Agile development methods usually apply timeboxed iterative and evolutionary development, employ adaptive planning, promote incremental delivery, and include other values and practices that encourage agilityrapid and flexible response to change.

It is not possible to exactly define agile methods, as specific practices vary widely. However, short timeboxed iterations with evolutionary refinement of plans, requirements, and design is a basic practice the methods share. In addition, they promote practices and principles that reflect an agile sensibility of simplicity, lightness, communication, self-organizing teams, and more.

Example practices from the Scrum agile method include a common project workroom and self-organizing teams that coordinate through a daily stand-up meeting with four special questions each member answers. Example practices from the Extreme Programming (XP) method include programming in pairs and test-driven development.

Any iterative method, including the UP, can be applied in an agile spirit. And the UP itself is flexible, encouraging a “whatever works” attitude to include practices from Scrum, XP, and other methods.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 2nd, 2008 at 8:14 pm and is filed under UP.