6 Benefits of Using the Agile Methodology

The popularity of agile training programs is growing rapidly among individuals. This is mainly due to the incredible advantages offered by leveraging agile framework methodology. The agile methodology is a specific software development approach (iterative) that includes the key elements of continuous planning, managing, testing, integration, deploying and other forms of continuous development.

This use of Agile Methodology is especially important in today’s VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) Environment.

Here are the benefits of using the agile methodology as an iterative approach to software development and project management. Although agile methodology was first adopted in the software development the principles can be applied by non-IT departments also which allows enterprises to achieve ‘Business Agility’. So the below benefits are applicable to any team trying to develop a product for their customer, where customers can be internal or external to an organization.

1. Improved client satisfaction

• The agile methodology ensures complete transparency, smooth and clear communication between client and vendor, and reduced time-to-market.
• Unlike a traditional approach, where a client is involved only during the planning stage, the agile methodology involves the inclusion of a client in the loop at every stage of the software development cycle.
• Keeping the client involved at every stage means changes can be made at that very moment based on the feedback rather than carrying out the changes at the end.
• Agile ensures that the final product is delivered according to the requirements of the client.
• The agile approach to software development is all about increasing client satisfaction by delivering value for the final products.

2. Higher flexibility

• Most organizations prefer to hire individuals who have completed agile training and certification courses.
• Implementation of agile by a product development team offers greater flexibility.
• In agile, the teams involved in product development, work in short bursts (Iterations or sprints) that consist of active involvement of the product owner and regular business stakeholder feedback.
• This offers higher flexibility and allows teams to implement changes within a short time.
• Constant and clear communication between all the parties makes it possible to change priorities in the product backlog.
• In an agile environment, changes made to the product backlog are not much more time-consuming and expensive compared to a traditional waterfall project management environment.
• Due to the higher flexibility offered for projects, companies try to implement the agile methodology by asking employees to upskill through the agile training programs.

3. Focus on the end-users

• One of the major advantages of the agile methodology is that it puts a complete focus on the products’ end-users to deliver value to them.
• The main focus in the agile methodology is delivering unparalleled quality and value for the end-user and completing the product within the set parameters of time and cost with only scope being variable (Inverse Iron Triangle).

4. Use of more key metrics

• The agile development teams working on a project use more relevant metrics compared to the traditional waterfall project management approach. These act as leading indicators as opposed to relying on lagging indicators.
• Some of the metrics used by them include cycle time, cost and time estimation for project completion, project performance, and others.
• The main benefit of using many key metrics is to produce better results and optimize performance.
• Reports generated using various key metrics in agile help development teams measure performance, identify any challenges or hindrances, and use data generated based on the metrics to make the right decisions.

5. Risk reduction

• In a traditional waterfall project management setting, the requirements of clients are only collected at the beginning of the project, without any regular feedback from their end.
• Agile is also known as a risk-reducing or risk-controlled methodology since any changes in the product are discussed after the successful completion of every sprint. Agile teams are quick to respond to the changes suggested by the client.
• This means that the chances of failure of the entire project are very small.
• The combination of working in small sprints and continuous delivery by the agile team ensures that a project where agile methodology is applied will never fail.
• Even if a particular approach does not go along expected lines, it can always be used in the future.

6. Enhanced quality and testing

• The product quality using an agile approach is enhanced by dividing a large, complex project into small manageable units.
• In the agile methodology, testing is performed after the completion of one sprint, i.e., after developing one feature or a set of features.
• The project managers, development teams, and clients are all on the same page in the entire software development cycle.
• Since the client is aware of all the development and how the product appears at every stage, any changes can be made instantly without wasting any time towards the end.
• Also, the feedback and collaboration settings enable development teams to identify and get rid of bugs by optimizing the code quickly at each stage rather than towards the end of the project.
• All these helps to improve the overall quality of the product in real-time.

Do you know?

• By adopting the agile methodology, Swisscom Entertainment Projects brought a new television platform to the market in 18 months. Achieving this usually takes about 36 months.
• Through an agile mindset, the commit-to-accept ratio at Intel improved from 74 to 90+.

If you are an organization looking for Agile training and certification courses for your product development team, or an individual who is looking to enroll in an agile online training program, AgilityPAD is the perfect place for you.

AgilityPAD has a range of agile training programs for you to choose from and experts who will help in your entire agile transformation journey/career. So get in touch today at contact@agilitypad.com

The courses suggested for Agile Product Development Teams are:

Leading SAFe® (SA)

SAFe® Product Owner / Product Manager (POPM)

SAFe® Scrum Master (SSM)

SAFe® Agile Product Management (APM)