As opposed to the traditional methodologies, the agile approach has been introduced as an attempt to make software engineering flexible and efficient. With 94% of the organizations practicing agile in 2015, it has become a standard of project management.

The history of agile can be traced back to 1957: at that time Bernie Dimsdale, John von Neumann, Herb Jacobs, and Gerald Weinberg were using incremental development techniques (which are now known as Agile), building software for IBM and Motorola. Although not know how to classify the approach they were practicing, they all realized clearly that it was different from the Waterfall in many ways.

Aimed at “uncovering better ways of developing software”, the Manifesto clearly specifies the fundamental principles of the new approach:

Through this work, we have come to agile value:
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change by following a plan

Complemented with the Twelve Principles of Agile Software, the philosophy has come to be a universal and efficient new way to manage projects. Agile methodologies take an iterative approach to software development.

Unlike a straightforward linear waterfall model, agile projects consist of a number of smaller cycles - sprints. Each one of them is a project in miniature: it has a backlog and consists of design, implementation, testing and deployment stages within the pre-defined scope of work.