• Transparency and Communication: Clients call the shots and have a consistent dialogue with us as we deliver the goods. Transparency fosters communication and allows clients to be as actively engaged as they wish. Clients can see exactly where we are in the development process, with their priorities always in focus.
• Iterative Development: Agile development is broken down into sprints that allow clients to pick and choose  features and functionality for the development team to focus on. Agile makes adding and removing features a quick logical process – sprints are easily adjusted to match technology needs and timeline. Knowing when sprints will end helps clients accurately game-plan for what’s next.
• Prioritization: Constant communication with clients allows projects to quickly change focus if necessary; meeting a “demo date” is significantly easier if a client is directly involved in prioritizing the development focus. Developers set the velocity of sprints, based on current priorities set by clients. Features beyond the reach of one sprint are backlogged for future consideration.

Buzz-word wrecker: While the term “agile” is often bandied about, it’s not THE silver bullet, one-size fits all methodology. Agile is best suited for projects with at least three sprint cycles, and less suited for smaller projects. Agile isn’t a great fit for heavy-back-end projects, while the waterfall approach can work better for some UX engagements. All that said, we have a pretty good idea of when (and when not to) go with agile (we’re, like, agile about agile).

Agile software development is especially good for adapting to client needs, so if you have said needs – along with a vested interest in the success of your interactive projects, you should care about agile development – and RSVP for Nerdery webinars Tuesday, January 17 at 10:15 AM Central and Thursday, January 19 at 3:15 PM.