Adaptive Development Model is an iterative approach to software development that emphasizes adapting to changing requirements and emerging risks throughout a project. It stands in contrast to traditional waterfall development, which locks in requirements upfront and follows a linear sequence of phases.
The Core Tenets of the Adaptive Development Model
- Regular inspection and adaptation
- Incremental delivery of working software
- Tight stakeholder collaboration and feedback loops
- Embracing, rather than resisting, change
- Focus on rapid value delivery over predicting distant needs
Why the Adaptive Development Model is important to business consultants
The Adaptive Development Model is valuable for business consultants to understand because many clients are moving toward this agile approach over traditional waterfall methods. The ability to guide clients in adopting Adaptive practices can position a consultant as knowledgeable about modern software trends.
Specifically, Adaptive Development enables consultants to help clients respond to today’s dynamic business environments. It provides earlier visibility into a project’s progress and allows redirecting effort based on emerging needs. This reduces the risk of wasted time from mismatched solutions. Consultants can coach clients on tapping customer feedback to align work with what delivers the most value. With its emphasis on transparency and inspection, Adaptive Development gives consultants more opportunities to provide meaningful input.
Example of Adaptive Development Model in Use
- A startup needed an MVP fast but wasn’t sure what features to prioritize. They used Adaptive Development to focus on building the core workflow first and solicited customer feedback after each iteration to adapt the product.
- A marketing team needed a better way to create and manage their campaign assets. They took an Adaptive approach to develop the system in phases, delivering working software each sprint. This allowed them to incorporate new needs like automation.
- When building a new booking platform, a travel company worked in Adaptive sprints to continuously integrate feedback from both customers and internal agents. Features were re-prioritized repeatedly to ensure a user-friendly experience.
Adaptive Development Model Synonyms
- Agile development
- A commonly used umbrella term for iterative, adaptive approaches to software development.
- Lean development
- Focuses on optimizing value and minimizing waste when building software adaptively.
- Iterative and incremental development
- Development cycles that repeat with growing capabilities.
- Timeboxing
- Developing software in short, fixed-length cycles.
Adaptive Development Model Antonyms
- Waterfall development
- Linear sequential phases with distinct handoffs.
- Big design up front (BDUF)
- Detailed design completed before building begins.
- Taylorism
- Optimizing repetitive tasks for consistent output.
- Plan-driven development
- Heavy focus on comprehensive planning and documentation.
Other Closely-Related Terms
- Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
- Releasing a basic product to get market feedback for iterating.
- Retrospective
- A review of what went well and what needs improving after a sprint.
- Stand-up
- Short daily team meetings to share progress and impediments.
- Velocity
- The amount of work a team can handle per sprint.
