The benefits of hiring an Agile development team
Agile is a more efficient, modern methodology to project management and development. We’ll explain more about how the Agile development & consulting model works and why you should strongly consider hiring a team that uses the Agile approach for development.
We discuss the Agile methodology, exploring its principles, practices, and how it has changed software development. The article provides insights into the benefits of Agile, including flexibility, faster delivery, and improved collaboration among teams.
Software development has become a massive industry, and software design companies and development teams are always on the lookout for ways to increase efficiency. As a result, the standard Waterfall approach is increasingly being abandoned in favor of Agile application development. In short, Agile is a more efficient, modern approach to project management and development. We’ll explain more about how the Agile development model works and why you should strongly consider hiring a team that uses the Agile approach for development.
What is Agile software development?
Agile is not a singular method, but a comprehensive term that can include various frameworks and methodologies that all support the core philosophy of the Agile Manifesto. The approach was developed by fourteen software industry leaders, and it is based on their own experiences and knowledge of software development optimization. Ultimately, it is a method that maximizes flexibility and allows for rapid responses to change, which are inevitable in the unpredictable world of software development.
Like others, our Agile software development company uses specifically chosen tools, practices, and frameworks that help to maximize productivity and increase development efficiency. These solutions have evolved through our own internal experiences and our collaborations with our clients, and they will continue to improve as new methods and solutions become available.
Twelve core principles of the Agile philosophy
These are the twelve essential principles that make up the Agile way:
- Client satisfaction, through early, continuous software delivery, is the highest priority.
- Advantageous changes are always welcome, at any point in the development process.
- Working software should be delivered as rapidly and frequently as possible.
- The software developers and other staff members involved in the project should collaborate and communicate daily.
- Projects should be built around supported, motivated individuals. Give your team members what they need and trust them to succeed.
- Face-to-face conversations are the best way to communicate and convey information.
- Progress is measured primarily through the completion and delivery of working software.
- Sustainable development is key. Everyone involved in the project should be working at a consistent pace that is maintainable in the long term.
- Ensuring technical and design quality improves agility.
- Simplicity is essential for speed, efficiency, and flexibility.
- Self-organizing teams produce the best designs, requirements, and architectures.
- Teams must regularly evaluate their performance and make adjustments to increase effectiveness and efficiency.
Agile vs. Waterfall methodologies
The traditional Waterfall approach relies on strict, immovable plans and phases. At the start of a project, the requirements are clearly laid out and finalized, before development even begins. This results in a lengthy planning stage, where the project manager must spend a substantial amount of time setting up milestones, allocating resources, and defining features. Then, the project manager must continuously track the project, throughout its development, to ensure that the plan is carefully adhered to.
As a result, the software takes much longer to develop, and changes are unwelcome and difficult to implement, even when they will improve the software or the client’s competitiveness. These drawbacks led to the introduction of the Agile method. In the 2020 State of Agile Report, 95% out of 4000 respondents stated that they preferred Agile development.
The Agile methodology focuses on encouraging beneficial changes and speeding up software development and delivery. Rather than relying on feature-based milestones, the development process is divided up into time-based Agile sprints or iterations. When each new sprint begins, the development team determines which tasks can be completed during that time frame. At the end of the sprint, the completed software is put into a production environment, allowing the client to examine it and provide feedback.
Roles & responsibilities in Agile software development
These are the key roles within the Agile software development approach.
Product Owner - represents the stakeholder of the project and sets the product development direction. While they are not directly involved in development, they play a key decision-making role and have a substantial impact on the project’s progress.
Project Manager & Team Lead - function as the links between the Product Owner and the project team members. The Project Manager conveys the Product Owners instructions to the team, while the Team Lead oversees and supports the team members’ progress.
Development & Design Teams - consist of the professionals who are directly or indirectly contributing to the project’s development. The teams include the various designers, developers, engineers, and specialists who are responsible for creating an end product, based on the Product Owner’s ideas and requirements.
The User - the product’s final target customer.
Larger products may require some additional roles, including:
- Technical domain experts
- An independent QA and audit team
- A DevOps specialist
Agile frameworks
The most commonly used Agile frameworks are Scrum, Crystal, Dynamic Systems Development Method, and Feature-Driven Development. However, out of these, Scrum is the most popular. The Scrum delivery cadence focuses on sprint and meeting structures that include:
- Planning - sprint priorities are established
- Commitment - the team reviews the tasks and determines what can be completed during the next sprint
- Daily meetings - team members provide status updates and discuss strategies
Each sprint ends with a demo meeting to show the client the functionality and progress. Afterward, the team holds an internal meeting to discuss the outcome of the sprint and make any necessary improvements to their processes.
Different companies and teams prefer different frameworks. What works for one, may not work well for another. The important thing is to use a framework that supports the spirit and standards of the Agile Manifesto principles.
Evrone’s Agile software development services
Agile project management practices speed up the entire development process by promoting cross-functional teams across the organization. When Evrone begins a new project, we start with the Discovery phase and then establish the minimum required team for the project. We dive in and study the project before kicking it off to better understand what kind of specialists are needed to solve problems. Each project may include various specialists such as a project manager, several developers, a designer, a QA, an infrastructure/architecture specialist, etc.
In the first week, the project manager defines the standard start-up tasks that must be carried out. For example, setting up a server for development, a repository for code storage, chats for communications, a system for establishing tasks, and a system for documentation. During this time frame, the project team also determines the client’s vision and requirements, then uses this information to plan the tasks for the second week.
Specialists in each area are responsible for assessing the tasks and determining how many hours each task will take. Tasks are issued in such a way that team members will be able to complete them in one working week. If there are a limited number of tasks in a specific area, a specialist may only be assigned for the required number of hours, rather than as a full-time team member.
At the end of the week, the project team shows the results to the client and plans for the next week’s tasks. This routine continues each week, throughout the project’s development. As new tasks arise, the Agile team structure may change, as different specialists rotate in and out of the team. If necessary, new team members can be added to further support development. Also, we use Jira and Confluence tools that help the development teams work faster, communicate more effectively, and keep documentation organized and easily accessible.
Benefits of hiring our Agile development team
Faster time-to-market - our in-house tools and Agile processes allow us to significantly speed up time-to-market.
High-quality products - by dividing up large tasks into smaller ones, we are better able to manage tasks and deliver quality, bug-free solutions.
Predictable software delivery - our Agile delivery approach makes it easy to regularly develop and incorporate new features.
Reduced cost and defined expenses - our Agile methods and increased efficiency help clients make the most of their investments and increase their ROIs. In addition, we provide clear, transparent invoicing, so our clients know exactly how much they are spending and what they are paying for.
100% Transparency - our collaborative approach gives our clients complete visibility into their projects throughout the development process.
Adaptability and risk reduction - the Agile approach gives our teams the flexibility to react to changes and proactively identify and correct bugs early in the development process.
Improved customer retention and satisfaction - our flexibility and openness to change ensure that the final product will meet or exceed the client’s original expectations. Rapid delivery and regular feature releases also lead to more positive customer experiences.
Conclusion
Agile is a more efficient, effective approach to modern software development. With Agile, developers and clients can achieve stronger collaborations that result in increased satisfaction and product quality. By implementing Agile methodologies and tools, software development companies can provide a better value to their clients, while the clients can, in turn, offer better solutions and experiences to their customers.
Ready to start working with an experienced Agile development team, or you would like to learn more about Agile software development services? Contact Evrone via the form below, and we’ll get in touch with you as soon as possible.
Practice shows that during the course of development, new requirements and changes often start to come from the businesses. The advantage of the Agile approach is that you can first implement the necessary functionality and launch the project into operation, and then systematically add additional features and test their need on real users.
