Manifesto for Agile Software Development with Scrum

In the Modern world of technology, the traditional methods of software development often fall short of meeting the dynamic needs of next-generation businesses. The primary advantage of agile development lies in its ability to deliver high-quality software quickly and efficiently. Unlike traditional SDLC (Software Development Lifecycle) models Enter Agile System Development, a methodology designed to accommodate change and foster continuous improvement. Agile development, particularly using the Scrum framework, has transformed how software is developed, bringing flexibility, efficiency, and uplifting collaboration to the forefront. At Next Olive Technologies, we embrace the principles of agile software development to deliver superior solutions that adapt to your evolving requirements.

Table of Contents

The Agile Manifesto

The Manifesto for Agile Software Development was Designed by seventeen software engineers in 2001, laying down four key values and twelve principles that emphasize individuals and interactions over processes and tools, working software over comprehensive documentation, customer collaboration over contract negotiation, and responding to change over following a plan. This manifesto for agile software development provides the foundation for creating adaptive, efficient, and customer-centric software.

[1] Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

[2] Working software over comprehensive documentation

[3] Customer collaboration over contract negotiation

[4] Responding to change by following a plan

Agile Software Development: The Essence

Agile software development is based on iterative development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing cross-functional teams. It aims to deliver small, functional pieces of software frequently, ensuring continuous improvement and flexibility to adapt to changing needs.

The Scrum Framework

Scrum is one of the most popular frameworks used in agile software development. It involves a set of roles, events, and artifacts designed to help teams work together efficiently. At Next Olive Technology, we follow the Scrum framework to streamline our agile system development processes.

Key Roles in Scrum:

Product Owner: Represents the stakeholders and is responsible for maximizing the value of the product.
Scrum Master: Ensures that the team adheres to Scrum practices and removes any impediments that may hinder progress.
Development Team: A group of professionals who do the work of delivering a potentially releasable increment of “Done” product at the end of each Sprint.

Scrum Events:

Sprint: A time-boxed period, usually two to four weeks, during which a usable and potentially releasable product increment is created.
Sprint Planning: A meeting where the team determines what can be delivered in the upcoming Sprint and how that work will be achieved.
Daily Scrum: A short, daily meeting where the team synchronizes activities and plans for the next 24 hours.
Sprint Review: A meeting at the end of the Sprint to inspect the increment and adapt the Product Backlog if needed.
Sprint Retrospective: A meeting to reflect on the past Sprint and identify improvements for the next Sprint.

The Kanban Framework

Kanban is a popular framework for agile software development or workflow management that stresses visualizing work, limiting processes, and focusing improvements aimed at optimizing flow. Next Olive Technology follows the Kanban framework to enhance agile development processes and deliver value to stakeholders.

Key Principles in Kanban:

Visualize the Workflow: Represent work items and their statuses on a Kanban board to provide clarity and visibility.
Limit Work in Progress (WIP): Set limits on the number of tasks in progress to ensure focus and prevent bottlenecks.
Manage Flow: Continuously monitor and manage the flow of tasks to ensure smooth and efficient delivery.
Make Process Policies Explicit: Clearly define and share the process rules and guidelines for better alignment.
Implement Feedback Loops: Regularly review and adapt processes based on feedback to improve continuously.
Improve Collaboratively and Evolve Experimentally: Develop a culture of collaboration and experimentation to drive incremental improvements.

Core Components in Kanban:

Kanban Board: A visual tool divided into columns representing stages of the workflow (e.g., To Do, In Progress, Done). Each task is represented as a card that moves across the board as work progresses.
Work Item Cards: Represent individual tasks or work items with details like deadlines, assignments, and descriptions.
WIP Limits: Defined limits for the number of tasks allowed in each workflow stage to maintain efficiency and avoid overloading.

Meetings in Kanban:

Daily Kanban Meeting: A short meeting to review the board, discuss progress, and address any issues.
Replenishment Meeting: A session to decide what tasks to prioritize and add to the workflow.
Delivery Planning Meeting: Focuses on ensuring that tasks are ready for delivery and planning release schedules.
Service Delivery Review: A retrospective to assess how well the team is delivering value and to identify improvement opportunities.
Risk Review: A meeting to identify risks and assess their impact on the workflow.

Software Development Process Using Agile Methodology

[1] Conceptualization and Requirements Gathering

The process starts with understanding the high-priority goals of the project and the business needs. Stakeholders and the development team collaborate to create a Product Backlog, which is a prioritized list of features and requirements. Requirements are flexible and changeable to accommodate evolving insights. This ensures that the team focuses on delivering maximum value to the end user.

[2] Iteration Planning

Before a sprint, the team commits to certain items in the Product Backlog by building the Sprint Backlog. This step includes estimating effort and then setting realistic goals for the sprint. All agreed-upon work is aligned with the objective of the sprint and is within the time-boxed period. With clear planning, there are no issues at the end of the sprint.

[3] Design and Development

Development starts with the lightweight design and incremental coding. Collaboration in teams is emphasized so that features are developed, integrated, and implemented without disrupting the process. Agile focuses on iterative development by building small chunks of functionality that are tested, improved, and iterated continuously; thus, a quick adaptation is made to the feedback or changing requirements.

[4] Daily Standups

The team meets every day for brief standup meetings where they share what they did, what they are going to do, and any challenges they face. Such a process improves communication, accountability, and quick resolution of problems to keep the sprint on track.

[5] Testing

Agile integrates testing into the entire development process so that quality can be ensured at each stage. Techniques such as TDD (Test-Driven Development) or BDD (Behavior-Driven Development) verify code to ensure it meets requirements. Continuous and automated testing helps detect bugs early and, therefore, reduce technical debt while improving reliability.

[6] Review and Retrospective

The Sprint Review is where the team showcases the work to stakeholders at the end of every sprint, and they provide feedback on the work done. A Retrospective is then conducted to reflect on the successes, challenges, and areas for improvement during the sprint. This information is used to improve future sprints to be more efficient and effective.

[7] Release

Teams deliver working software frequently, often using CI/CD pipelines to automate the deployment. Every release contains incremental improvements, which allows customers to get value early and provide feedback. This process ensures that the product evolves according to real-world use and changing needs.

Benefits of Agile Software Development

Agile software development offers numerous benefits, making it a preferred choice for many software development firms, including Next Olive Technology:

Flexibility and Adaptability: Agile development allows teams to quickly adapt to changes, ensuring the product remains relevant.
Improved Quality: Continuous testing and feedback loops lead to higher-quality software.
Customer Satisfaction: Frequent releases ensure that customers see progress and provide feedback early and often.
Enhanced Collaboration: Agile emphasizes collaboration among stakeholders, resulting in better communication and understanding of requirements.

Types of Agile Frameworks

[1] Scrum

Scrum is one of the most commonly used Agile frameworks, aimed to enhance team collaboration and deliver value iteratively. It breaks work into smaller, manageable pieces called sprints that usually last 2–4 weeks. Teams will hold regular ceremonies such as daily stand-ups, sprint planning, and retrospectives to ensure progress and alignment.

[2] Kanban

Kanban emphasizes visualizing work, limiting work in progress (WIP), and optimizing flow. Unlike Scrum, it doesn’t prescribe fixed timeframes but instead focuses on continuous delivery. It is best for teams that require a flexible, non-iterative approach, such as maintenance or support teams.

[3] Lean

Lean originates from manufacturing principles and focuses on minimizing waste, maximizing value, and improving processes. It helps teams identify inefficiencies and create a continuous improvement culture. It is suitable for organizations aiming to streamline processes and focus heavily on value delivery.

[4] Extreme Programming (XP)

Extreme Programming (XP) means technical excellence coupled with collaboration. It offers engineering practices, such as pair programming and TDD, to guarantee high-quality outputs. It is best for development teams working on complex software projects with frequent requirement changes.

[5] Feature-Driven Development (FDD)

Feature-Driven Development (FDD) is focused on delivering tangible, working software features every two weeks. It combines model-driven practices with Agile principles to plan and build features. Best for large teams or projects where features can be broken down and prioritized systematically.

[6] Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)

It is a comprehensive Agile framework that offers a clear structure while maintaining flexibility. It prioritizes business needs and adheres to strict timelines and budgets. Best suited for projects with tight deadlines and budget constraints where stakeholder collaboration is critical.

[7] SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework)

SAFe is designed for scaling Agile practices across large organizations. It aligns multiple teams around shared goals, typically through the use of Agile Release Trains (ARTs). It is best for enterprises seeking to implement Agile at scale.

[8] Crystal

This framework emphasizes people and interactions over processes and tools. It adapts to the size of the team and project criticality, offering variants like Crystal Clear, Crystal Yellow, and Crystal Orange. It is better suited for small teams working on non-critical projects with a need for flexibility.

[9] Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD)

DAD extends Agile principles to cover the entire delivery lifecycle, from inception to transition. It integrates practices from different other frameworks such as Scrum, Kanban, Lean, and more. Teams looking for a hybrid, adaptable framework covering the full project lifecycle can use this framework.

Applications of Agile Development

At Next Olive Technology, we apply agile principles across various domains, including:

Computer-Assisted Design (CAD): Agile methodologies enhance the development of CAD design software, CAD drawing software, and 3D modeling software, ensuring rapid iteration and improvement.
Interior Design Software: Agile practices facilitate the creation of intuitive and flexible interior design software and house design software.
Graphic Design Software: Continuous feedback loops in Agile help refine the best graphic design software, landscape design software, and 3D rendering software.
PCB Design Software: Agile principles streamline the development of complex PCB design software, ensuring adaptability to design changes.
AI Software Development: Agile development allows for the rapid iteration necessary for cutting-edge AI software development projects.

Why Choose Next Olive Technology?

As an agile software development company, Next Olive Technologies stands out for its commitment to delivering high-quality, adaptive software solutions. Our expertise spans custom software development companies, software development company services, and corporate software development projects. We leverage agile system development to provide:

Custom Software Development: Tailored solutions to meet your unique business needs.
Full Stack Web Development: Comprehensive services covering both front-end and back-end development.
Software Design: Innovative design solutions using the latest 3D design software, AutoCAD software, and Google web designer tools.
Software Developers Near You: Local expertise combined with global experience to deliver exceptional results.
Software Development Companies Near You: A trusted partner in your vicinity, ensuring seamless collaboration and support.

Scrum vs Kanban: Which framework to choose in 2025?

In 2025, the choice between Scrum and Kanban will depend on the dynamics of your team, the nature of the work, and your organizational goals. Scrum is best suited for teams that value predictability, routine, and iterative progress through sprints. It is a structured, time-boxed approach with defined roles and ceremonies. Whereas Kanban is more flexible and provides visual management of workflow emphasizing continuous delivery, with the agility needed for teams operating under fluctuating priorities or unreliable workloads, Scrum suits teams that thrive under structured, disciplined environments; it is much more suitable where agility and immediate response are required. Organizations are now embracing a new approach, often called Scrumban, combining the discipline of Scrum with the flexibility of Kanban. Ultimately, the choice hinges on aligning the framework with your team’s needs and project demands to ensure efficient value delivery in today’s fast-paced, ever-evolving landscape.

Conclusion

Agile software development, particularly with Scrum and Kanban, is a game-changer in the world of software engineering. It combines several principles of the traditional Waterfall model with the SDLC. The manifesto for agile software development emphasizes the importance of collaboration, flexibility, and continuous improvement. At Next Olive Technologies, we harness the power of agile development to deliver solutions that are not only robust and efficient but also adaptive to the ever-changing business landscape. Whether you need interior design software, 3D modeling software, or any other custom solution, we are here to bring your vision to life with agility and precision.

Manifesto Agile Software Development with Scrum

Manifesto for Agile Software Development with Scrum