Principle 3: Frequent Delivery – The Agile Way

Agile Manifesto Principle 3: Deliver Working Software Frequently

“Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference for the shorter timescale.”

Why Frequent Delivery Matters

Agile Principle 3 emphasizes the importance of frequently delivering working software. By doing so, teams continuously provide value to users while responding quickly to evolving needs. This frequent delivery approach keeps development focused on producing usable features in small, manageable increments.

Delivering software in short cycles ensures teams receive early feedback, which allows them to make necessary adjustments. As a result, the product stays aligned with both customer expectations and business goals, ensuring relevance throughout development.

How to Implement Frequent Delivery

1. Define a Clear Product Roadmap: Break down the product roadmap into smaller, manageable goals. This ensures that the team delivers the most critical features first, providing immediate value to users.
2. Align the Team on Frequent Delivery: It’s crucial to ensure that everyone on the team is committed to delivering frequently. In doing so, teams shift from aiming for a “perfect” product to one that can be refined iteratively over time.
3. Prioritize User Feedback: Establish a feedback loop with users after each release. This approach allows the team to prioritize new features and adjustments based on real-world usage and customer needs.

For example, consider a fintech company building a mobile banking app. Instead of waiting to finish the entire app, the team adopts an incremental delivery approach. In the first sprint, users can check their account balances. Two weeks later, the team added a feature to transfer funds. With each iteration, the team gathers user feedback, fine-tunes the product, and introduces new features that improve user experience.

This process allows the company to remain agile, react quickly to customer feedback, and deliver a product that evolves with the market.

Agile Principle 3 demonstrates that delivering working software frequently is key to maintaining agility. By breaking down the roadmap into smaller parts, aligning the team on frequent delivery, and prioritizing user feedback, teams can deliver continuous value. Ultimately, this approach keeps organizations flexible and responsive to both user needs and business objectives.