What is Agile Development and Is It Here to Stay?

• The Waterfall method is based on breaking a project down into sequences. Each stage of the sequence must be completed before teams can move on to the next. When new information comes along, it’s very difficult and expensive to go back and make changes.
• The Agile Methodology accepts that product development can be messy and less linear. Agile is more customer-focused, with research and testing being conducted all the time. It’s also a more people-focused approach to development. 

Agile Development was introduced in 2001 by 17 software developers and consists of 4 main principles.

• Individuals and Interactions Over Processes and Tools. People-first mindset places more value on the team than the structures they have to work with.
• Working Software Over Comprehensive Documentation. Before agile, pages and pages of documentation were required.
• Customer Collaboration Over Contract Negotiation. The shape of the product can change throughout the lifecycle depending on new information.
• Responding to Change Over Following a Plan. Agile expects change.

Scrum is the most popular implementation of the agile methodology.

It’s a framework that breaks down complicated projects into a prioritized list and is then done one at a time in a given timeframe. The team has a “ScrumMaster” that manages the team and helps them keep the end result in mind.