Businesses and organisations are constantly being told they have to be more agile. This is to adapt to the pace of change which is increasing all the time. Agility is a desirable attribute of the ideal business because it allows you not just to respond to the changing needs of internal/external customers (the market and the workforce), but also to predict and act upon your knowledge with a minimum of process and bureaucracy. 'Agile' is also a formal software development method.
The 12 principles of the Agile Manifesto are:
- Customer satisfaction by rapid delivery of useful software
- Welcome changing requirements, even late in development
- Working software is delivered frequently (weeks rather than months)
- Close, daily cooperation between business people and developers
- Projects are built around motivated individuals, who should be trusted
- Face-to-face conversation is the best form of communication (co-location)
- Working software is the principal measure of progress
- Sustainable development, able to maintain a constant pace
- Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design
- Simplicity—the art of maximising the amount of work not done—is essential
- Self-organising team
- Regular adaptation to changing circumstances