Agile Software Development – Everything You Need to Know
Thanks to innovation, gone are the days of traditional or waterfall project management methodologies. Although they are still in use and are suited for a range of projects, they lack flexibility and delay the development processes as work progresses through fixed, sequential stages. Agile software development is a flexible, iterative approach. Waterfall methods often make it difficult and costly to revisit earlier stages once approved.
However, agile turns this approach on its head. It breaks the work into smaller time frames, encouraging regular feedback, ongoing collaboration, and rapid iteration. Notably, Agile is expanding beyond its initial focus on software development, with 60% of organizations using it in various business functions.
A bespoke software development agency uses agile frameworks, including Scrum, Kanban, Lean, etc, to quickly build secure and scalable solutions. In Scrum, one of the most popular agile frameworks, the timeframes are known as sprints and typically last between one and three weeks.
By involving teams throughout every sprint, Agile enables continuous improvements, swift responses to change, and the development of high-quality, user-centered software.
What is agile software development?
Agile software development is a methodology that prioritises flexibility, collaboration, and iterative development cycles. The greater focus lies on building a working software quickly and frequently. Simultaneously, the developer’s team can adapt to change and continuously improve the product based on feedback.
This involves breaking down the project into smaller, manageable pieces (sprints) with frequent testing and integration. Analysing what is software development, agile is one of the most reliable methods to handle the entire process of building applications.
Many argue agile is a mindset that allows different teams to follow their respective methods of building applications. However, the team must agree to align themselves to agile principles and values.
The 4 core values of agile
In 2001, 17 software professionals met to explore lightweight methods for building software solutions. Their combined efforts led to building the Agile Manifesto, which later turned into a cornerstone of modern software development.
The Manifesto outlines four key values:
- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
People—not tools—are the drivers of successful development. Agile values human collaboration and adaptability over rigid procedures.
- Working software over comprehensive documentation
Although documentation remains important, agile prioritises delivering functional software. This helps to streamline documentation (e.g., user stories) and also supports rapid as well as effective development.
- Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Agile encourages ongoing involvement from customers throughout the project. A continuous feedback loop paves the way that the final product aligns with the customer’s needs or vision.
- Responding to change over following a fixed plan
The agile development cycle embraces change. Iterative cycles make adapting to new insights or shifting priorities straightforward and productive.
The 12 agile principles
- Deliver value early and continuously
- Break down large tasks into smaller, manageable units
- Empower self-organising teams
- Support and trust motivated individuals
- Build sustainable and consistent workflows
- Maintain a steady development pace
- Embrace change—even late in the process
- Ensure daily collaboration between business and technical teams
- Reflect regularly to improve effectiveness
- Measure progress through working on software
- Strive for technical excellence and good design
- Use change to gain a competitive edge
Understanding the agile software development lifecycle
At chilliapple, a software agency UK, we implement apt agile project management models to quickly deliver value while adapting to evolving business and user needs. We choose among different models as per the client’s requirements for a successful software development process. So, the exact steps differ depending on whether we use Scrum, Kanban, or another Agile method, but the core phases remain consistent:
1. Ideation
All successful software projects begin with a strong idea. We collaborate closely with clients, stakeholders, developers, and end-users. Our focus is to ensure a well-defined strategy that meets a 360-degree view of software development projects goals.
During ideation:
- Our software development consultant identifies business goals and user needs
- We document core features
- Further, we specify the technical requirements and technology stack
We also prioritise tasks and align resources accordingly for a fast-paced and streamlined development process.
2. Development
With clear direction in place, our team begins building the initial version of your product. This phase includes:
- UX and UI design
- Software architecture planning
- Incremental coding and configuration
Building the very first iteration of your software product usually takes the longest time in the agile software development cycle. We use modern technology tools and AI to fast-pace the process. We build the code and features in sprints that support continuous refinement as feedback is received.
3. Testing
Before each release, we rigorously test the software to ensure performance, security, and stability. We ensure to always test the latest iteration of the software product release. With an agile model in place, we ensure to maximise the custom software development benefits. So, we bake testing cycles into every sprint to maintain consistent quality.
The QA phase involves :
- Identifying and resolving bugs
- Conducting trial runs for usability and functionality
- Ensuring a clean and easy-to-maintain code
4. Deployment
Once the solution passes testing, we deploy it, whether onto the cloud or your own infrastructure. This phase marks the product going live, ready for users.
We ensure:
- Secure, stable deployment
- Clear documentation for support
- Confidence in the product’s reliability
5. Operations
The journey doesn’t end after deployment. Agile encourages ongoing monitoring, maintenance, and enhancement. Our team remains involved in resolving issues, releasing updates, and continue improving features based on real-world feedback.
Key focus areas for agile maturity
At chilliapple, our agile delivery model is supported by five pillars that drive efficiency, adaptability, and speed:
1. Methodology
Strong collaboration between stakeholders, product owners, and developers is essential. We involve all parties from day one. This helps to ensure shared goals and the ability to adapt quickly to shifting priorities.
2. Architecture
We design modular, flexible systems using component-based or microservices architectures. This allows individual parts of the software to evolve independently—making change less disruptive and innovation more fluid.
3. Automation
Automation reduces the risks of manual errors and frees up time for creative, high-value tasks. We identify repetitive processes and automate them. This includes everything from testing to deployment pipelines.
4. Infrastructure
Our infrastructure supports agility by being scalable and containerised. Using tools like Docker and cloud platforms, we provision environments quickly and securely—ideal for high-growth digital products.
5. Technology
The right tech stack is the key that makes or breaks your agility. chilliapple chooses the best technologies that suit your goals and scale your business. Our team ensures each tool contributes directly to value creation, not complexity. For example, we use collaboration and project-tracking tools like Slack, Teams, Jira, Basecamp, etc.
Agile meets DevOps
While Agile and DevOps aren’t the same, they work best when paired together for complex undertakings like ERP software development projects. Agile focuses on how we build software; DevOps supports how we deliver it. At chilliapple, we blend both to achieve faster releases, tighter feedback loops, and higher customer satisfaction. With the help of automation, infrastructure-as-code, and agile-friendly tooling, our development process is faster, smoother, and more reliable.
Why choose chilliapple for agile software development?
At chilliapple, we don’t just do Agile—we live it. Our dedicated teams are structured for transparency, rapid iteration, and consistent delivery. Whether you’re launching a new product or transforming an existing one, we’ll help you bring ideas to life—faster and smarter.
Delivering world-class solutions since 2008, we have helped various businesses shape and build successful software products. Whether you are building from scratch or need assistance with legacy modernisation, we deliver optimum results.
