The Art of Agile Development

Deliver Frequently

If you have a business problem, a solution to that problem today is much more valuable than a solution to that problem in six months—especially if the solution will be the same then as it is now. Value is more than just doing what the customer needs. It’s doing what the customer needs when the customer needs it.

Delivering working, valuable software frequently makes your software more valuable. This is especially true when a real customer promotes the most valuable stories to the start of the project. Delivering working software as fast as possible enables two important feedback loops. One is from actual customers to the developers, where the customers use the software and communicate how well it meets their needs. The other is from the team to the customers, where the team communicates by demonstrating how trustworthy and capable it is.

Frequent delivery tightens those loops. Customers see that their involvement in the process makes a real difference to their work. Developers see that they’re helping real people solve real problems. The highest priority of any software project is to deliver value, frequently and continuously, and by doing so, to satisfy the customer. Success follows.

In Practice

Once you’ve identified what the customer really needs and what makes the software valuable, XP’s technical practices help you achieve fast and frequent releases. Short iterations keep the schedule light and manageable by dividing the whole project into week-long cycles, culminating ...