Agile methodologies are becoming an established part of modern software development. Here are three reasons why it pays to write code in an agile way.

1. The ability to react quickly and flexibly to changes

In the traditional waterfall model, an IT project is driven forward in a process-oriented way based on a precise requirements definition. It is still suitable for projects around which the world remains reasonably predictable.

However, many things can change during an IT project. For example, the market may change with new competitors or the expectations of the final product may change. Sometimes technologies also evolve over the course of a long project. During a project, more and more information is gathered to support decisions and choices.

Agile methods are characterised by building the final product one small subset at a time, i.e. development work is done in sprints. By defining only the essentials at the beginning of a project, such as the architectural outlines, new sub-sets can be added quickly in the middle of the project. Likewise, it is possible to exclude parts that have been identified as unnecessary. This allows the project to adapt to changes in the world around it.

2. Increased transparency

An IT project risks failing if the people involved don’t know what they are doing. The use of agile methodologies allows a proper view of the product under development at all stages of the project. Each member of the team has a clear picture at all times of what others are doing and what the most important tasks are at that moment. This up-to-date information helps to make better decisions, which in turn improves the quality of the final product. Team members can also support each other more easily and communication with stakeholders is facilitated.

3. Keeping the budget and schedule under control

Staying within budget and on time is one of the most important goals for any buyer. Agile development in short cycles involves regular feedback and review of development success. As a result, potential problems are identified early and can be addressed quickly.

In the waterfall model, testing is often concentrated at the end of the project, so there is a risk that even major changes will not be detected until the last few metres. In such a situation, the buyer usually has to be flexible with the schedule and, in the worst case, the price tag of the project starts to look very different from what was originally planned.