I am wondering if more people ask this question. Why did agile popped up during the 90s?
In my opinion it was the ISO 9001 extravaganza (remember creating documents?) that pushed everyone over the edge and demanding something light... enter agile.
Bruce LoflandSoftware Developer| SprintLenexa, Ks, United States
I think it was clearly the commercialization of the Internet and all the start-ups it spawned. These were mostly college students that didn't have the patience for formal methods. Being open to begin with, Internet development went fast and furious. All the venture capital being poured into it made profit an after thought, so mundane constraints like that went out the window. Everyone was changing their websites everyday and having the coolest spinning logo was the top priority.
When the dot com bubble burst in 2000, the laid-off developers tried to spread their wisdom by creating a formal methodology called Agile. This DID address the perception that the corporate culture had become too bureaucratic. Agile still has many advocates because of this. I am not sure that ISO 9001 contributed much to this.
Rakesh TrivediSenior Project Manager| IT CompanyIndore, Mp, India
Agreed, this question is always asked. Although no clear answer but in my mind comes couple of reasons-
- Rush in modifications of customer requirement during lifecycle of project and waterfall was not exactly coud cater them.
- Finding a way for less documentation and thus cut in cost of project.
- Commerical aspect is also very important , whenever Industry is stagnant and looks for new opportunity they would come up with newer ideas to replace existing Technology/Philosophy with backup from heavy weights and everyone goes for it , some may be due to there vested interests. Although the above assumption may not be true everytime. Saving Changes...
hi all, thanks for the great feedback. yes, i am sure the internet has amplified its use. as of course the wrong use of earlier existing methods. Saving Changes...
Stan YanakievCustomer Project Manager - IT| Hewlett-PackardSofia, Bulgaria
What triggered agile? There is a piece of the truth in all replies in this thread.
My explanation as a Project Manager with background as a software developer is the following. Some traditional project management methods were too heavy and quite irrelevant to be applied in software development. Most obviously these are traditional scope management and time management. Software development is a creative process that is hard to plan upfront. Especially when it comes to innovative projects - and in the youth of an industry most projects are innovative.
Have you ever heard of planning a masterpiece book using project management methods? Is that possible? Is that realistic?
Traditional project management methods were born in construction and military projects. Well, software development has its own specifics which should be addressed with dedicated methods. This brought up agile. Saving Changes...
In the late 80's and early 90's there were a number of spectacular project failures and the phrase "Paralysis by anaysis" was coined. In effect the waterfall method was too slow. The business had changed before the user requirements and design had been completed. So there was constant changes and redesign to the point where nothing was ever delivered! Here are some examples
Westpac C90 project of the 1980s, a rather costly example which came in at an estimated $300 million – loss
RMIT announced that it would spend $11 million re-implementing a failed student enrolment system
Crane Group wrote down $28.8 million relating to the failed implementation of software for its Tradelink stores. Saving Changes...
