12 Fundamentals OF AGILE MANIFESTO
As we have already well known the proverb that “necessity is the mother of invention” and here also this proverb came true when the founding fathers of agile came up with a manifesto that was based on 4 values and 12 principles. It was discovered in order when a new course of action was needed to make an organization more receptive, flexible, and more versatile. The agile manifesto was prepared in 2001. This manifesto is a document that lays down all the principles and values based on an agile framework. And today we are discussing the 12 principles of agile that give guidelines to an agile team and these are as follow-
#1 Consumer satisfaction- This is the first and foremost principle of agile, as consumer satisfaction is the key factor for every business, even from outside the business. Satisfying customers on a regular basis increases the chance to get more customer demand and consequently more ROI.
#2 Positive attitude toward emerging requirements which helps for competitive advantage- As the business is uncertain and any requirements can fall anytime, this should not be treated as a grain of salt even teams must have a positive attitude toward the challenges they face. Even challenges hide an opportunity to let the team grow differently.
# 3 Build the work incrementally in short time-boxes-This principle of agile states that there should be continuity and regularity in a project by building it in small time-boxes of a couple of weeks to couple of months so that the change by your business doesn’t impact. As it will not only build the trustworthy organization beside, this will add to customer value also.
# 4 Stakeholders must be involved in all stages- As the agile manifesto says that all stakeholders must be involved in all proceedings so that they can have a continuous eye on their internal business actions and can be able to get regular feedback within the time.
# 5 Provides an encouraging and motivating environment-This principle lays down that by giving an encouraging and motivational environment to the team they will be able to show their full potential with the sentiments of belongingness.
# 6 Always try to hold face to face communication- As sometimes information gets distorted while transferring through different mediums whether it is over the internet or get the information handed through to any other person it may lead to misunderstanding or misinterpretation so always try to communicate face to face so that information can be correctly given.
# 7 Working software is a key measure- This principle is quite straightforward in its meaning as working software means shipping the complete product that is well tested, integrated, and is in complete accordance with the customers’ needs as if the work is not meeting customer needs then it is just a waste of time.
# 8 Focuses on sustainable development constantly-This principle clearly states that agile development should take place but without overburdening the team and keeping the team’s efficiency for the future. An agile process should promote sustainable development so that work efficiency increases constantly.
# 9 Technical and product quality enhances agility-This principle states that the agile team should focus on technical excellence as well as on building a high quality of products. A team should be multiskilled for overall progress.
# 10 Simplify everything- If a course of action can be completed simply without much chaos then why waste your time on doing it spirally. Simply doing things sometimes increases efficiency along with work done on time. Business needs to learn the 80-20 rule and look at what is not needed to be done over what is needed to be done.
# 11 Self-organizing team that works more efficiently and effectively- Pushing forward your team on a regular basis is just forcing them to do the work which does not result in the long term but only average in short. For agile you should have a self-organizing team that can work in full power.
# 12 Follow up for continuous improvement- This Principle only focuses on creating a separate room for improvement as this says the team should learn from its past mistakes and undertake improvements on that basis.
So, we discussed the above 12 principles of agile, anyone who wants to learn-agile must be familiar with these principles first. Please refer to the website https://agilemanifesto.org/ for looking at 4 values and 12 principles of agile.
