What is AGILE methodology?
When we talk about AGILE methodology or Agile Development, we refer to the short-term decision-making process carried out thanks to the collaboration of self-managed and multifunctional teams, especially in the technological field. In general, we can say that it is a matter of grouping a set of tasks in small repetitive stages and managing to increase the value contributed by each team, its self-management and self-assessment in order to be able to look at what works and what does not, and to be able to solve it or scale it. The solutions and milestones to be achieved are determined by the needs of the project.
The development process works as a chain in which each interaction in the life cycle constitutes a link. In the case of software development, these links include planning, requirements analysis, design, coding, testing and documentation. The purpose of this development model is to add value to the final product by eliminating any incidence in each phase, achieving error-free software.
This type of method gives priority to direct communication, limiting the use of technical documentation, cumbersome meetings, validations and revisions. In this way, a more agile and less formal transmission of information is achieved, which is why some people label the model as undisciplined.
How has the AGILE methodology transformed the software industry?
If we look back to the 80s and 90s, as technology gained prominence in the global economic landscape, we see that the evolution of the cascading model in the software sector took place. This model consisted of project management following 5 steps: requirements, design, implementation, verification and maintenance. This methodology led to a slower and more bureaucratic way of working which caused dissatisfaction among developers.
For this reason, the AGILE methodology was born, giving solution to these hierarchical obstacles and therefore translating into an improvement of the efficiency.