What Is the Agile Manifesto? | Wrike Agile Guide

The 12 Agile Manifesto principles

The Agile Manifesto lists 12 principles to be followed by software developers:

1. Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.

What is the number one rule in software development? Keep your customer happy. Aim to deliver software to your users at regular intervals throughout the project life cycle, rather than keep them waiting for one final deliverable.

2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage.

Software developers should be capable of handling last-minute changes to a project. They should be flexible enough to turn these changes into improvements quickly, minimizing delays and ensuring an uninterrupted flow of work. 

3. Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.

Agile teams break large projects down into short timelines to guarantee regular delivery. In the Scrum methodology, these timelines are known as sprints, which often run between one and four weeks long.

4. Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.

As mentioned, collaboration is key to Agile project management. When the project stakeholders communicate on a daily basis, it minimizes the risk of confusion and ensures that everyone’s goals remain aligned.

5. Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.

When you have the right people for the task, the project is more likely to be successful. Spend time choosing the perfect team, equip them with the resources they need, and trust them to deliver exceptional results.

6. The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.

Barriers are broken easily when teams can converse in person. Co-locate teams where possible to promote good communication and boost the flow of information. In a remote working situation, Zoom is a great alternative to phone or email, enabling people to interact more effectively via camera.

7. Working software is the primary measure of progress.

To keep your customers satisfied, you must deliver high-quality software. That is your ultimate priority and your metric for success — everything else is a secondary consideration.

8. Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.

Agile teams must be consistent throughout their project life cycle, maintaining their speed throughout. This means they can sustain a constantly evolving environment without succumbing to delays.

9. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.

In Agile, you don’t just deliver one good product and call it a day — your focus should be on continuous improvement and innovation. Each iteration should bring with it a new update, feature, or advancement of some kind.

10. Simplicity — the art of maximizing the amount of work not done — is essential.

The Agile approach is to not overcomplicate things: meet your requirements and do just enough to complete the task. Don’t waste time with additional steps that don’t add any real value to your product.

11. The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.

Why micromanage teams when they are skilled enough to work on their own? By allowing them to work within their own structures, you create more room for ideas to flourish, ultimately delivering better results.

12. At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

When you review team performance regularly, you can spot issues before they escalate, as well as potential areas for improvement. A healthy Agile team is one that self-reflects in order to eliminate unhelpful practices and advance skills.

By studying the four values and 12 principles of the Agile Manifesto, software development teams will have a clear understanding of what it truly means to be Agile.