Agile

What are the four values of Agile?

The Agile Manifesto is a document dictating the values and principles of agile software development. These are the four values of Agile:

1. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools: Having the right team members is more impactful than the tools. Although tools and processes are responsible for building the software, if you don't have the correct individuals to boost a culture of camaraderie, there'll be less collaboration and problem-solving. 
2. Working software over comprehensive documentation. In the past, software developers spent a lot of time writing documentation about the technicalities of the product. Documentation is important, but there should be a focus on delivering working software. 
3. Customer collaboration over contract negotiation. Customer feedback is essential to delivering a high-quality product. Keep customers involved in the development process to ensure customer satisfaction. 
4. Responding to change over following a plan. Things are constantly changing. Agile sprints respond to this by allowing teams to focus on the current priorities that may shift in each sprint. 

Why is agile important?

Agile methodology is imperative to the design process because teams then deliver the best version of the final product. Continuous testing is intrinsic to the agile framework, so naturally, final products will turn out better because you'll design products your users want, resulting in heightened user satisfaction. 

Due to working in sprints—short intervals within the project development cycle where teams accomplish tasks—teams are constantly improving and updating their products. Sprints allow project management teams to feel less overwhelmed and keep teams focused. Teams receive feedback and have more flexibility to change their design.

Agile promotes openness in a team environment through frequent sprints and collaboration that foster discussions about challenges in the product framework.