What is Agile?
Agile is a set of principles and values that guide software development practices.
In 2001, seventeen software developers gathered in Utah to lay out foundational principles that would change development forever. The timing was perfect; the world wide web had been established, but development speed continued to linger behind ideas and innovation.
Software development needed a framework that matched the pace and flexibility of the internet. The traditional waterfall method built large software products over years—products that could be obsolete by launch time in today’s fast-paced world.
Agile is more than a process; it’s a belief system that shapes how a team produces deliverables. The hallmarks of agile are timelines with a faster ideation-to-product pipeline that prioritizes a working product.
All of Ventive’s departments utilize Agile principles—from design and marketing to development. Our priority is developing an MVP that solves a client’s most pressing problem.
Simplicity is the art of knowing what to do and what not to do. Don’t waste time on busy work—work should be productive and valuable at all times.
Ventive | Jonathan Cardella, Founder
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Why Agile?
Developing a working product faster and more successfully is at the heart of why we are an Agile shop.
If you’re used to software that’s delivered as a finished product in two years’ time, you’ll be surprised by the adaptability and effectiveness of the Agile method.
Agile is focused on getting a working product into users’ hands as quickly as possible—meaning months and not years. A shorter development timeline considers customer feedback sooner rather than later, and the project solves problems from the get-go.
Rather than waiting several years for a release to discover that the product doesn’t fit the market, Agile development checks in regularly with users so that the product fit is right from the beginning.
Save money. Deliver faster. Fail less.
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What are the core principles of Agile?
By adopting the Agile method, organizations can align their actions with principles that deliver working software.
The Agile Difference Is Quantifiable
Product Quality
250%
Teams using full Scrum improve product quality
Productivity
25%
Autonomous Agile teams are markedly more productive
Revenue Growth
60%
Average companies’ revenue increase after moving to Agile
Failure Rate
9%
Agile projects fail 3x less than waterfall projects (29%)
What are the core values of Agile?
Understand your users, challenge assumptions, and test before launching your product.
What do the Agile core values really mean?
Here’s a glimpse at how Ventive internalizes Agile values.
01
COMmunication
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Face-to-face communication between clients, product owners, and project managers is essential so product concerns are conveyed in a timely manner.
Ventive prioritizes virtual or in-person meetings with agendas that spell out a project’s progress. Regular contact with clients means they stay up-to-date on product changes and abreast of project challenges or successes.
We organize design and development around sprints to consistently deliver product, research, and designs to our clients. We adapt our communication methods to meet our clients where they’re at.
02
Collaboration
Responding to change over following a plan
Our downtown Boise office is designed to enhance synergy between our teams. You’ll often find UX designers and technical project managers consulting each other directly, without barriers of leadership or department heads between them. Team building events are done cross-departmentally because we believe this strengthens the multi-disciplinary teams that build your software application.
In today’s work environment, we continue to find innovative ways to connect remote, in-person, and hybrid employees, so our teams work together effortlessly to deliver products on-time and on-spec.
03
Adaptation
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
A working product is our guiding light, and we don’t wait until after launch day to adjust the product to meet market changes. Being agile means real-time adjustments to development so the product serves the users’ needs from day one.
As we build a project, flexibility means finding easier and faster ways to meet project goals. Our goal is a working product, and our team is prepared to shift to accomplish that.
04
Trust
Working software over comprehensive documentation
You are at the center of what we do. We build products for you so you can serve your customers. Above all, we work with you to deliver a product that users want.
We deliver an MVP that solves your most pressing problem as quickly as possible.
We hire for excellence, and our team members bring diverse talents and experiences to the table. They are constantly learning so that their knowledge is at the forefront of the industry.
Top 4 myths that hamper Agile adoption:
The iterative approach can grind to a halt if you get stuck on false beliefs about how Agile is used in software development.
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Agile is the only answer.
Companies may need to incorporate different project management principles in order to be successful. An all-agile approach is not necessary, and some teams may thrive with a combination of Agile and other traditional project management methods.
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Agile is undisciplined.
Self-directed teams have the ability to choose what to work on. For those more familiar with a top-down leadership style, an agile team’s collaborative work process can look like chaos. But this kind of teamwork has a powerful secret weapon. An in-sync team doesn’t have to wait for leadership and can act faster on its own.
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Agile is faster.
Agile is better, but not necessarily the fastest way to develop software. It’s iterative, and builds on its successes. That lays the groundwork for a better product. The benefit isn’t its speed, but that it emphasizes a working product.
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Agile has no deadlines.
Being flexible enough to change directions when a feature or function doesn’t work out doesn’t mean that agile works without deadlines. After all, there’s still a client in the project that is paying for a product. Agile still maintains hard deadlines even as it discards irrelevant or unneeded solutions to the client’s problems.
Adopting your communication style based on what the stakeholder needs and considers valuable is key to determining which roadmap to use.
Ventive | Jonathan Cardella, Founder
How can you adopt Agile?
By purposefully changing your management style to Agile’s more adaptable method, you’ll set your team up for success.
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Communication
If your meetings could’ve been an email, that’s a sign that it’s time to rethink how often you call your team together. Try incorporating more scrum-style meetings—short and to the point—that focus on wins, works in progress, and blockers.
Collaboration
Cross-functional teams with diverse skills will bring new ideas to stale conversations. By bringing in an outside perspective, your team can take advantage of one of Agile’s greatest principles—collaboration.
Adaptation
The Agile mindset accepts that processes and tools may not work in every circumstance. Rather than prioritizing the “how”, Agile concerns itself with the “who”. When your team can’t accomplish their goals, find out why and solve the pain point without getting hung up on what they need to move forward.
Trust
A team that’s supported is a team that produces deliverables on time. By providing the team with the tools they need to succeed and then getting out of their way, they’ll be able to accomplish more than a micro-managed team.
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