusinessreview.com">{{Cite web |date=1 November 2019 |title=The Procurement Call for Agile, What does it mean? |url=https://www.europeanbusinessreview.com/the-procurement-call-for-agile-what-does-it-mean}}</ref>
The term ''agile management'' is applied to an iterative, incremental method of managing the design and build activities of engineering, information technology and other business areas that aim to provide new product or service development in a highly flexible and interactive manner, based on the principles expressed in the ''Manifesto for Agile Software Development''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moran |first=Alan |title=Managing Agile: Strategy, Implementation, Organisation and People |date=2015 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-16262-1}}</ref>
Agile project management metrics help reduce confusion, identify weak points, and measure team's performance throughout the development cycle. Supply chain agility is the ability of a supply chain to cope with uncertainty and variability on offer and demand. An agile supply chain can increase and reduce its capacity rapidly, so it can adapt to a fast-changing customer demand. Finally, strategic agility is the ability of an organisation to change its course of action as its environment is evolving. The key for strategic agility is to recognize external changes early enough and to allocate resources to adapt to these changing environments.<ref name="europeanbusinessreview.com" />

Agile X techniques may also be called [[extreme project management]]. It is a variant of [[iterative and incremental development|iterative life cycle]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-10-22 |title=Which Life Cycle Is Best for Your Project? |url=https://pmhut.com/which-life-cycle-is-best-for-your-project |access-date=2009-10-23 |website=PMHut |language=en-US}}</ref> where [[deliverable]]s are submitted in stages. The main difference between agile and iterative development is that agile methods complete small portions of the deliverables in each delivery cycle (iteration),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Agile Project Management |url=http://www.versionone.com/agile-project-management/ |access-date=1 June 2015 |website=VersionOne}}</ref> while iterative methods evolve the entire set of deliverables over time, completing them near the end of the project. Both iterative and agile methods were developed as a reaction to various obstacles that developed in more sequential forms of project organization. For example, as technology projects grow in complexity, end users tend to have difficulty defining the long-term requirements without being able to view progressive prototypes. Projects that develop in iterations can constantly gather feedback to help refine those requirements.

Agile management also offers a simple framework promoting communication and reflection on past work amongst [[Project team|team]] members.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is Agile Management? |url=http://www.project-laneways.com.au/certification-courses/agilepm/what-is-agile-management |access-date=1 June 2015 |publisher=Project Laneways}}</ref> Teams who were using traditional waterfall planning and adopted the agile way of development typically go through a transformation phase and often take help from agile coaches who help guide the teams through a smoother transformation. There are typically two styles of agile coaching: push-based and pull-based agile coaching. Here a "push-system" can refer to an upfront estimation of what tasks can be fitted into a sprint (pushing work) e.g. typical with scrum; whereas a "pull system" can refer to an environment where tasks are only performed when capacity is available.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Benson |first1=Jim |title=Personal Kanban: mapping work, navigating life |last2=De Maria Barry |first2=Tonianne |date=2011 |publisher=Modus Cooperandi Press |isbn=978-1-4538-0226-7 |edition=1st |location=Seattle, WA |page=38}}</ref> Agile management approaches have also been employed and adapted to the business and government sectors. For example, within the [[federal government of the United States]], the [[United States Agency for International Development]] (USAID) is employing a collaborative project management approach that focuses on incorporating [[collaborating, learning and adapting]] (CLA) strategies to iterate and adapt programming.<ref>USAID. [https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1870/201.pdf "ADS Chapter 201 Program Cycle Operational Policy"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191023195937/https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1870/201.pdf |date=23 October 2019 }}. Retrieved 19 April 2017</ref>

Agile methods are mentioned in the ''Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge'' (''PMBOK Guide 6th Edition'') under the '''Product Development Lifecycle''' definition:

{{blockquote|Within a project life cycle, there are generally one or more phases
that are associated with the development of the product, service, or result. These are called a development life cycle (...) Adaptive life cycles are agile, iterative, or incremental. The detailed scope is defined and approved before the start of an iteration. Adaptive life cycles are also referred to as agile or change-driven life cycles.<ref>[[Project Management Institute]], ''[[A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge]]'' (PMBOK Guide), Sixth Edition</ref>}}

=== Applications outside software development ===
[[File:Agile Brazil 2014 conference entrance.jpg|Agile Brazil 2014 conference|thumb|right]]
According to Jean-Loup Richet (research fellow at [[ESSEC]] Institute for Strategic Innovation & Services) "this approach can be leveraged effectively for non-software products and for project management in general, especially in areas of innovation and uncertainty." The result is a product or project that best meets current customer needs and is delivered with minimal costs, waste, and time, enabling companies to achieve bottom line gains earlier than via traditional approaches.<ref>Richet, Jean-Loup (2013). ''Agile Innovation''. Cases and Applied Research, n°31. ESSEC-ISIS. {{ISBN|978-2-36456-091-8}}</ref>

Agile software development methods have been extensively used for development of software products and some of them use certain characteristics of software, such as [[Object-oriented analysis and design|object technologies]].<ref name="Smith2007">{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Preston G |title=Flexible Product Development |publisher=Jossey-Bass |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7879-9584-3 |page=25}}</ref> However, these techniques can be applied to the development of non-software products, such as computers, medical devices, food, clothing, and music.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Newton Lee |title="Getting on the Billboard Charts: Music Production as Agile Software Development," ''Digital Da Vinci: Computers in Music'' |publisher=Springer Science+Business Media |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-4939-0535-5}}</ref> Agile software development methods have been used in non-development [[IT infrastructure]] [[IT infrastructure deployment|deployments and migrations]]. Some of the wider principles of agile software development have also found application in general management<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moran, Alan |title=Managing Agile: Strategy, Implementation, Organisation and People |publisher=Springer Verlag |year=2015 |isbn=978-3-319-16262-1}}</ref> (e.g., strategy, governance, risk, finance) under the terms [[business agility]] or agile business management. Agile software methodologies have also been adopted for use with the [[learning engineering]] process, an iterative data-informed process that applies [[human-centered design]], and data informed decision-making to support learners and their development.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Barrett |first1=M. |title=Learning Engineering Toolkit |date=2022 |pages=269–278 |chapter=Lean-Agile Development Tools |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9781003276579-16 |last2=Goodell |first2=J.|isbn=978-1-003-27657-9 }}</ref>

Agile software development paradigms can be used in other areas of life such as raising children. Its success in child development might be founded on some basic management principles; communication, adaptation, and awareness. In a [[TED (conference)|TED Talk]], Bruce Feiler shared how he applied basic agile paradigms to household management and raising children.<ref>[http://www.ted.com/talks/bruce_feiler_agile_programming_for_your_family.html "Agile programming – for your family"].</ref>