Agile Manifesto

Definition

The Agile Manifesto is a foundational document that defines agile software development. It consists of four value pairs and twelve principles to enable more adaptive and collaborative ways of working.

Context

The Agile Manifesto shifted the focus of software development away from rigid, requirements-heavy processes and lengthy documentation phases towards customer collaboration, flexibility, and delivering working solutions early and often. Its ideas underpin almost all modern agile practices and frameworks, making it essential for teams and organizations that want to work in a more adaptive way.

Description

The Agile Manifesto was created in February 2001 by 17 experienced software developers at the Snowbird Ski Resort in Utah, USA. They were dissatisfied with slow, requirements- and documentation-heavy processes and wanted to find better ways of working.

The Agile Manifesto introduced four value pairs:

“We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it.
Through this work we have come to value:

• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
• Working software over comprehensive documentation
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more."

It also defined twelve principles to guide agile development, focusing on flexibility, fast learning, and close collaboration with customers. These values and principles are the foundation of agile ways of working like Scrum, XP or LeSS today.

Example

A team embracing the Agile Manifesto might prioritize delivering a working software increment every sprint instead of spending weeks documenting detailed requirements and designs upfront. They document essential aspects of the product as it evolves, ensuring clarity without overproducing requirements documentation. This prevents the common misunderstanding that “we don’t document anymore because we are agile.” The intention is to reduce unnecessary requirements documentation at the start, not to eliminate documenting finished work altogether.

Common Misunderstandings

One frequent misunderstanding is that the Agile Manifesto dismisses processes, tools, plans, or documentation altogether. In reality, it acknowledges their value but emphasizes individuals and interactions, working solutions, and adaptability are more impactful. For example, Scrum does not reject planning. It plans early and often at multiple levels. Sprint Planning sets a realistic plan for the Sprint aligned with the Sprint Goal. The Daily Scrum updates the plan for the next 24 hours based on what the team now knows at that time. The Sprint Review uses product results and stakeholder feedback to decide what is most important next. The Sprint Retrospective plans how the team will improve its collaboration and working methods. Short cycles mean more frequent planning with better information and less waste.

Want to learn more?

Explore the Agile Fundamentals or Scrum Foundations online course to develop a deep understanding of the Agile Manifesto and how it is put into practice.