If Agile is a mindset, then what does that say about the idea of Agile methodologies? To answer this question, you may find it helpful to have a clear definition of methodology.
Alistair Cockburn suggested that a methodology is the set of conventions that a team agrees to follow. That means that each team will have its own methodology, which will be different in either small or large ways from every other team’s methodology.
So Agile methodologies are the conventions that a team chooses to follow in a way that follows Agile values and principles.
“Wait,” you’re probably saying, “I thought Scrum and XP were Agile methodologies.” Alistair applied the term framework to those concepts. They certainly were born from a single team’s methodology, but they became frameworks when they were generalized to be used by other teams. Those frameworks help inform where a team starts with their methodology, but they shouldn’t be the team’s methodology. The team will always need to adapt its use of a framework to fit properly in its context
Agile is an approach to software development that seeks the continuous delivery of working software created in rapid iterations. Agile Software Development uses adaptive approaches and teamwork to focus on continuous improvement. Agile software development methodologies are all about delivering small pieces of working software quickly to improve customer satisfaction.The underlying values for agile projects are: Individuals and interactions over processes and tools Working software over comprehensive documentation Customer collaboration over contract negotiation Responding to change over following a plan
Agile methods stress working with users throughout the development process, continuing even after deploying a product or system (also called as incremental deployment). They promote evolutionary versus revolutionary changes, which can lead to more improvements in quality and customer satisfaction due to fewer surprises when it comes time for release. Agiles work best in dynamic environments such as construction where new requirements arise from user interaction during the course of the project.