Introduction
Agile methods and agile sprint cycles have been around since 2001 with the Agile Manifesto publication.
Agile differentiates itself from the old waterfall method, where changes to the plan never happened along the way. Inspection and adaption are essential when working with agile methodologies.
There is a common perception that agile methodologies only apply to software development companies since software engineering departments quickly embraced this way of working.
The reality is that other teams, such as IT infrastructure teams, can significantly benefit. And not just development teams but also operations teams.
In this blog post, we will cover three reasons agile is excellent for IT infrastructure development cycles.
What is the Agile Manifesto?
Published in 2001, the Agile Manifesto includes a set of twelve principles:
- Agile processes promote sustainable development.
- The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
- Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
- Simplicity – the art of maximizing the amount of work not done is essential.
- The best architectures, requirements, and procedures emerge from self-organizing teams.
- At regular intervals, the team reflects on becoming more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.
What are agile sprint cycles?
Two examples of agile methodologies are the agile SCRUM framework and SAFe.
They define a framework that you can use to become more agile in your business and development cycles.
Agile projects include:
- Planning
- Implementation
- Review
- Retrospect
What is a sprint in agile?
An agile sprint cycle is a short iteration, typically between 2-4 weeks, with a clearly defined sprint goal.
In a sprint, self-organized development teams work together, moderated by a SCRUM master.
What is a sprint planning meeting?
During an agile sprint cycle, the first step is where the team plans all tasks to be completed during the sprint are planned. These sprints are generally 1-3 week sprints. The product owner is responsible for the product backlog items.
A sprint backlog is created with all the tasks that the team should work on during the sprint. All tasks in the sprint backlog should be time-boxed taking a maximum of one workday to fulfill.
The scrum team capacity is also taken into consideration, with all stories given story points.
The team is collectively responsible for achieving the sprint goal.
What is product backlog refinement?
Product backlog refinement is a meeting during the sprint cycle. The product owner or more team members review the backlog to ensure that the correct activities are there and correctly prioritized.
What is a daily SCRUM meeting?
A daily SCRUM meeting or standup should occur every day with the following schedule:
- Maximum runtime of 15 minutes
- What did you do since the last standup?
- What will you do until the next standup?
- Are there any blockers to be able to fulfill your tasks?
What is a sprint review?
The SCRUM team members review the current sprint results during a sprint review and see how well the tasks have been accomplished.
What is a sprint retrospective?
At the end of each sprint, a sprint retrospective is held. The purpose of the sprint retrospective is to look back at the last sprint and reflect on what went well and what did not go well. From this information, actions are created to develop upcoming sprints further.
Why Agdiwo believes agile works with IT infrastructure
Most software companies are moving to a service-based approach, also called evergreen.
Some examples include:
- Microsoft Azure (Infrastructure as a Service)
- Microsoft Office 365 (Software as a Service)
- Windows 10 (Windows as a Service)
What this new delivery method means is that they will continuously be updated with new features.
We also call this Evergreen since they always will be fresh and feel current.
In larger organizations, these new features will need to be tested continuously. This way of working is commonly known as DevOps.
Conclusion
Instead of seeing agile as a fad, try to embrace it.
New ways of working are always tricky, but they improve organizations with new ideas.
Get in contact with Agdiwo to learn more about how agile can help your organization transform your IT infrastructure projects.
