International Conference on Current Trends & Challenges

in Management, Engineering, Computer Application & Technology-2012

A STUDY OF AGILE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT MODEL

(VALUES, PRINCIPLES AND CHARACTERISTICS)

Mrs. Gunjan Behl Mr. Nripesh Kumar Nrip

Assistant Professor, BVU Institute of Assistant Professor, BVU Institute of
management, Kolhapur. management, Kolhapur.
E – Mail – mailtogunjan@yahoo.co.in E – Mail – nripesh.nrip1985@gmail.com

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A STUDY OF AGILE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT MODEL

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 International Conference on Current Trends & Challenges
in Management, Engineering, Computer Application & Technology-2012
ABSTRACT
Agile is an iterative and incremental approach
to software development which is performed in a
highly collaborative manner with "just enough"
ceremony that produces high quality software
which meets the changing needs of its
stakeholders.
This paper deals with the values and principles
and characteristics of Agile software
development methodology. It also focuses on
comparison of Agile Software methodology with
other traditional methodologies of software
development.
KEYWORDS
Agile Modeling, Iterative and Incremental,
Agile Manifesto, Communication, Humility,
Collaboration, Process adaptability.
INTRODUCTION
Agile software development is a group of
software development methodologies based on
iterative and incremental development, where
requirements and solutions evolve through
collaboration between self-organizing, cross-
functional teams. It promotes adaptive planning,
evolutionary development and delivery, a time-
boxed iterative approach, and encourages rapid
and flexible response to change. It is a
conceptual framework that promotes foreseen
interactions throughout the development cycle.
Agile is an iterative and incremental
(evolutionary) approach to software
development which is performed in a highly
collaborative manner with "just enough"
ceremony that produces high quality software
A STUDY OF AGILE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT MODEL
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which meets the changing needs of its
stakeholders.
Agile development emphasizes working
software as the primary measure of progress.
This, combined with the preference for face-to-
face communication, produces less written
documentation than other methods. The agile
method encourages stakeholders to prioritize
"wants" with other iteration outcomes, based
exclusively on business value perceived at the
beginning of the iteration (also known as value-
driven).
Agile Modeling (AM) is a practice-based
methodology for effective modeling and
documentation of software-based systems.  
Simply put, Agile Modeling (AM) is a collection
of values, principles, and practices for modeling
software that can be applied on a software
development project in an effective and light-
weight manner. 
AM is based on a collection of principles, such
as the importance of assuming simplicity when
you are modeling and embracing change as you
are working because requirements will change
over time.  You should recognize that
incremental change of your system over time
enables agility and that you should strive to
obtain rapid feedback on your work to ensure
that it accurately reflects the needs of your
project stakeholders.  You should model with a
purpose, if you don't know why you are working
on something or you don't know what the
audience of the model/document actually
requires then you shouldn't be working on it.
Furthermore, you need multiple models in your
intellectual toolkit to be effective.  A critical
concept is that models are not necessarily
documents, a realization that enables you travel
light by discarding most of your models once
 International Conference on Current Trends & Challenges
in Management, Engineering, Computer Application & Technology-2012
they have fulfilled their purpose.  Agile
modelers believe that content is more important
than representation, that there are many ways
you can model the same concept yet still get it
right. To be an effective modeler you need to
recognize that open and honest communication
is often the best policy to follow to ensure
effective teamwork.  Finally, a focus on quality
work is important because nobody likes to
produce sloppy work and that local adaptation of
AM to meet the exact needs of your
environment is important.
AGILE MODELING VALUES
Following are the five values of Agile
Modeling
 Communication.  Models promote
communication between your team
and your project stakeholders as well
as between developers on your team.
 Simplicity. It’s important that
developers understand that models are
critical for simplifying both software
and the software process—it’s much
easier to explore an idea, and improve
upon it as your understanding
increases, by drawing a diagram or two
instead of writing tens or even
hundreds of lines of code.
 Feedback. Kent Beck says it best in
Extreme Programming Explained:
“Optimism is an occupational hazard
of programming, feedback is the
treatment.” By communicating your
ideas through diagrams, you quickly
gain feedback, enabling you to act on
that advice.
 Courage. Courage is important
because you need to make important
decisions and be able to change
A STUDY OF AGILE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT MODEL
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direction by either discarding or
refactoring your work when some of
your decisions prove inadequate.
 Humility. The best developers have
the humility to recognize that they
don't know everything, that their
fellow developers, their customers, and
in fact all project stakeholders also
have their own areas of expertise and
have value to add to a project.  An
effective approach is to assume that
everyone involved with your project
has equal value and therefore should
be treated with respect.  Huet Landry
suggests the concept of "Other
Esteem", instead of "Self Esteem",
where you treat the opinions of others
as if they have more value than yours. 
With this approach your first reaction
to another's idea will be most positive.
AGILE MODELING PRINCIPLES
The main motive of Agile model is”
Customer satisfaction by rapid delivery of
useful software” Following are some
“principles underlie the Agile Manifesto,
 Welcome changing requirements,
even late in development
 Working software is delivered
frequently (weeks rather than months)
 Working software is the principal
measure of progress
 Sustainable development, able to
maintain a constant pace
 International Conference on Current Trends & Challenges
in Management, Engineering, Computer Application & Technology-2012
 Close, daily co-operation between
business people and developers
 Face-to-face conversation is the best
form of communication (co-location)
 Projects are built around motivated
individuals, who should be trusted
 Continuous attention to technical
excellence and good design
 Simplicity
 Self-organizing teams
 Regular adaptation to changing
circumstances
AGILE MODELING CHARACTERISTICS
There are many specific agile development
methods .Mostly used are –
 promote development
 teamwork
 Collaboration
 process adaptability
throughout the life-cycle of the project
Promote development
Agile methods break tasks into small
increments with minimal planning and do
not directly involve long-term planning.
Iterations are short time frames (time boxes)
that typically last from one to four weeks.
Each iteration involves a team working
through a full software development cycle,
including planning, requirements analysis,
design, coding, unit testing, and acceptance
testing when a working product is
demonstrated to stakeholders. This
minimizes overall risk and allows the project
to adapt to changes quickly. Stakeholders
produce documentation as required. An
iteration might not add enough functionality
to warrant a market release, but the goal is to
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have an available release (with minimal
bugs) at the end of each iteration Multiple
iterations might be required to release a
product or new features.
Teamwork
Team composition in an agile project is
usually cross-functional and self-organizing,
without consideration for any existing
corporate hierarchy or the corporate roles of
team members. Team members normally
take responsibility for tasks that deliver the
functionality iteration requires. They decide
individually how to meet iteration’s
requirements.
Collaboration
Agile methods emphasize face-to-face
communication over written documents
when the team is all in the same location.
Most agile teams work in a single open
office (called a bullpen), which facilitates
such communication. Team size is typically
small (5-9 people) to simplify team
communication and team collaboration.
Larger development efforts can be delivered
by multiple teams working toward a
common goal or on different parts of an
effort. This might require a coordination of
priorities across teams. When a team works
in different locations, they maintain daily
contact through videoconferencing, voice, e-
mail, etc.
Process Adaptability
No matter what development disciplines are
required, each agile team will contain a
customer representative. This person is
appointed by stakeholders to act on their
behalf and makes a personal commitment to
being available for developers to answer
mid-iteration problem-domain questions. At
the end of each iterations, stakeholders and
 International Conference on Current Trends & Challenges
in Management, Engineering, Computer Application & Technology-2012

the customer representative review progress
and re-evaluate priorities with a view to
optimizing the return on investment (ROI)
and ensuring alignment with customer needs
and company goals.
COMPARISION
AGILE VERSUS SPIRAL MODEL
The Spiral Model is an example of iterative
development. A typical iteration will be
somewhere between 6 months and 2 years
and will include all aspects of the lifecycle -
requirements analysis, risk analysis,
planning, design and architecture, and then a
release of either a prototype (which is either
evolved or thrown away, depending on the
specific methods chosen by the project
team) or working software. These steps are
repeated until the project is either ended or
finished.
Agile development, on the other hand,
includes a number of different
methodologies with specific guidance as to
the steps to take to produce a software
project, such as Extreme Programming,
Scrum, and Crystal Clear. The commonality
between all of the agile methods is that they
are iterative and incremental. The iterations
in the agile methods are typically shorter - 2
to 4 weeks in most cases, and each iteration
ends with a working software product.
However, unlike the spiral model, the
software produced isn't a prototype - it is
always high quality code that is expanded
into the final product.
The requirements gathering at the start of
the project is meant to be just barely enough
to get going (to take the next step) and are
meant the be fleshed out just shortly before
they get actually implemented. Changes are
to the requirements are welcomed.
Also, there is much more to Agile than just
doing iterative development
- a focus on faces to face conversation
instead of written communication,
- a focus on bringing business people and
technical together in their day-to-day work.
- a focus in collaboratively maximizing
value instead of defining and then fulfilling
a contract.
AGILE VERSUS WATERFALL MODEL
The Waterfall Model is a classically linear
and sequential approach to software design
and systems development, each waterfall
stage is assigned to a separate team to ensure
greater project and deadline control,
important for on-time project delivery.  A
linear approach means a stage by stage
approach for product building. However, in
case of changing the software is not only a
practical impossibility, but means one has to
go right back to the beginning and start

A STUDY OF AGILE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT MODEL

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 International Conference on Current Trends & Challenges
in Management, Engineering, Computer Application & Technology-2012

developing new code, all over again.  That’s 1. Agile Unified Process ; Wikipedia, the
Waterfall for you!  Now, as for minimal risk free encyclopedia;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AgileUni
Agile, it is a low over-head method that fiedProcessTimeline20060704.png
emphasizes values and principles rather than 2. Agile Modeling (AM) Principles;
processes.  Working in cycles i.e. a week, a http://www.agilemodeling.com/principles.
htm#Supplementary
month, etc., project priorities are re-
evaluated and at the end of each cycle. 3. Agile software development;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agile_softwar
To synopsize the difference between the e_development
two, one can say the classic waterfall
method stands for predictability, while agile 4. Agile versus Spiral;
methodology spells adaptability.  Agile http://agilemenifesto.org
methods are good at reducing overheads,
such as, rationale, justification, 5. An Introduction to Agile Modeling;
documentation and meetings, keeping them http://www.agilemodeling.com/practices.h
as low as is possible.  And, that is why Agile tm
methods benefit small teams with constantly
changing requirements, rather more than
larger projects.

CONCLUSION
Agile software development is a group of
software development methodologies based on
iterative and incremental development. It
promotes adaptive planning, evolutionary
development and delivery, a time-boxed
iterative approach, and encourages rapid and
flexible response to change. Comparatively
Agile methods are good at reducing
overheads, such as, rationale, justification,
documentation and meetings, keeping them
as low as is possible.  And, that is why agile
methods benefit small teams with constantly
changing requirements, rather more than
larger projects.

REFERENCES

A STUDY OF AGILE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT MODEL