The era of software development is drastically changing at ground-breaking speeds. It is extremely important to keep up with the current trends, technologies and methodologies. A web development agency generally selects a process which fits in their personnel and resources. A statistic survey shows that 89% of the organizations have adopted agile methodology in 2017.
In the software development world, gone are those traditional ways of working. Today, Agile method or methodology is trending. This methodology focuses on continuous delivery in the world of web development.
This software development methodology is a very flexible method where the web developer works on small chunks of the project. In such a scenario, the client has access to multiple iterations of the project and he reviews the work at each stage. The changes are implemented constantly, and the client gives rapid feedback to the web developer.
Seeing the desire for instant gratification, the web development agency gets semantically structured outcome through the Agile method or methodology
Let’s discuss how agile methodology came into existence.
Evolution of Agile Methodology
Agile has seen its evolution right from the 1980s. At that point, the Agile method had two iterations in a project. The first iteration was creating a prototype while in the second iteration, based on the feedback received from the client, the product is developed. But agile was not taken much into consideration.
From 1984 onwards, many such approaches were published and implemented. To name a few of those methods:
· Rapid Iterative Production Prototyping (RIPP)
· Rapid Application Development (RAD)
· Extreme Programming (EP)
· Feature Driven Development (FDD) etc.
Finally, the Agile methodology was incorporated in 2001 in Utah by a group of software developers. It started with a trial and error method with frequent setbacks. But as time evolved, large experiments done with this methodology flourished.
With the buzz around this new methodology, web development agencies that were reluctant in adopting it, are now considering it seriously and are making it a standard approach.
Agile method or methodology has evolved into a life cycle which has benefited the web development agencies and the end users. It turns out to be the most efficient and reliable source of working style. The key was to do smarter and less work and deliver it sooner.
Let’s observe the lifecycle of the Agile methodology:
1. Understanding the client’s requirement
The project is initiated by gathering a part of the information about the project from the client. The initial requirements are identified, prioritized and the necessary resources are selected.
An estimate is calculated for the entire work. A demo is created or selected as to how the work will be demonstrated.
After this, the next step is sprint planning.
2. Sprint Planning
A sprint is nothing but a period during which the task is completed and ready for review.
83% conduct sprint planning prior to each sprint. To make it more target based on the end user, the web developer firstly decides the duration of the sprint. The shorter the sprint, the more flexible and frequent the working version becomes. Hence, the client’s feedback will be received on a regular basis. This helps in debugging the bugs and fixing every minor problem on time.
If the sprint duration is longer, the web developers get a thorough time for efficient output.
3. Designing the product
Now the designing of the website begins. The tasks are allocated to the respective developers. Once started, a track is kept on the tasks in the form of a board. The list of tasks moves from “To Do” list to “In Progress”.
The basics of agile marketing include speed and scale. Speed means the time taken to fix the customers problems. It is very important to the right things the right way. This, in turn, gives expertise, continuous delivery, domain knowledge, and faster feedback.
When a part of the website is ready, the next phase called “Testing” is done.
4. Testing
The web development agency is involved in content and navigation right from the beginning. The web developer entails the small delivery sets to the client. The client gives rapid feedback. The designs are tested simultaneously, and the results are demonstrated immediately.
5. Feedback and preparing for the next set of work
Once the feedback is received from the client at each stage, the results are discussed within the team. How the development process can be improved and what further steps can be taken, becomes the deciding factor for the next set of work.
Benefits of using Agile Methodology
1. Consumes Less time
As frequent feedbacks are received from the client, the bugs are fixed quickly, thereby completing the project on time.
2. Client satisfaction
Demonstrating each sprint of work to the client gives huge flexibility and visibility in the progress of their work.
3. Reduced Risks
Agile methodology eliminates the chances of complete project failure. It is a highly collaborative approach to work with the end user.
4. Increases business value
The web development takes special effort to understands what is important to the client’s business and deliver in the most valuable order.
5. Maintains transparency
Direct communication with the client creates a high level of transparency and makes work much simpler.
6. Adaptive approach
There is a regular adaption to changing circumstances and late changes suggested by the client are also proved successful.
There are many ways to accomplish a project. But Agile methodology proves to be the best and creates a win-win situation for clients and web developers. We are sure that the web development agency would come out with flying colors and the client would come out recreating their brand.
