Agile is a methodology that was initially used in software development. Agile with continuous iterative deliveries on the process. Instead of delivering a final working product at the end of the development process, Agile methods encourage the team to work in smaller time frames, usually between one to three weeks, also known as sprints.
Throughout the sprints, teams collaborate and provide feedback on the progress. Frequent communication like this makes change and adaptability of the product possible. Resulting in the delivery of the software product being higher in quality.
The 5 stages of the Agile Development
Discovery
To gain successful software development through the Agile method, you should begin with the ideation stage. Working closely with the business team, the developers, the stakeholders, and also the future use of the product, the product owner should piece together the vision for the project by :
- Defining the purpose and goal of the project.
- Determining and documenting business and user requirements.
- Allocation of the resource and the priority of the task.
Development
Once the project’s vision is determined and defined based on the feedback of the product owners and stakeholders, the actual work will begin. Agile product development will develop the product in incremental phases of repeated iteration.
Developing the first iteration of a software product is often the longest stage of the Agile application development lifecycle. The first iteration of the product aims to have a working, usable product at the end of the sprint. This is far from the final version and will undergo several revisions, so it should only include minimum functionality.
Testing
After gaining the user’s feedback, the developer will aim to do as much as possible in the sprint to progress from the minimal viable product in an early sprint to fully functioning solutions.
In this testing phase, you may first involve a limited number of people to use your product. The main goal of this invitation is to gain feedback on the application and improve it. Once the product has improved and you are sure you can run it on a scale, the team will need to determine whether to start the test on a more extensive user. At this point of the Agile cycle, the development teams will have gone through several iterations and conducted testing after each cycle, aiming for the final testing phase.
Final testing and acceptance should be carried out by quality assurance (QA) to detect bugs. Unlike iteration testing, you should involve an end user for this testing. Following testing, there will almost definitely be some rework to address defects that arise, so they must be accounted for in the schedule.
Deployment
Your product has now been tested by the QA and is now being deployed. The end-user has begun to use the product. In this phase, it was necessary to closely monitor the early stages for bugs or defects in the testing. A handover will start between the production and support teams. While the final process and handovers can vary depending on the product type, the handover process still requires relevant training.
Maintenance
Once the release has gone for a while, the work still continues. Ongoing maintenance helps squash bugs and maintain functionality. As users engage with the app, there will be opportunities to collect feedback and make improvements that can be released in future iterations.
Conclusion
The strength of Agile methodology lies in its flexibility to evolve throughout the build. By being able to roll with the demands of stakeholders, you will inevitably deliver a far superior end product. Even if it looks nothing like you imagined at the start. And the main advantage of this method is you can always be sure that your team’s performance will be better than last time.
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