Agile is a set of values and practices for developing software and products in short iterations, favoring working results, collaboration with customers and responding to change over rigid plans.
Why it matters
Requirements rarely stay still. Agile reduces the risk of building the wrong thing by delivering small pieces, learning from real use and adjusting. Frameworks such as Scrum and Kanban are specific ways of practicing it. The idea comes from the 2001 Agile Manifesto, which valued individuals and interactions, working software, customer collaboration and responding to change. Teams apply it far beyond software today.
Example
Instead of spending six months on a complete system, a team releases a basic checkout in three weeks, watches how customers use it, then improves the form and payment options over the next releases.
Common misconceptions
- Believing Agile means no planning or no documentation.
- Adopting ceremonies, such as daily meetings, without changing how decisions are made.
- Treating it as a single method rather than a family of approaches.
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