Agile is a form of project management, and particularly applies to software projects.
Some of the original ideas behind this can be found in the Agile Manifesto. We didn’t invent this, but have adapted it to our needs.
It comes in two main flavours which we take aspects from: XP (eXtreme Programming) and Scrum.
The alternative, and traditional method of running software projects is called “Waterfall”. In speaking about the benefits of using Agile, it is worth comparing it with this approach.
In traditional software projects, much time is spent on building requirement documents and the application is then built on top of this plan. If requirements are left out of the start up phase they are generally picked up late in the process, by which point they may be awkward and costly to implement.
Agile methodology acknowledges that the most useful features of an application are often only discovered by using what already exists, and thus delivers working software to the client at regular intervals. This means that in each iteration meeting, a certain level of QA is carried out by the people who will ultimately be using the application. This approach encourages greater collaboration and ownership of key stakeholders and removes unwanted layers of inefficiency. It also provides project managers visibility of the development cycle without over loading on information.
Some of the points which stand out are:
We feel that offers real improvements on the actual products being created, and makes the process more enjoyable for all involved.
Check out how we implement Agile.
Read more about how we make use of Agile practices such as iterations, demos and retrospectives to deliver successful projects.
We build websites which embrace social media, social networking and user-generated-content.
Max and Damien founded New Bamboo in Brighton at the end of 2005 before relocating the company to London. Read about where it all started and meet the rest of the team.