As we are moving towards a faster, secure world surrounded by technology, our needs are also changing. Likewise, customers' requirements change rapidly in order to keep the users hooked. However, agile software development meets these requirements through an iterative approach to technology design and development. Agile methods provide an otherwise fluid and flexible technology structure for getting functional products out of the door.
What is Agile software development?
The development teams work in sprints in the agile software development process. These teams work in sprints that typically last one to three weeks instead of delivering the finished product after the development life cycle. The team will work together to provide feedback on the work in progress during these sprints. This consistent communication allows teams to adapt to changing business and user needs, resulting in higher quality software solutions.
Agile software development methods consist of six phases called agile phases. Let's take a look at each.
Concept: Stage 1 of Agile Software Development Lifecycle
This step determines the scope of your project. The project manager prioritizes when there are many of the most important tasks. The product owner then meets with the customer to discuss key needs and create a document outlining them, including project features and expected outcomes.
In the concept phase, product owners also estimate the duration and cost of future projects. This detailed investigation will help you determine if your project is viable before you start working on it. Keep your requirements as simple as possible at this stage, as they usually extend later.
Inception: Stage 2 of Agile Software Development Lifecycle
After defining the concept, it's time to form a software development team
The product owner checks the availability of colleagues, selects the right people for the project, and provides them with the tools and resources they need. Then the design process can be started and implemented as well.
The team is currently designing a mockup of the user interface and defining the project architecture. During the deployment phase, you need to get more feedback from your stakeholders to use diagrams to materialize your requirements and identify product features. Regular check-in takes into account all requirements during the design phase.
Iteration: Stage 3 of Agile Software Development Lifecycle
Next is the iterative phase, often referred to as the build phase. This is usually the longest phase, as most development work is done in this phase. Developers work with UX designers to combine all product standards with consumer feedback before completing a design.
At the end of the first iteration or sprint, the goal is to build the basic functionality of the product. Subsequent editions may then contain additional features and changes. This phase is very important for agile software development because it allows developers to quickly create actionable software and tailor it to the needs of their customers.
Release: Stage 4 of Agile Software Development Lifecycle
At this stage, the product is about to be released. Now the quality assurance team needs to run some tests to make sure the software is fully functional. First, allow team members to test the system and publish the code. Most importantly, if a tester finds potential bugs, the developer should investigate them as soon as possible.
This phase also includes user training that requires more documentation. When all this is done, the final iteration of the product goes into production.
Maintenance: Stage 5 of Agile Software Development Lifecycle
During this part of the process, the software development teams will provide ongoing support to the build software and ensure that your system is functioning properly and also that new bugs have been fixed. The team will also continue to train users to ensure they are comfortable with the product. Over time, developers can create new iterations to update their products with more features.
Retirement: Stage 6 of Agile Software Development Lifecycle
The product is being phased out for two reasons.
-
New software replaces the product.
-
The system is out of date or incompatible with the organization over time. At this stage, the software development team first notifies users who are discontinuing the software. Then, when the company finds a replacement, the user switches to the new system. Eventually, the developer completes the unresolved end-of-life task and discontinues support for existing products.
At each stage of the agile software development life cycle, there are multiple iterations to improve results and achieve superior results. Here's how this iterative workflow works:
The Agile iteration workflow
Agile iterations usually take 2-4 weeks with a deadline. The agile iterative workflow includes of five steps:
• Planning requirements • Develop a product • Software testing • Providing iterations • Include feedback
These iterations are basically incremental cycles within the larger life cycle of agile software development.
Agile life cycles are an important structural model for software development teams and can get you on track from conception to retirement. Team members need access to the appropriate resources and tools, including the agile project management platform, to support all activities in the agile phase.
Conclusion
Agile's greatest strength is its ability to grow throughout the development process. As a result, at the end of the agile cycle, we can offer very good software products.
There are no strict rules. The above agile software development lifecycle is not fixed and can be customized to suit the needs of your project or organization.
Implementing agile techniques can be difficult for some companies, especially if they have tight schedules and budgets. These challenges are why consistent communication and collaboration are important at all levels of the agile lifecycle.
Most importantly, a great team of software developers is needed to implement agile techniques quickly. Optymize helps build this software engineering team.