Agile Development Teams. Flexible, collaborative, transparent, and results oriented. These are all words that describe the benefits of Agile, but what exactly is it? Agile is a methodology that originated from software developers to build software iteratively and collaboratively across cross-functional teams that are self-organized.
Agile Development Teams are proactive rather than reactive, which is why being Agile is the best way to manage your software development team. Agile methodologies have spread to various industries and systems, though it has found its greatest success in the software industry.
Here are some of the reasons why Agile is the best way to manage your software development team:
#1 Flexibility
Using traditional methods, there is little room for error and even less room to take advantage of opportunities. Because Agile utilizes short term sprints and iterations, space for mistakes and the ability to capture opportunities for quality development and updates is engineered into the methodology.
Because software development is characterized with short development, life cycles, and constantly changing demands, the ability to be flexible is the greatest benefit to your software development team. Real time progress ensures a system that can continuously update with changing requirements and demands.
#2 Collaborative
Collaboration is one of the most essential components of all modern project management strategies. It has become the means to an end in every stage and industry. Agile is one of the most effective ways for an organization to foster collaboration. Between stand up meetings, sprint planning, and closing sprint meetings, Agile encourages collaboration at every level. This teamwork creates an efficient and enjoyable workplace and generates value through leveraging individual strengths and ideas.
#3 Transparent
Consistent feedback from stakeholders is critical to the Agile methodology throughout the entire development lifecycle. This ability allows user stories to be leveraged to the software developers’ advantage. Tasks can change throughout the process, eliminating useless features and capitalizing on the most favored ones. Explicit stakeholder feedback and feedback within teams benefit collaborative software approaches and allows teams to avoid silos.
#4 Results Oriented
The goal of any development team is to be results-oriented and value-driven. Utilization of Agile tracks and records each achievement, and determines what was effective in each sprint and what was not, rather than solely the end result. This is not only an effective software approach for delivering projects but also encourages continuous improvement and adjustments for future projects in a results-oriented way.
By adopting an Agile Development Teams, your organization can realize the many benefits it will bring to the management of your software development team!
