The Agile Manifesto and Twelve Principles

All Agile software development approaches (SCRUM, Kanban, XP) embrace of the Agile Manifesto (core values) and the 12 Agile Principles which represent a set of values for guiding how people in the organization behave toward each other. These values and principles are important in gaining the correct understanding of agile project management.

What is Agile Manifesto?

The manifesto has been very carefully worded to capture the essence of agile in minimum words that emphasize:

• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
• Working software over comprehensive documentation
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan

Note That:

• The keyword over in all these statements. Manifesto is not suggesting to replace the items in right with left rather it stress upon prioritizing left items over right.
• The Agile Manifesto was created as an alternative to document-driven, heavyweight software development processes such as the waterfall approach.

Principles behind the Agile Manifesto

Supplementing the core Agile Manifesto, the Twelve Principles further describe what it means to be Agile. Scrum frameworks Scrum promote the agile principles through various events such as Product backlogs, stand-up’s, iterative development, Retrospective:

1. Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage.
3. Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.
4. Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.
5. Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.
6. The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.
7. Working software is the primary measure of progress.
8. Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
9. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
10. Simplicity–the art of maximizing the amount of work not done–is essential.
11. The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
12. At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

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