What is Agile Methodology?

Agile methodology is a product management and development framework that breaks the project into multiple phases. Originating from software development, agile focuses on small, incremental updates rather than a single, large release. Such an iterative process enables continuous improvement, quick responses, and frequent reassessment of progress. 

Besides adaptability, agile methodology also focuses on empowering teams to collaborate closely with customers and continuously refine the product — making it more suitable for complex, ever-evolving markets.

What are the four pillars of agile methodology?

Agile is guided by four core principles that serve as the foundation of its philosophy, defined in the Agile Manifesto founded in 2001.

• Individuals and Interactions Over Processes and Tools — Agile values the people behind the process. While tools and frameworks are important, they serve to facilitate communication and collaboration between team members. The emphasis is on effective teamwork, mutual understanding, and problem-solving. 

• Working Software Over Comprehensive Documentation — The primary measure of progress is functional software (or product). Such methodology reduces the reliance on extensive documentation, focusing instead on delivering a working product that can be evaluated and iterated upon. However, documentation is not entirely discarded—it’s just not the primary goal.

• Customer Collaboration Over Contract Negotiation — Agile prioritizes ongoing collaboration with the customer throughout the project’s lifecycle Rather than sticking rigidly to predefined contractual terms, Agile encourages teams to maintain an open dialogue with stakeholders to ensure the product meets their evolving needs.

• Responding to Change Over Following a Plan — Such framework accepts that change is inevitable, encouraging teams to be adaptive and flexible rather than adhere strictly to a fixed plan. Agile recognizes that new insights and requirements often emerge during a project. 

Five Types of Agile Methodology

Agile methodology focuses on organizing projects using the beliefs and ideas in the Agile Manifesto. However, there is not a single right way to implement agile. Below are the five types of agile methodology that teams can use:

• Scrum — Known as one of the most popular agile methodologies, scrum emphasizes an efficient and collaborative approach to executing tasks. It breaks down a project into small, iterative cycles called sprints, typically lasting two to four weeks, and managing one sprint at a time. This methodology also dictates the need to assign a leader to spearhead the projects through a series of sprints.

• Kanban — This is a visual project management method enabling teams to track the progress of current and upcoming tasks. Kanban is ideal for workplaces that execute tasks of varying sizes and frequently changing product requirements. It is not as straightforward as scrum, therefore it is not suitable for inexperienced agile teams. 

• Lean — Derived from Lean manufacturing, such methodology focuses on eliminating waste, improving efficiency, and delivering value to the customer as fast as possible. Lean also focuses on streamlining processes by removing unnecessary steps or reducing the time it takes to go from concept to delivery.

• Extreme Programming (XP) — This technical methodology is designed for agile software development, focusing on continuous development and delivery to the customer, and utilizes intervals or sprints, similar to Scrum. XP features 12 processes tailored to ensure effective software development:

1. 1. • Planning game
      • Simple design
      • Pair programming
      • Test-driven development
      • Small releases
      • Customer acceptance tests
      • Refactoring
      • Coding standards
      • Collective code ownership
      • Continuous integration
      • Sustainable pace
      • Metaphor

• Crystal — This methodology was invented by Alistair Cockburn, one of the monumental persons in formulating the Agile Manifesto. Crystal is a family of smaller agile methodologies representing various project sizes, including (1) Crystal Clear for small projects, (2) Crystal Yellow for small to medium, (3) Crystal Orange for medium projects, (4) Crystal Red for medium to large, (5) Crystal Maroon for large projects, and (6) Crystal Diamond for much bigger projects with high criticality. Selecting which to use depends on team size, project importance, and/or priorities. 

Adopting Agile Methodology in the Boardroom

Although originated in the software industry, the principles of Agile are being increasingly adopted in other industries, including corporate governance and boardroom decision-making. Boards adopting Agile methodologies can benefit from the framework’s ability to respond quickly to stakeholder demands, market changes, or economic shifts. Agile boards frequently reassess their priorities based on emerging data, also for informed and timely decisions.