What are the key principles of Agile Development for Small Business?

1 Customer value

One of the key principles of agile development is to prioritize customer value over following a fixed plan. This means that you should deliver working software that solves real problems for your customers as soon as possible, rather than spending too much time on documentation, specifications, or features that may not be needed. By delivering value early and often, you can get feedback from your customers, validate your assumptions, and adjust your course accordingly.

2 Team collaboration

Another key principle of agile development is to foster team collaboration and communication. This means that you should involve your team members, customers, and stakeholders in every stage of the development process, from planning to testing to deployment. By collaborating closely, you can leverage the diverse skills, perspectives, and insights of your team, and create a shared vision and ownership of the product. You should also use tools and practices that facilitate collaboration, such as daily stand-ups, retrospectives, pair programming, and code reviews.

3 Adaptive change

A third key principle of agile development is to embrace adaptive change and respond to changing requirements. This means that you should be flexible and open to change, rather than rigid and resistant to it. You should expect and welcome changes that arise from customer feedback, market conditions, or new opportunities, and incorporate them into your product. You should also use agile methods, such as sprints, backlogs, and user stories, that allow you to break down your work into manageable and adaptable chunks.

4 Quality focus

A fourth key principle of agile development is to maintain a high standard of quality throughout the development process. This means that you should ensure that your software meets the expectations and needs of your customers, and that it is reliable, secure, and easy to use. You should also use techniques and tools that help you improve quality, such as automated testing, continuous integration, code refactoring, and peer review. By focusing on quality, you can avoid technical debt, bugs, and rework, and deliver a better product faster.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?