Sometimes a customer needs to develop products at a high pace with constantly changing requirements. In this case, the Agile methodology is suitable. In YuSMP Group, we practice this approach when developing products from scratch.
What is Agile and what is remarkable about this approach?
I will tell you about how we use Agile in the company, but first a couple of words about the approach itself.
Agile is a flexible approach in which the team releases the project in parts, rather than in its entirety after all the work is completed. This is not the only flexible methodology - there are also DSDM, Scrum, TDD, BDD, and others.
Agile is distinguished by the ability to introduce new ideas to the project and change requirements already in the course of product development. In contrast to strict planning, the flexible approach provides for the unknown in advance and builds it into the workflow. Agile in practice in the YuSMP Group
In Agile, as in any other approach, it is necessary to outline the scope of the project. This process is almost identical to the discovery phase I wrote about earlier.
Once we understand the processes in the future product, we move on to the stage of analytics design and development testing. With this approach, these processes go side by side, but some nuances should not be forgotten.
Requirements Processing
To calibrate the requirements, the designer creates clickable prototypes without color or detail. The client inspects the screens and gives feedback. This visual allows you to understand what the client wants from a particular feature. The overall concept of the project is formed, and the team does not spend time and effort on drawing and detailing.
Thus, with the help of black-and-white prototypes and user stories, the team together with the customer goes through most of the features. Then we proceed to the detailed drawing of the screens in color, fully prescribe the requirements of the SRS and again give the revue to the client.
Software development with Agile
When the stage of analytics and design is completed, we distinguish groups of two or three functions that are related to each other. They are approved, and we know for sure that we will not touch these features again. We pass such blocks to development and testing.
Note: this set of features should be thorough so that new features can not change the existing functionality.
For example.
There is a user in the system: all the processes related to registration, authorization, and password recovery are worked out immediately in the management of the admin panel and we try not to return to this feature anymore.
Most often, the processes of the analytics and design stages go in simultaneously, and development, on the contrary, starts with a delay. So the team responsible for the code will always have features to implement. In Agile, it is important to avoid downtime - when developers have no work to do.
Advantages and disadvantages of Agile
The main advantages of this approach are the high speed of development and rapid release of the product, as well as the flexibility of requirements. Agile is great when the customer needs to launch the MVP to the market in a short time. The work does not stop there: after the product has proven itself in the business, its details are changed to meet the needs of the market.
However, you can also find disadvantages in Agile. This approach requires a lot of customer engagement, and frequent feature changes increase the budget and delay the deadlines.
The YuSPM Group team has repeatedly used the Agile system in projects. We are already well aware of the weaknesses of this approach, and our specialists are able to work smoothly under any circumstances.
To find out if your project is suitable for Agile and how much it will cost, contact us. We are always open to communication and ready to answer any questions!