Agile Development Progression is a framework that outlines the stages an organization goes through on its journey to adopt agile methodologies and mindsets. It provides a roadmap for incrementally implementing agile practices, starting from basic project management techniques and moving towards advanced agile frameworks like Scrum and Kanban.
The Core Tenets of Agile Development Progression
- Iterative development
- Early and continuous delivery
- Adaptive planning
- Flexible response to change
- Continuous improvement
Why Agile Development Progression is Important to Business Consultants
Agile Development Progression provides business consultants with a structured approach for guiding clients through an agile transformation. Rather than attempting to overhaul processes and practices all at once, the progression model allows for gradual, incremental changes that are more easily adopted by team members. Consultants can use the framework to assess a client’s current agile maturity level and map out a customized roadmap to reach higher levels over time. Key benefits for consultants include:
- Provides a clear methodology for agile transformations
- Allows for flexibility based on client needs and culture
- Reduces risk of failed or stalled agile adoption
- Sets realistic milestones and measures for success
- Enables efficient benchmarking across clients and industries
Overall, Agile Development Progression gives consultants a proven tool for ensuring agile initiatives deliver strong business value and sustainable results.
Example of Agile Development Progression in Use
Introducing Iterative Development
A media company was struggling with long production timelines and delayed product launches. The consultant introduced iterations for software projects, having the team deliver working functionality every 2 weeks rather than waiting months. This enabled faster feedback and continuous improvements.
Establishing Daily Standups
A services firm had challenges with communication and accountability across its technology teams. The consultant helped institute daily 15-minute standup meetings for each team to report on work status. This increased transparency and collaboration.
Adopting Story-Point Estimation
A finance firm wanted to move from time-based to value-based estimating. The consultant guided the switch to story points for measuring backlogs based on effort/complexity rather than hours. This improved velocity forecasting and capacity planning.
Agile Development Progression Synonyms
- Agile Maturity Model
- Agile Adoption Framework
- Evolutionary Agile Delivery
The Agile Maturity Model is a specific methodology for assessing an organization’s agile capabilities and growth. The Agile Adoption Framework provides guidance on change management strategies for agile. Evolutionary Agile Delivery emphasizes incremental improvements through rapid iterations.
Agile Development Progression Antonyms
- Waterfall Development
- Big Bang Implementation
- Unstructured Agile Adoption
Waterfall Development is the traditional sequential software methodology opposed to agile’s iterative approach. Big Bang Implementation attempts overly rapid, sweeping changes rather than incremental progress. Unstructured Agile Adoption lacks the step-by-step guidance provided by the Progression framework.
Other Closely-Related Terms
- Agile Values
- Lean Software Development
- DevOps
Agile Values reflect the core principles like collaboration and responding to change that underpin all agile methodologies. Lean Software Development focuses on optimizing efficiency in the development process. DevOps integrates development and IT teams to enable continuous delivery and deployment.
