What is Agile and why It’s not a Methodology

Despite it is always explained in a complex, wrong and confused way, Agile is synonymous with simplicity. The methodology is a set of specific procedures and rules. Agile is related to agility and flexibility. So It’s easy to understand that It’s not exactly correct to define it a simple methodology.

Agile does not prescribe how to work. Agile does not list specific rules. Agile is a guidance (a process) on how choose the right methods and procedures to make the job easy and the work flow consistent. It helps to let the team understand how to think and how to interact to achieve agility.

Agile as a concept was born in the IT field in the mid-90s in contrast (better say evolution) to the heavyweight method. Today Agile can refer to a series of values as well as the project management frameworks for implementing them, including: Scrum, Kanban, Extreme programming (XP) and Adaptive project framework (APF).

Agile is a guidance on how choose the right methods and procedures to make the job easy and the work flow consistent.

Agile is a process for managing a project characterized by constant iteration and collaboration in order to more fully answer a customer’s need. Agile main characteristics are expressed as:

1- Understand the purpose of a project, the user’s needs and analyze the problems
2- The project is breaking up into several teams and stages (sprint)
3- Constant collaboration and iteration between the teams
4- Continuous testing and improving in each stage
5- Responding to change over following a plan
6- The project is delivered/launched

In a nutshell, Agile is explained I the picture below.