The agile methodology is an approach to project delivery that started in software development. Its key characteristic is its focus on delivering value to customers quickly, with collaboration between teams at its core. This makes agile a very customer-centric method. An important part of agile is its iterative nature – instead of trying to deliver everything all at once, which can be risky and often leads to Scope creep, agile delivers projects in small increments, called sprints. This means that each sprint is focused on delivering a small part of the project that has the most value for the customer. At the end of each sprint, there is a review process in which the team looks at what went well and what could be improved for the next sprint. This feedback loop helps to ensure that the project stays on track and remains focused on delivering value to the customer. Agile has become increasingly popular in recent years as organizations have realized the benefits it can bring. Its focus on collaboration, customer centricity and delivery of value quickly makes it an ideal approach for many organizations.

The idea of using agile methods to create products has been around for over 20 years and there are specific methodologies that use it, most notably Scrum and Kanban.

Kanban

The Kanban agile methodology is all about making your work visible so that everyone on your team can see what’s being done at any time. This helps teams to focus on how work flows through that system to maximise delivery. Kanban originated in the Toyota production line, and it’s a great way to manage work on agile software development projects. 

When you use Kanban, you create a Kanban board that shows all of the work that needs to be done. The Kanban board is divided into columns, and each column represents a stage in the work flow. For example, you might have a column for “to do,” “in progress,” and “done.” As work moves from one stage to the next, team members update the Kanban board so that everyone can see the current status of the project. Using Kanban can help your team to deliver work more efficiently by making it easy to see what needs to be done and where bottlenecks are occurring in the work flow.

Scrum

Scrum is one of the most popular agile frameworks. Scrum is characterised by a set of values and roles that work together to assist groups deliver value throughout the product development journey. 

The scrum framework is meant to assist groups work together to get a product from idea to launch in the most efficient way possible. The key to Scrum’s success is its focus on delivering work early and often. By framing work into two-week sprints, scrum teams can stay focused on delivering just that chunk during that time. 

After every sprint, the team shows what they’ve done to their customers during a meeting known as a demo. This provides a chance for feedback and for the team to discuss what they’re going to do in the next sprint. Then, the team has a meeting known as a retrospective to look back over the past couple of weeks. Retrospectives aim to improve how the team works for the next cycle. 

Scrum’s focus on continuous improvement and delivery of value has made it one of the most popular agile frameworks in use today. If you are looking for a way to assist your team work better together, scrum may be the right choice for you.

Conclusion

Agile was originally created for software development, however its basic principles—making work visible, collaborating with customers, obtaining feedback often, and looking for ways to improve—can be applied to most forms of work. As a result, agile is progressively being employed outside of tech for all types of projects, from legal work and art museums to wineries and charities.

In a small business, there can be so many tasks happening at once that it will typically get overwhelming. Using an agile approach to make all the work visible will really help a small business owner prioritize daily and make sure the small however important work doesn’t get lost. In addition, regular client feedback is crucial for a small business in order to make sure that they’re meeting customer needs. Obtaining feedback early and often allows businesses to course correct quickly and avoid any expensive mistakes. Overall, adopting an agile approach will facilitate a small business run more effectively and with efficiency.