What is this agility you keep talking about?

Last week I made a big career jump. I went from online journalism and the non-profit sector to contracting for this VERY busy technology firm. Humbling? Yes. Terrifying?Check. Absolutely fascinating and satisfying? That too!

We specialize in the “Agile Approach.” I assumed it just meant flexible – little did I know how much there is to agility. I ended up here after working with Phase 2 as a client, and had often told people of their iterative approach to web development – without realizing I was only partially explaining the concept of the agile approach.

My research started with Wikipedia.

There I learned about the existence of an Agile Manifesto. A manifesto? Really?

Folks around here, having been practioners for years, wonder if the agile approach has gone mainstream.

I’m just learning all it encompasses. When I read more, I find myself thinking, “yes, that’s it. That just makes sense.”

If, like me, you aren’t familiar with the Agile Approach to software development, check out these great resources:

http://www.phase2technology.com/approach.php

http://martinfowler.com/articles/newMethodology.html

http://www.agilealliance.org/show/2

http://www.agilejournal.com/magazine.html

I think you’ll also find yourself nodding and thinking, “yes, this is the approach I want my web developers to use.”