What is agile?
10 min
Beginner
By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to:
- Define the concept of "agile" and how it applies to work
- Distinguish between “waterfall” and “agile” project management approaches
- Describe the four values of agile
Explore agility
Agile is a set of ideas, frameworks, and tools to help you manage work more efficiently.
The agile ideas encourage you to:
✔ Be flexible and ready for unpredictable change
✔ Communicate often with stakeholders
✔ Ship work in short increments (instead of all at once)
✔ Always be learning
Agile isn't just about following a process. It's about having the right attitude and mindset.
Being agile allows your team to prioritize the most critical work and get it done efficiently, ultimately delivering value to customers more quickly.
👇 Watch this video to learn how agile can be implemented into your team's workflow and productivity.
Compare agile and traditional project management
A typical method of managing projects is called the waterfall approach. You've probably used this method in your work experience before.
➡️ Waterfall is a linear approach to managing projects. First, you define requirements thoroughly before the project begins. Then, you complete each phase of the project in sequential order. At the end, one significant deliverable is completed and shipped.
🔄 Agile is a continuous approach to managing projects. You stay flexible and respond quickly to changing requirements. You prioritize the work items that create the most value for your customers. Deliverables are completed and shipped continuously, in small increments.
Where did agile come from?
Agile, was created to solve a problem. In 2001, a group of tech professionals were frustrated with how software was being built. They felt the traditional waterfall approach was too slow, rigid, and inefficient.
The group spent a weekend in the mountains and came up with a new approach to managing software projects. They called it The Agile Manifesto.
This short, 68-word document provided new guidelines for building software. It suggested teams prioritize flexibility, constant communication with stakeholders, and continuous delivery of work in short increments.
Learn more about the Agile Manifesto at their website.
Twenty years later, the ways of working suggested in The Agile Manifesto continue to drive many of the world's highest-performing teams, including a majority of software developers.
But, agile isn't only for software teams. Remote work has fueled a boom in agile adoption across various teams and organizations, from law firms to marketing agencies.
Agile project management can help any team be more nimble, efficient, and flexible depending on your team structure and deliverables.
Explore the four values of agile
The four values are the foundation of agile They are simple and direct guidelines that can help you navigate complex projects and deliver more value to stakeholders. Once you understand the four values, everything else you learn about agile will be easier to grasp.
Knowing the values will make it easier to:
✔ Approach your work with an agile mindset
✔ Understand agile frameworks like kanban and scrum
✔ Start using agile tools like Jira
👇 Click the boxes below to explore the four values of agile.
How was this lesson?
next lesson
Use agile in everyday work
- Build an agile mindset
- Compare frameworks and mindsets