In today’s fast-paced business environment, quick adaption to changing request demands, client requirements, and new technologies is essential. This is where the Agile methodology comes in. Agile is a flexible and iterative approach to software development that prioritizes collaboration, rapid prototyping, and nonstop improvement. The Agile Software Development Lifecycle is a set of stages a product must undergo as it moves through the Agile development process.
This companion provides an in-depth overview of the Agile development phase and describes each process stage. Rather than delivering a final product at the end of the lifecycle, teams work in small intervals called sprints, which are generally one to three weeks. During sprints, teams unite and give feedback on work in progress. Through regular communication, teams adapt to changing business and user requirements. Communication also leads to the delivery of quality software products.
In this detailed guide, we’ll discuss how the Agile mindset helps us deliver tech-forward mobile development services while ensuring faster time to market. We’ll also cover different phases of the agile software development life cycle.
What is a life cycle in Agile?
An agile software development lifecycle is a structured sequence of stages a product goes through as it moves from start to finish. It includes six phases: conception, implementation, iteration, release, maintenance, and retirement.
The agile lifecycle varies slightly depending on the team’s project management method. For example, Scrum teams work in short periods called sprints, like iterations. They also have clearly defined roles, such as Scrum master. On the other hand, Kanban teams are continuous and have no required roles. Another example is extreme programming, where teams work in shorter iterations and focus more on design practices.
In spite of this, the primary objective of all software development teams is to ensure that users receive functional software on time.
The six phases of the Agile life cycle
As stated, the agile software development lifecycle consists of six phases. Let’s examine each of these flexible steps in more detail.
1. Concept
First is the concept phase. Here, the product owner defines the scope of the project. If there are several projects, they prioritize the most important ones. The Product Owner discusses the key requirements with the customer and creates documents to describe them, including supported features and deliverables. Keep requirements as low as possible, as they can be added later. In the concept phase, the product owner also estimates the time and costs of potential projects. This detailed analysis helps them decide if the project is feasible before starting work.
2. Inception
Once the concept is laid out, it’s time to build a software team. The Product Owner checks the availability of his colleagues and selects the best people for the project, acquiring the necessary tools and resources. After that, they can start the design process. The team creates a user interface model and builds the project architecture. In the initial phase, stakeholders provide additional inputs to meet the diagram’s requirements and define the product’s functionality.
3. Iteration
Next is the iteration phase, also called construction. This is the longest stage because most of the work is done here. Developers work with UX designers to combine all product requirements and customer feedback, turning design into code. The goal is to create a bare product function by the end of the first iteration or sprint. Additional features and improvements may be added in later iterations. This step is the cornerstone of agile software development, which enables developers to create software that runs quickly and improves customer satisfaction.
4. Release
The product is almost ready for release. But first, the QA team needs to run some tests to ensure the software is fully functional. These skilled team members test the system to ensure the code is clean. If bugs or errors are found, the developers will fix them immediately. This phase also includes user training that requires more documentation. When everything is finished, the final iteration of the product can be released into production.
5. Maintenance
The software is deployed and available to customers, which takes it to the maintenance stage. During this phase, the software development team provides continuous support to keep the system running smoothly and resolve new bugs. They are also willing to provide additional training to users and ensure they know how to use the product. Over time, new iterations may appear to update the existing product with updates and extra features.
6. Retirement
The product is decommissioned for two reasons: it is replaced by new software, or the system needs to be updated or compatible with the organization. The software development team will notify users when the software is retired. Users will be migrated to the new system if a replacement system is available. Finally, developers will complete all end-of-life operations and remove support from existing software.
Five ways to improve software development agility
The agile development cycle aims to bring out the best in your team. Agile is based on five key areas that drive speed and agility: methodology, architecture, automation, infrastructure, and technology.
It is important to assess your organization’s progress in each area honestly. Are you ready to adapt to changing business needs? You have more opportunities to improve if you are less mature in a certain area.
Let’s look at all five focus areas and some suggestions.
1. Methodology
Improve collaboration between business and IT and enable faster discovery of project requirements for faster time to value. Rapid adaptation to changing business needs increases speed and flexibility at all stages.
2. Architecture
Design your solution using component-based or microservices architecture principles. This architecture allows teams to build autonomous and independent systems, reducing the impact of change and increasing flexibility.
3. Automation
The manual is time-consuming and error-prone. Start by measuring the time for all manual tasks and continuously automate the most time-consuming tasks.
4. Infrastructure
Flexible infrastructure keeps teams adaptable to constant change. Many IaaS providers already allow immediate deployment of servers. The next step is container management, which, through automation, can lead to self-service and fully automated provisioning.
5. Technology
Technology ultimately enables flexibility. Choosing the right technology for the job is essential to gaining value. When determining your focus areas, consider your business goals. Choose a tool that helps you achieve your goals with minimal effort.
How to implement an Agile SDLC in 2024
Once you’ve chosen an agile design lifecycle, you must follow a solid process to promote a smooth design and development transition for your company.
1) Commit to the transition as a whole
It would be best if you were ready for your company to transition the team to Agile SDLC. And you have to consider more than just developers and administrators. You also need to involve your most important customers and other stakeholders.
Continuous collaboration with stakeholders is one of the core values of an agile methodology, so you should use a tool that facilitates it.
2) Internalize the values and principles to shift your mindset
The Agile Manifesto routinely refers to. Use it as a conversation tool in team meetings to discuss company values and upcoming projects. For example, your team and leaders must accept that they cannot know everything beforehand. Focusing on the big picture and planning during the first few weeks can make a big difference.
Change takes time, even when you have your first agile team, but it pays off with mature agile teams reaching 21% of their project goals. More often than inexperienced teams.
3) Pick the right Agile framework for your company
Using the Agile model depends on the process, size, goals, and needs of your company’s development teams. The Scrum SDLC is a great framework if you want to leverage key benefits like speed and adaptability on a small scale.
An iterative model like Scrum focuses on the short term and forces you to prioritize what’s most important at any given moment.
4) Fill and optimize a product backlog
It would be best if you worked with product owners and stakeholders to create potential features and necessary user stories for your product. As priorities change and new ideas emerge, share real-time updates with everyone.
5) Plan the sprint (iteration)
Meet with the product owner and all team members to review all features, stories, and bugs in your backlog and discuss which should be prioritized for the next project sprint.
Expand the selected user stories and create a smart workflow with task ownership and expected deadlines or story points.
6) Hold daily meetings
The daily stand meeting is a cornerstone of Scrum or agile teams using Scrum. Other frameworks.
Focus on these three things:
- What you did yesterday
- What you will do today
- What is ahead of you (brackets)
7) Test the iteration with your stakeholders
After the sprint, you want to test the iteration with its key stakeholders. If they accept the changes, the sprint succeeds, and you can move on to new features and user stories. If not, you must address these issues in the next sprint.
8) Review your sprint and evaluate your immediate goals and backlog
After completing a sprint, it is best to take stock. Isolate areas that need improvement and consider how the sprint results will affect your future backlog priorities.
An agile lifecycle consists of more than one sprint. You rinse and repeat the process, producing working iterations of your product until you deliver a final version that meets all of your customers’ needs.
Is Agile SDLC right for you?
With Agile SDLC, your team adapts to your business and customers instead of a static process. Agile’s greatest strength is the ability to grow during the development process. As a result, you will deliver massively superior software by the end of the agile cycle.
Remember that there are no hard and fast rules. The agile software development lifecycle described above is not set in stone and can be modified to suit the needs of your project or organization. Most importantly, you need a great team of developers to implement an agile methodology quickly. Cubix can help you realize your digital product vision by providing full-suite mobile development services.
With us, your product development cycles will always stay on track, driving impact and profitability for your business.
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