The Agile methodology and its frameworks

Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirement. (7) Traditionally, in order to manage a project, the sequential methods was largely used. According to this model, all the stages in a product’s life cycle are sequential. In opposition to these methodologies, the agile movement took place. The agile manifesto, published in 2001, summarizes the main principles of the Agile movement: individuals and interactions over processes and tools, customer collaboration over contract negotiation, responding to change over following a plan, working software over comprehensive documentation. Moreover, simplicity, which is the art of maximizing the amount of work not-done, is valued as an essential aspect. (2)

Many frameworks are linked to the agile movement. This article introduces three of these agile processes: scrum, kanban and extreme programming.

Scrum is a framework based on a set of values, principles and practices. (3) It is based on empiricism and it uses an iterative and incremental approach for risk control and predictability optimization. Scrum is based on three pillars: transparency, inspection and adaptation. (4)

Kanban is a project management techniques based on Toyota’s just-in-time scheduling method. (5) This framework support the project work and facilitate the focus on delivering value to the customer.

Extreme programming (XP) is one of the agile processes and it focuses on delivering to the customer only what is needed. It is based on four core values - communication, simplicity, feedback and courage - and is implemented with 12 practices: planning, small releases, metaphor, simple design, testing, refactoring, pair programming, collective ownership, continuous integration, 40-hour week, on-site customer, coding standards. (8)