What are the most important principles of Agile development?

This is the most important one, but the most important thing is to watch what users do vs. what they say. A LOT of the time, there's a kind of 'customer satisfaction theater' where a team puts something in front of a user who just wants to do their regular job, asks if it's OK ('accepted'), and of course the busy user says 'sure'. And then, surprise surprise, they're not using the solution, don't like it, etc. Instead, unpack what success would mean in terms of user behavior, monitor that, and use those behaviors as your definition of 'done' or at least 'good enough'.

Always keep in mind the principle of quick value delivery to a customer. It will help you to build agile environment: - customer value has to be described in every requirement/user story - breaking down user stories into tasks and packing them into increment of a sprint will lead you to delivery time optimization - coach team and facilitate agile ceremonies to make the customer value clear and 'pull' MVP through development stages with the minimum waste.

Unlike rigid plans, agile focuses on what users truly need. It's all about adapting to market changes to keep users satisfied. Here's the secret sauce: 1. Bite-sized features, big impact: We deliver features in smaller chunks – think appetizers before the main course! This lets users enjoy the product sooner and provides valuable feedback. 2. Adaptability is key: Project priorities aren't set in stone! We adjust based on user feedback and evolving market needs. It's about staying agile and delivering the best possible product. 3. Show - don't tell: Working versions of the product are regularly shown to stakeholders. This builds trust and showcases the ongoing progress. Agile is all about putting users first and embracing the change.

Agile development places a high priority on meeting client needs, responding to change, and producing useful software gradually and iteratively. It places a strong emphasis on cooperation, regular delivery, self-organization, and clear communication. Teams aim for technical excellence, simplicity, and continual progress so they can produce high-quality solutions and adapt quickly to change.

At the core of Agile development is the principle of customer satisfaction, achieved by early and continuous delivery of valuable software. This priority guides the Agile process to focus on delivering functional products to customers in shorter cycles, allowing for frequent feedback and the ability to adapt to changes quickly. By putting the customer's needs and feedback at the forefront, Agile teams can ensure that the product evolves in a direction that truly meets the end users' demands, thereby enhancing customer satisfaction and fostering a strong, loyal customer base. This customer-centric approach is what sets Agile apart and drives its success.

Adaptive planning is a fundamental principle of Agile development, emphasizing the importance of flexibility and responsiveness to change over following a fixed plan. This approach allows teams to respond to changes in market dynamics, customer needs, and technological advancements quickly and efficiently. By valuing adaptive planning, Agile teams can continuously refine and reprioritize their work, ensuring that the product development process remains aligned with current objectives and opportunities. This iterative planning and feedback loop ensures that the final product is more relevant and valuable to the end user, ultimately leading to greater project success and customer satisfaction.

The second principle of agile development is about welcoming change and uncertainty instead of avoiding them. This means planning your projects in a flexible and iterative manner, rather than trying to predict everything upfront. It also involves working in short, regular cycles of development, testing, and delivery, rather than long, rigid phases. For example, instead of spending months designing a new feature for a software product, you could develop a basic version quickly, get feedback from users, and then make improvements based on that feedback.

For people who do not like change, Product Management is absolutely not the place to be. Knowing and welcoming consistently changing requirements, regardless where they are thrown at you in the development cycle, is critical for a product manager. This is not to say that you should drop all that is currently being worked on to meet the changing requirements, on the contrary, it is more about responding to the changes, prioritizing the changes and minimizing risks at all possible junctures.

My #1 on this for PM's, etc. is: Are you getting hard questions from your team/collaborators? If so, great job! That means you've engaged them (hardest part), they care, and they're paying attention to the inputs you're giving them.

Collaboration between your development team, your stakeholders throughout your development lifecycle ensures you are keeping your eye on the prize and empowering all involved when it comes to product development. Close collaboration and communication supports a better understanding of the goals, features and definition of done across the organization and supports better outcomes when the product is launched.

In my journey of product development, I learned that quality is not a destination but rather a continuous process. Quality is something that Agile puts much emphasis on. It's not only about finding defects but also about defect prevention. Early and frequent testing helps in creating a culture whereby all individuals irrespective of their positions share the responsibility for quality. It's not only the QA team's responsibility. This enables quick iteration without sacrificing user experience. Each subsequent release would be better than the previous one. Focusing on quality means making tough decisions such as prioritizing technical debt resolution over new features that will sustain long-term growth and customer satisfaction.

Does your team hold weekly retrospectives where you decide what practices/processes to keep vs. add vs. discard? If so, you're probably doing this well. If not, the reverse is often true.

Agile development does not only mean adapting to change but also seeking it deliberately. It demands regular reflective practices and an unrelenting quest for quality in order to develop processes and products that can meet emerging challenges. Having retrospectives at the end of each sprint could make a big difference. It is not always comfortable to confront weaknesses, but that could give you a platform through which you could identify inefficiencies and innovate solutions rapidly. Agility is all about continual progress by challenging the norm and extending possibilities beyond set limits.

Continuous improvement can make a lot of teams and stakeholders uncomfortable, but it is key in the release and continued success of your product. Taking an iterative approach, with shorter development cycles or work packages, and ensuring you do a debrief or a retrospective to assess how the work went (positive and areas of improvement) can aide in the development of your product. Ensuring you have solid feedback loops for your team, your stakeholders and your end users is also imperative if you want to continuous improve your product and your pipelines. Agile does not mean chaos and following a process of continuous improvement proves that in spades.

Agile development is about include customer collaboration, responding to change, delivering frequently, and valuing individuals and interactions over processes. Other important principles include embracing simplicity, self-organizing teams, continuous improvement, and adapting to changing requirements. Agilet is meant to focus on flexibility and collaboration to deliver high-quality code efficiently.

In Agile, it's all about outcomes, not just output. Delivering value is what counts, not just ticking boxes on a feature list. Focus on what truly benefits your stakeholders.

Agile is a culture first and foremost, long before you get to frameworks, terminology and tools. Build products based on a true understanding of customer needs. Gauge ongoing user feedback at the first mile, iterating throughout and playing back visual and functional representations of potential solutions. Be clear about value. Measure it before and after. Repeat. Align and collaborate as one true long-lived team. Trust your multi-disciplinary lens. Oh and don't build detailed multi year Gantt charts.

I have a different take on Agile development principles. Firstly, every team member must have clearly defined roles and responsibilities. However, I believe it's problematic when one person is assigned dual responsibilities, such as being both the Product Owner and the Scrum Master. This can lead to conflicts of interest and hinder the effectiveness of the Agile process. Instead, I advocate for a clear separation of roles to ensure better collaboration and efficiency within the team.

I have spoken to a large number of people who truly believe that any form of Agile development is chaotic and without structure. On the contrary, Agile development can be far beneficial for product creation. Agile development does deliver high quality products, allows development teams to better react to change and challenges and ultimately can foster a more collaborative environment.