What is Agile methodology? (A beginner’s guide)

Scrum, Kanban, waterfall, Agile. 

There are many project management frameworks to choose from, but traditional methods like waterfall don’t always work well for software teams, where priorities and customer needs often shift. Agile methodology, on the other hand, breaks projects into smaller phases so teams can adapt as they go and keep improving. While Agile project management is popular in software development, teams across different industries also use it successfully. If you want to learn how Agile works and decide whether it fits your team’s approach, you’re in the right place.

What is the Agile methodology?

Agile methodology is a way of managing projects that breaks work into small, manageable cycles, commonly known as sprints. It’s an iterative process in which teams set goals for each sprint, then build, test, and review their work with stakeholders before moving to the next sprint. After every sprint, teams reflect and look back to see if anything could be improved. Regular feedback helps teams adapt to change, deliver results sooner, and better fulfil customer needs.

Agile concepts every team should know

• Agile: A project management approach that delivers high-quality work in small increments rather than in one final release.

• Sprint: A short work cycle, usually one to four weeks, where teams commit to completing specific tasks.

• Product backlog: A prioritized list of features, fixes, and tasks that guide what the team will work on next.

• Sprint backlog: The selected items from the product backlog that the team plans to finish during a sprint.

• Standup: A short daily meeting where team members share progress, plans, and roadblocks.

• Iteration: A repeated cycle of planning, building, testing, and reviewing work to improve outcomes.

• User story: A brief explanation of a feature from the end user's perspective, often used to define requirements.

• Epic: A large work item made up of multiple user stories that span several sprints.

• Velocity: A metric showing how much work a team completes in a sprint, often measured in story points.

• Burndown chart: A visual tool that tracks remaining work against the time left in a sprint or project.

• Work in progress (WIP): The tasks currently being worked on; limiting WIP helps prevent bottlenecks and delays.

What is the Agile Manifesto?

The Manifesto for Agile Software Development is a document that details the four values and 12 principles for Agile software development. It was published in February 2001 by 17 software developers who needed an alternative to the more linear product development process. It prioritizes people, working solutions, customer collaboration, and the ability to respond to change over rigid plans, heavy documentation, and strict processes. These values shape how Agile teams work, make decisions, and measure progress.

What are the 4 pillars of Agile?

As outlined in the Agile Manifesto, there are four main principles of Agile project management:

1. Individuals over processes and tools. Agile teams value team collaboration and teamwork over working independently and doing things "by the book.”

2. Working software over comprehensive documentation. The software that Agile teams develop should work. Additional work, like documentation, is not as important as developing good software.

3. Customer collaboration over contract negotiation. Customers are extremely important within the Agile methodology. Agile teams allow customers to guide where the software should go. Therefore, customer collaboration is more important than the finer details of contract negotiation.

4. Responding to change over following a plan. One of the major benefits of Agile project management is its flexibility. Agile enables teams to quickly shift strategies and workflows without derailing an entire project.

What are the 12 Agile principles?

If the four values of the Agile model are the weight-bearing pillars of a house, then the 12 Agile principles are the rooms you can build within that house. These principles can be easily adapted to your software development process. 

The 12 principles used in Agile methodology are:

1. Satisfy customers through early, continuous improvement and delivery. When customers receive new updates regularly, they're more likely to see the changes they want in the product. This leads to happier, more satisfied customers and more recurring revenue.

2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in the project. The Agile framework is all about adaptability. In iterative approaches like Agile, being inflexible causes more harm than good. 

3. Deliver value frequently. Similar to principle #1, continuous delivery of value to your customers or stakeholders often reduces churn. 

4. Break the silos of your projects. Cross-functional teams and collaboration are key Agile values. The goal is for people to break out of their individual projects and collaborate more frequently. 

5. Build projects around motivated individuals. Agile management works best when teams are committed and actively working to achieve a goal. 

6. The most effective way to communicate is face-to-face. If you’re working on a distributed team, spend time communicating face-to-face, like on Zoom calls or during daily stand-up meetings. 

7. Working software is the primary measure of progress. The ultimate goal of software development projects is a working product, and the Agile framework supports this by prioritizing functional software above all.

8. Maintain a sustainable working pace. Some aspects of Agile project management can be fast-paced, but it shouldn't be so fast that team members burn out. The goal is to maintain sustainability throughout the development process.

9. Continuous excellence enhances agility. If the team develops excellent code in one sprint, they can continue building on it the next. Continually creating great work allows teams to move faster in the future. 

10. Simplicity is essential. Sometimes the simplest solution is the best solution. Agile development aims to not overcomplicate things and find simple answers to complex problems. 

11. Self-organizing teams generate the most value. Similar to principle #5, proactive teams become valuable assets to the company as they strive to deliver continuous improvement

12. Regularly reflect and adjust your way of working to improve effectiveness. Retrospective meetings are a common Agile practice. It's a dedicated time for Agile teams to reflect on their performance and adapt their behaviors for the future.

What are the benefits of the Agile development methodology?

Agile project management offers advantages for projects where priorities and requirements often change. Unlike linear project management methods, Agile allows for ongoing iteration, making it ideal for application and software development where features change quickly.

Agile methods are adaptable

Agile development allows teams to adjust plans without disrupting the entire project. Unlike the waterfall model, the Agile process does not tie each phase strictly to the one before it, so changes won’t derail the overall project roadmap. This structure helps teams respond faster to shifting requirements and customer feedback.

Agile fosters collaborative teamwork

Agile methodology encourages direct communication among teams and aims to eliminate barriers between roles. It emphasizes face-to-face discussions and shared responsibility, thereby improving cooperation and reducing misunderstandings. Even with remote work and modern tools, Agile approaches continue to prioritize active communication to strengthen teamwork.

Agile methods focus on customer needs

Agile teams thrive on fast, continuous feedback. End users share what they need as the product develops, and teams update priorities accordingly. This feedback loop results in greater customer satisfaction because improvements are based on actual test-driven development rather than assumptions.

8 types of Agile methodologies

The Agile framework is an umbrella for several different variations. Here are eight of the most common Agile methodologies. 

1. Kanban

Kanban is a visual approach to Agile. Teams use online Kanban boards to show work in progress as tasks move through each stage of development. Tasks appear as cards on a board, with stages shown as columns, and team members move each card from the backlog to the column corresponding to its current stage. Kanban is a helpful strategy for identifying roadblocks and tracking the amount of work being completed.

2. Scrum

Scrum is a popular Agile methodology used by small teams and also involves sprints. The team is led by a Scrum master whose primary role is to remove obstacles so team members can focus on their daily tasks. Scrum teams hold daily meetings to discuss ongoing tasks, roadblocks, and other issues that might impact the development process.

• Sprint planning: This event kicks off the sprint. Sprint planning outlines what can be delivered in a sprint (and how).

• Sprint retrospective: This recurring meeting is a sprint review to iterate on learnings from a previous sprint and improve and streamline the next one. 

3. Extreme Programming (XP)

Extreme Programming (XP) is an Agile framework used in software development that emphasizes team values to improve collaboration. Its five core values—communication, simplicity, feedback, courage, and respect—guide how developers interact and make decisions throughout the project. Like daily Scrum standups, XP involves frequent releases and iterations. It takes a more technical approach that focuses on how work gets done, so development teams can respond quickly to customer needs.

4. Adaptive Project Framework (APF)

The Adaptive Project Framework acknowledges that unknown factors can emerge at any stage of a project, making it well-suited for IT projects where traditional methods are inadequate. Instead of assuming stable conditions, APF recognizes that budgets, timelines, and team composition may change and modifies plans accordingly. This approach emphasizes utilizing the resources a project currently has rather than what it initially planned to need.

5. Extreme Project Management (XPM)

Extreme Project Management is designed for complex projects with high levels of uncertainty, where change is continuous and fixed plans rarely succeed. Teams continuously adjust their methods, switching strategies as needed and using trial-and-error until they achieve the desired results. Since flexibility is crucial, sprints are brief and iterative, allowing teams to revisit decisions, test ideas, and self-correct throughout the process.

6. Adaptive Software Development (ASD)

Adaptive Software Development is an Agile approach designed for teams that need to adjust their plans as requirements shift. Instead of following a fixed project roadmap, ASD cycles through three overlapping phases—speculate, collaborate, and learn—which can occur simultaneously. This structure encourages constant experimentation, continuous learning, and quick problem-solving. These qualities help teams identify issues sooner and adapt more efficiently than with traditional project management methods.

7. Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)

The Dynamic Systems Development Method is an Agile method that focuses on a full project lifecycle. Because of this, DSDM has a more rigorous structure and foundation, unlike other Agile methods. 

There are four main phases of DSDM:

• Feasibility and business study

• Functional mode or prototype iteration

• Design and build iteration

• Implementation

8. Feature Driven Development (FDD)

Feature Driven Development combines Agile best practices with an emphasis on building and delivering specific software features. This iterative approach relies on customer input to decide which features to prioritize, keeping development aligned with real needs and expectations. Because teams update the project frequently, they can identify errors quickly and implement fixes without slowing the project’s progress.

Organize Agile processes with Asana

You’ll often hear software development teams refer to the Agile process—but any team can run Agile. If you’re looking for a more flexible project management framework, try Agile. 

FAQs: Agile methodology meaning and best practices