If you Google the word “agile”, you will definitely run into an array of articles ranging from headlines exclaiming that “agility is the only way to success” to articles calling agile an “overhyped buzzword”.
Nevertheless, agile has become one of the most widely-used terms for entrepreneurs, startups and multinational companies alike. But what is agile and how can your business achieve it?
Background
Many people assume that the desire for agility in product design stems from the 21st century’s always-on-the-go culture. However, agile methodology dates back to the early 1990s, when companies realized that the traditional waterfall development model wasn’t efficient anymore. This period is also known as the “application development crisis” which led to a search for a new system that was flexible enough to allow continuous modification throughout the development process. By 2000, the practices that would be known as agile were introduced with the term “lightweight” processes.
Every player in the market could adapt it, and it was popular with startups, entrepreneurs, and angel investors. This popularity led to the birth of the Agile Manifesto in 2001.
Agile in practice
Agility by definition is not just the ability to move and think, but also to act quickly. Agile processes in Information Technology offers a flexible approach to development. While with the waterfall model each step has to follow the previous in order to successfully complete a project, Agile breaks up projects into phases. These “sprints” enable clients and developers to modify plans as needs arise in order to achieve the best possible results.
At IronRooster, we employ agile methodology to collaborate on a “Time and Material” (T&M) basis which allows clients to book resources for a specific period of time in order to optimize production.
Continuous development
The T&M model is a great facilitator of continuous development. We all know that software is never really “ready”; constant updates are necessary for it to be competitive. Continuous development consists of the following processes: continuous integration, continuous delivery, continuous deployment and continuous testing.
The combination of a T&M model with agile methodology, allows our development team to continuously and efficiently work on projects and optimize workflows and releases. IronRooster aims to help entrepreneurs and startups impress their angel investors with modern development methods. Let us show you how you can go agile!
