Agile methodologies in software development

Nowadays, companies that are dedicated to software development are looking for new work methods that can increase productivity and the quality of the final product, while shortening delivery times.

To achieve these objectives, in recent years, work methods have been created, known as agile methodologies , which, if implemented correctly, help companies to develop quality software, organizing work teams and reducing inconveniences or technical problems.

If you are interested in discovering more in depth what an agile methodology is and how you can implement it in your software development company, you found the article you were looking for.

What is an agile methodology?

The agile methodology is a work approach that aims to offer a quality product to the client, making frequent incremental deliveries in the short term thanks to the coordinated work of small multifunctional and self-organized teams . In this way, the aim is to obtain frequent feedback from the client in order to make adjustments to the software before final delivery.

Unlike traditional work methods (sequential or cascading), the agile method wants to correct the classic dysfunctions that occurred in the attempt to offer a complete product in a long period of time, without taking into account the changing needs of the customer. user.

We can say in a few words that agile methodologies help organize work teams to produce incremental results in the short term, while professionals are trained to deal with last-minute changes in an environment characterized by uncertainty and turbulence. .

At the same time, it includes technical work practices aimed at automating the software development and testing processes to reduce delivery times.

That is why agile methodologies aim to understand how to work in a synchronous, multifunctional way , capturing the possible situations of change to adapt as quickly as possible, delivering the client a quality product that meets their needs.

Benefits of using agile methodologies

Agile methodologies offer important advantages during the software development phase , so it is not surprising that an increasing number of companies have decided to train their workers to implement these working methods.

With that being said, we are sure that you are wondering what are these incredible benefits that agile methodologies offer. We are going to tell you.

It is a working method that allows the development team to work flexibly , that is, professionals have a great capacity to react to changes that arise from problems or changes in customer needs. This is an important advantage because it allows the team to adapt to the new demands, saving time and reducing the stress load.

Likewise, as you may have noticed, with agile methodologies productivity increases during the development phase because unnecessary bureaucracy is eliminated and the team is constantly motivated, which can be structured autonomously based on the abilities of each professional.

Another great advantage of the agile method is the possibility of predicting development times, since the average work speed of the team during the sprint (continuous work cycle) can be discovered to reliably estimate when some main functionality may be ready. At the same time, the Time to Market is reduced . What does it mean? The client will be able to use the main features of the software before the project is completely finished.

In turn, productivity is increased thanks to the organization, the development times in spring while the risks that can occur during the creation of the software are reduced.

Profiles / Roles in the use of agile methodologies (Scrum Master)

Now, among the most widely used agile methodologies in the software development sector, the most famous is SCRUM. So that you get to know this agile methodology better, we are going to present you what the main roles are and how the different work profiles are organized.

Product Owner

He is the one who is in charge of making sure that the Scrum Team works correctly, paying particular attention to the business and economic profit perspective. Among its main functions is customer service.

In this sense, the Product Owner helps the client to write the stories of the users to later place them in the Product Backlog .

Scrum master or also known as facilitator

The Scrum Master is responsible for compliance with the rules of the SCRUM work method. What it does is that the team understands how it has to work and organize itself so that it works according to the rules of the method. Thus, it seeks to eliminate the obstacles that slow down the development and fulfillment of the Sprint objective.

It is for this reason that the Scrum Master advises and trains the work team and the Product Owner , in such a way that the established objectives are achieved.

developer

The developers are part of the work team and are in charge of creating the software. Each team member has to deliver the required product increment in each sprint.

Kanban, what is it? How does it work?

One of the most widely implemented agile methodologies in the field of software development is Kanban. If you don't know it yet, don't worry because we are going to tell you what Kanban is and how it works.

Kanban is a work method that organizes work teams so that deliveries are continuous without overloading developers. The final objective is to stimulate cooperation and interconnection between professionals so that quality software can be developed while respecting delivery deadlines.

This agile methodology is particularly appreciated by companies because it is a non-disruptive evolutionary method, so deliveries are continuous in a period of 2 or 3 weeks so that feedback is faster.

That is why it is a visual work mode that manages work as software development progresses. It is not only about visualizing the flow of the work process, but also how that flow is being translated into reality in order to identify the causes of development delays and be able to find possible solutions.

The keywords with Kanban are effectiveness and efficiency to adjust the work process to delivery times and customer needs.

Scrum, what is it? How does it work?

Another working method for agile software development is Scrum. It is a work model that involves regularly applying a set of good practices to work jointly, among the various teams, with the aim of achieving the best possible result.

So that you understand better, we are going to tell you what its main characteristics are. SCRUM works thanks to an incremental development strategy unlike other methods that resort to systematic planning and execution. In addition, it seeks the quality of the final result, especially with regard to tacit knowledge in self-organized teams.

At the same time, this method overlaps the different development phases , avoiding the sequential or cascading cycles typical of other work methods. What is sought is that incremental development occurs in short and fixed times, prioritizing those elements that the client values most, while the team synchronizes and adapts to changes.

During each sprint, that is, in a period of time that can vary between one and four weeks, the team must specify an increase in software development.

Regarding the creation and organization of the work team, we have previously mentioned the most important profiles and roles in the Scrum method, among which are the Product Owner, the Scrum Master and the developers.

Even so, we have to point out that, for the team to work correctly and achieve the goals established in each sprint, it is recommended that the team be small , of no more than 9 people who offer transversal skills (for example, analysis , development, documentation among others).

Conclusion

To conclude with today's article, we want to point out that implementing an agile methodology such as Kanban or SCRUM allows us to improve the results obtained by teams dedicated to software development.

The benefits offered by these methodologies are several, such as increased productivity, time management, better adaptability to changes, so effectiveness and efficiency are the pillars of agile work methods.

So what are you waiting for. If you want your work team to present quality products, in less time and satisfying the needs of companies , agile methodologies are the way to organize the ideal work for you.