^ [[The PM2-Agile Guide v3.0.1]] # 2 About Agile Agile is an approach described by a set of principles and values that focuses on *delivering valuable solutions*. It promotes adaptive planning, evolutionary development, early delivery, continuous improvement and encourages rapid and flexible response to change. Agile appreciates the inherent uncertainty of the project environment and creates an organisation that is highly adaptive by using *short feedback loops* to quickly respond to changes in product requirements. It aims to constantly improve and streamline all project processes. Key characteristics of Agile: - Focus on *delivering value early and frequently*. - *Decisions are based on what is known*. - Close **collaboration** between all parties involved. - Continuous **stakeholder involvement** at all levels. - Plans are created with the **involvement of team members**. - *Incremental development* with short cycles. - Scope management by *continuous (re)prioritisation of the Work Items*. - *Embracing change, continuous learning and improvement*. - **Just enough documentation** and control. Agile has its own roots but has been significantly influenced by the **philosophy of Lean**. The main principles of Lean are the **transparency** of the value stream and the **reduction of waste**. Lean identifies the following ==seven types of waste==: 1. **Inventory** – unfinished goods (also called as "work in progress" - WIP). 2. **Overproduction** – producing more than demand requires. 3. **Extra processing** – additional steps in the process that are not really needed. 4. **Transportation** – shipping goods from one place to another. 5. **Waiting** – lag between process steps. 6. **Motion** – moving around within the process. 7. **Defects** – flaws in the deliverables that impact their features/functionality. **Agile approaches address these forms of waste** in various ways. For example, **work in progress** (waste type 1) is reduced by having the right **granularity of Work Items** and by **minimising dependencies**. They go hand-in-hand, and together they ensure that to complete one piece of work, no other parallel work is needed.. **Overproduction** (waste type 2) can be due to extra features. This source of waste can be kept in check by having a **well-prioritised Work Items List**, interacting with the clients throughout the project lifecycle, and **involving all team members in planning**. Another form of overproduction happens when, at the end of any cycle, there is ==more product ready to be shipped than what can be effectively tested==. This is minimised in Agile by the **short feedback loop** in the planning process, and having cross-functional teams and a **transparent value stream**. Overproduction is only one cause of process bottlenecks, and there are Agile techniques to help minimise these bottlenecks. **Non-value-added activities (waste type 3) and hand-offs (waste type 4) are minimised by introducing self- organising teams, cross-functional, collocated teams**. This structure results in the emergence of effective, ==efficient and stable methods of working==. **Waiting** (waste type 5) and the **frequent switching of tasks** (waste type 6) are reduced by **limiting the work in progress**, **delivering early and frequently**, and ensuring clear priorities and an understanding of each work item. **Defects** (waste type 7) are reduced by ensuring **quality in the development process** as opposed to investing in detection and correction activities. Apart from the overall Agile organisation work contributing to this, there are specific techniques like **Test-Driven Development** and **pair programming** which help to lower the defect rate. Reducing waste is only the first principle of Lean. All the others are also shared by Agile. However, ==although Agile is heavily influenced by Lean, it has its distinct features. For example, evolutionary development, cross-functional teams and the approach to internal and client collaboration are specific to Agile practices.== These practices are based on the Agile values and principles described in section 2.1. Agile promises higher chances of project and product success, higher employee and service provider engagement while resulting in software systems that provide a better user experience owing to the deeper involvement of stakeholders and way of accommodating their evolving needs. Currently there are **about a dozen Agile methods and many hybrids**. Some of them have enjoyed serious take-up and media popularity. That has created a **hype** which has also proliferated many **misconceptions**. It is therefore **important to clarify the Agile values and principles**, and this clarification should guide the adoption of PM2-Agile over the currently popular practices and techniques. `>` [[2.1 Agile Values]]