Difference between agile and iterative and incremental development

agile methodology iteration
Sonia Yunni picture Sonia Yunni · Aug 7, 2012 · Viewed 113.3k times · Source

What are the difference between Agile and iterative and incremental development? Is Agile considered as iterative and incremental? Some info shown the Agile is the latest of iterative and incremental. I need a clear clarification on this.

Answer

Gishu picture Gishu · Aug 7, 2012
  • Iterative - you don't finish a feature in one go. You are in a code >> get feedback >> code >> ... cycle. You keep iterating till done.
  • Incremental - you build as much as you need right now. You don't over-engineer or add flexibility unless the need is proven. When the need arises, you build on top of whatever already exists. (Note: differs from iterative in that you're adding new things.. vs refining something).
  • Agile - you are agile if you value the same things as listed in the agile manifesto. It also means that there is no standard template or checklist or procedure to "do agile". It doesn't overspecify.. it just states that you can use whatever practices you need to "be agile". Scrum, XP, Kanban are some of the more prescriptive 'agile' methodologies because they share the same set of values. Continuous and early feedback, frequent releases/demos, evolve design, etc.. hence they can be iterative and incremental.

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