{"id":9940,"date":"2025-05-22T18:01:43","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T11:01:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestarion.com\/us\/?p=9940"},"modified":"2025-07-24T18:18:38","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T11:18:38","slug":"agile-methodology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestarion.com\/us\/agile-methodology\/","title":{"rendered":"Agile methodology: Definition, Phases and Types"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Agile methodology<\/strong> is a flexible and iterative approach to software development that focuses on delivering high-quality products through continuous planning, collaboration, and customer feedback. It transforms ideas and requirements into working software by breaking the development process into smaller, manageable units known as iterations<\/strong> or sprints<\/strong>.<\/p>\n At the core of Agile is a commitment to responding to change<\/strong>, engaging stakeholders, and delivering value early and often. The process begins with customers clearly defining the product\u2019s goals and the problems it aims to solve. This early engagement helps development teams fully understand and align with customer expectations.<\/p>\n Agile teams<\/a> then plan, develop, test, and review in short cycles, allowing for regular feedback and continuous improvement. Because the process is incremental<\/strong>, teams can quickly identify and fix errors during development\u2014rather than waiting until the end of the project. This results in a final product that is more closely aligned with user needs and business goals.<\/p>\n Agile\u2019s team-based model supports adaptability, encourages cross-functional collaboration, and promotes fast delivery of usable software, making it a preferred methodology for dynamic, fast-paced projects.<\/p>\n The foundation of Agile lies in the Agile Manifesto<\/strong><\/a>, which outlines four core values:<\/span><\/p>\n Individuals and interactions<\/strong> over processes and tools<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Working software<\/strong> over comprehensive documentation<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Customer collaboration<\/strong> over contract negotiation<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Responding to change<\/strong> over following a plan<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n These values are supported by 12 guiding principles that promote continuous delivery, stakeholder engagement, and adaptability.<\/span><\/p>\n The Agile Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) is a structured yet flexible framework that guides the development of software products using Agile principles. Unlike traditional models (like the Waterfall model), the Agile SDLC emphasizes iterative development, continuous feedback, and customer collaboration, enabling teams to deliver high-quality software faster and more efficiently.<\/p>\n The Agile SDLC typically consists of six to eight iterative stages, often referred to as sprints. Here\u2019s a breakdown of each phase:<\/p>\n The Agile process starts by defining the project scope and identifying the most valuable business opportunities. In this phase, product owners, stakeholders, and development teams come together to:<\/p>\n Brainstorm potential projects and product ideas<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Estimate the cost, time, and resources needed for each project<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Prioritize the product backlog based on business value and feasibility<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n This early planning ensures that only viable and high-impact tasks move forward into development.<\/p>\n Read more: Agile Planning: A Beginner\u2019s Guide To Planning Projects<\/a><\/p>\n Once the scope is defined, the next step is to build the right team and plan the initial work. In this phase, you will:<\/p>\n Define team roles and responsibilities<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Identify the initial requirements provided by the customer<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Create diagrams or workflow models outlining the expected outcomes for each sprint<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Set up the development environment and tools required for collaboration<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n This phase lays the foundation for a successful Agile project by ensuring alignment and clarity across all stakeholders.<\/p>\n This is where the core Agile work happens\u2014iterative development in short, time-boxed cycles called sprints<\/strong> (typically 1\u20134 weeks). Each sprint includes:<\/p>\n Requirements Gathering:<\/strong> Refine and validate features from the product backlog based on stakeholder feedback<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Design and Development:<\/strong> Build features and functionalities according to user stories<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Testing:<\/strong> Conduct quality assurance (QA), including automated and manual testing, to ensure functionality<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Delivery:<\/strong> Deploy a working increment of the product<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Feedback Collection:<\/strong> Review with users and stakeholders to guide the next sprint<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n This repeatable cycle supports fast feedback loops and ensures that the product evolves based on real-time insights.<\/p>\n After several successful iterations, your team prepares for the final product release. Key activities during this phase include:<\/p>\n Final testing and bug fixing<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Performance checks and security reviews<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Preparation of user documentation and manuals<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Final deployment into a production environment<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n The goal is to ensure that the product is stable, functional, and ready for end users.<\/p>\n At this point, the product is live<\/strong> and available to users. The focus shifts to:<\/p>\n Monitoring system performance<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Providing technical support and user assistance<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Collecting feedback for ongoing improvements<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Deploying minor updates or hotfixes as needed<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Maintaining a healthy production environment ensures a smooth user experience and high product reliability.<\/p>\n Eventually, every software system reaches the end of its life. In the retirement phase, the product is either:<\/p>\n Replaced by a new version or system<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Deprecated due to outdated technology or declining user demand<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n This phase includes:<\/p>\n Notifying users and stakeholders<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Migrating data, if needed<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Safely removing the system from production<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Proper handling of this phase protects data integrity and ensures a smooth transition for users.<\/p>\n Read more: <\/strong>Agile Software Development Outsourcing: The Key to Startup Growth and Innovation<\/a><\/p>\n Agile<\/b><\/a> is a mentality and a set of values and principles. Agile is a method of thinking and doing. Agile is concerned with short cycle times, incremental and iterative delivery, failing to quickly receive feedback, providing value to customers rapidly, and interacting and collaborating.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Agile is a philosophy that is focused on transparency, inspection and adaption. It doesn’t include the following: roles or events or objects. It’s a mentality. For instance, <\/span>Scrum<\/b> is one of the most widely-used frameworks within the Agile umbrella. While it can assist in your journey to becoming more Agile, numerous other frameworks are part of the Agile movement, including Kanban, XP, Crystal and many others:<\/span><\/p>\n  <\/p>\n Scrum<\/strong><\/a> is arguably the most widely adopted Agile framework. It structures work into fixed-length iterations known as sprints<\/strong>, typically lasting 2\u20134 weeks. Scrum teams are cross-functional<\/strong>, self-organizing, and collaborate to achieve defined goals through daily standups, sprint planning, sprint reviews, and retrospectives.<\/p>\n Key Elements of Scrum:<\/strong><\/p>\n Roles: Product Owner<\/a>, Scrum Master<\/a>, Development Team<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Artifacts: Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, Increment<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Events: Sprint, Sprint Planning<\/a>, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, Sprint Retrospective<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
<\/span>Agile Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC)<\/span><\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nWhat is Agile Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC)?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Key Phases of the Agile SDLC<\/h3>\n
1. Concept Phase<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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2. Inception Phase<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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3. Iteration \/ Increment Phase<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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4. Release Phase<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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5. Production Phase<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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6. Retirement Phase<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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<\/span>8 Popular Agile Frameworks<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
1. Scrum<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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