Agile Practice Guide PDF

Table of contents:

• Types of Agile Methodologies
• How Agile Team Works

During each sprint, the development team creates a piece of the product that can be tested and evaluated. This approach allows you to make significant changes to the project, even when development is in full swing.

For example, the team has already designed the interface for a new online cinema, which has a player, a catalog of films loaded, there are selections on the user's viewing history, and even technology for recognizing actors by faces. When the next iteration starts, it turns out that users are missing the ability to recognize soundtracks right inside the player, because they don't want to open Shazam while watching a movie. Already at the next stage of development, the team begins the development and implementation of this function.

How Agile works is the exact opposite of another approach to development - Waterfall (waterfall). In it, work on the product is built according to a different logic:

• drawing up a complete technical task;
• design;
• development;
• testing;
• the final result.

The development processes in this methodology cannot be rolled back, the team returns to the previous stages only if something does not work correctly and works according to the terms of reference. Because of this, problems in the operation of the product (application, website, software) are detected quite late - only at the testing stage - and the result may be a product that does not completely meet the client's expectations or does not work as expected, like explained here Agile practice guide PDF.

Types of Agile Methodologies

Agile is the collective name for several techniques united by the idea of ​​work flexibility. This group includes different methods, for example:

• Scrum. The work in this technique is built on iterations. All tasks required to complete the product are formed into a special list - the backlog, and the main role is assigned to the customer, who determines the type and functionality of the product.
• Kanban. It focuses on visualizing tasks on whiteboards and optimizing workflow. Kanban teams strive to reduce project lead times and improve efficiency.
• Extreme Programming is based on practices such as pair programming, test-driven development, and continuous integration, that is, constantly adding new elements to the main project.

How Agile Team Works

Agile is about moving away from standard management principles, because it’s not a way to lead, but a way to interact. This means that each team member has an equal position relative to others. Roles are assigned within projects, which are taken on by employees from different departments.

In Agile teams, cross-disciplinarity is important. It is not enough for specialists to understand only their own field; for productive interaction, it is necessary to understand how the work of colleagues is organized. If designers understand how to calculate the amount of work of developers, and developers without explanation understand why certain elements are needed in the layout, the team works more efficiently.

The work is organized according to the Agile methodology, for example, in Netflix. The huge team of streaming service is divided into many teams, and each employee has his own area of ​​responsibility, the quality of which he ensures. Each team is focused on solving problems in its own subject area, but if additional tools are needed that are common to several development teams, collaboration begins.