Agile Methodology: 4 Values and 12 Principles

As a software tester, you will be part of a software team, and most software development teams nowadays use agile methodologies to manage their daily tasks. This is why you must be aware of agile methodologies and their relationship with software testing.

Four Values

1. Working software over comprehensive documentation
2. Customer Collaboration over Contract Negotiation
3. Responding to change over following a plan
4. Individuals & Interactions over Processes & Tools

12 Principles

Based on those 4 values, we have 12 principles.

1. Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage.
3. Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference for the shorter timescale.
4. Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.
5. Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.
6. The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.
7. Working software is the primary measure of progress.
8. Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
9. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
10. Simplicity–the art of maximizing the amount of work not done–is essential.
11. The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
12. At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.