What is Agile Modeling? Values, Principles, Phases, Benefits

A structure provides the required clarity to focus efforts, especially while starting a new project. A model plays the same role in the case of software, and agile modeling provides a way to optimize the modeling efforts through the development lifecycle.

Modeling helps developers understand all the components and their interactions. In addition, it allows a chance to understand the system from multiple perspectives, including functional, performance, and security considerations, thus helping the development team build the right thing. This article will explain agile modeling and how it benefits development teams. CSM training will help you become an exceptional Scrum master and learn agile modeling better.

What is Agile Modeling and its Primary Goal?

Agile Modelling approaches the modeling efforts of the software you want to build using the agile philosophy. For example, when developing a complex product, you would like a strong starting point using a model that captures the vital high-level requirements yet is flexible to accommodate future changes as you uncover more information and nuances of the problem.

Let us look at some examples to understand agile models. When you are in the primary stages of the project and want to understand the overall scope of the problem, consider generating a business canvas. However, as you narrow down the exact requirements, you will create user stories. Both are examples of an agile model. Various phases in the project will have different agile modeling tools and techniques. They will generate different types of agile models.

Agile Modelling techniques allow the application of a collection of values, principles and practices of software modeling that enables you to approach the development initiatives in a streamlined and intuitive manner. Its primary goal is to guide the development teams through modeling activities in alignment with other software development processes, including Extreme Programming (XP), SCRUM, Kanban, and SAFe®.

Need for a Better Agile Modeling Methodology

Software teams worldwide are increasingly solving problems with greater complexities every day. However, there needs to be a better way to understand and represent the complexities even before the development efforts have started to ensure that businesses invest the right number of resources for optimum value.

Due to fast-changing technology and business environment, these complexities and uncertainties require better change management capabilities. Unfortunately, traditional modeling practices are rigid to facilitate responding to such changes quickly.

Collaborative product development practices are mandatory to handle the complexities and uncertainties. The modeling practices must also ensure that they support collaborative solution development efforts, leading to innovative and effective answers to complex problems.

We also need the processes to ensure efficient cycle times, throughputs, and shorter feedback cycles, which is a challenge for traditional modeling practices. All these factors combined, there is a need for a better modeling methodology that is effective yet flexible.

5 Values of Agile Modeling

Agile Modelling is a practice rooted in approaching Modelling efforts collaboratively and evolutionarily. It enables such an approach based on a foundation of five values, adopting and adding the values defined by XP. These five values are; communication, simplicity, feedback, courage, and humility.

1. Communication

The value of communication refers to the importance of having a shared understanding of the problems to be solved (requirements) and the design that can enable an optimal solution. The Agile Modelling approach values communication between all stakeholders, including businesses, developers, and customers, to reach a common conclusion. Agile models themselves are tools of communication.

2. Simplicity

Agile Modelling values simplicity as it can be an indispensable tool to propagate understanding. To that effect, it emphasizes more straightforward methods of communication, like diagrams, instead of lengthy documents.

3. Feedback

Agile Modelling values quick feedback to ensure teams put efforts in building the right solution. The more straightforward representational methods like diagramming help towards feedback too.

4. Courage

As part of evolution, you might have to change course. Such course correction may mean refactoring or moving away from the efforts already invested. The team must have the courage to do that to deliver the right solution.

5. Humility

The value of humility describes the ability to accept that others involved in the efforts have value to add and approach such feedback with humility that such feedback may even bring more value than your views and opinions.

Core Principles of Agile Modeling

Agile Modelling practices lay down ten principles of agile Model that provide a way of working for agile modeling teams, built on top of the foundation of the values. These agile modeling principles demonstrate the mindset that teams should follow for the application of agile Model. Furthermore, these principles align with overall agile principles. You can understand more about it by taking up an appropriate Agile training course.

1. Model With a Purpose: A good model starts by asking why and generating an artifact that satisfies the question.
2. Adopt Simplicity: The principle of simplicity guides the team to develop the simplest possible solution to satisfy today's needs instead of assuming what will be required in the future and creating an over-complicated model.
3. Embrace Change: The situation will continually evolve for multiple reasons. Therefore, you must have the courage and ability to change your efforts to reflect those changing realities.
4. Your Secondary Goal is Enabling the Next Effort: It is essential that what you do today enables the next steps of your solutions journey, be it developing the next feature or allowing the person who will take over the work from you.
5. Incremental Change: You should consider incrementally building the Model, building just enough right now and then improving through feedback.
6. Maximize Stakeholder Investment: Since it's the stakeholders who have invested resources and for whom you are developing the solution, your efforts should be to ensure maximum returns on that investment.
7. Remember the Existence of Multiple Models: You can develop multiple types of models and use different tools but remember to choose the best for any given condition.
8. Produce Quality Work: Work of low quality is challenging for everyone. Developers prefer to avoid owning such work; teams face challenges in understanding, refactoring, and changing. Stakeholders don't like it because it doesn't match their expectations. So instead, focus on ensuring the highest quality work.
9. Provide Rapid Feedback: Strive to get early feedback for the work done and build the models incrementally. Use tools that enable rapid feedback, including a near-instant to the extent possible.
10. Make Working Software Your Primary Goal: While models (and other artifacts) are helpful, your focus should continually be developing working software that solves the customer's problem.

Phases of the Agile Model

The Agile Model adopts an iterative and incremental approach, with short timeboxes to deliver the functionality, gather the feedback, and then work on the next steps based on that feedback. An Agile Model goes through six logical phases. Let us see the primary agile model phases and the modeling efforts involved in each.

1. Requirements Gathering

The requirements-gathering phase has the following activities.

• Business Exploration: This modeling phase focuses on finding the business environment and opportunity.
• Discovery: This phase focuses on identifying customer needs and preferences.
• Requirements Analysis: Requirement Analysis models attempt to dive deep into customer requirements and even identify the unsaid requirements that can increase the product value.

2. Design the Requirements

During this phase, the modeling efforts focus on the following;

• Architecture: Based on the requirements analysis, the architecture phase focuses on identifying high-level dimensions of the potential solutions.
• Technical Desig: Once the architectural models are available, the team focuses on individual components of the overall architecture and creates the models for implementation.
• User Experience Design: This phase includes creating the User Interface (UI) design and designing the overall User Experience (UX), including navigation and workflows.

3. Construction/ Iteration

Based on the requirements and the design, the software is developed during this phase. Based on the development, there might be iterations of modeling efforts and coding. If the team is following test-driven development, the unit tests are also written in this phase.

4. Testing/ Quality Assurance

During this phase, the acceptance and other tests designed earlier are executed to ensure the software works as expected. The models created to help the team test if the system works as expected and is fit for use are utilized to ensure it is indeed the case.

5. Deployment

During this phase, the software is deployed in the production environment.

6. Feedback

The customers and users provide feedback on the functionality, usability and performance.

These phases are not sequential but rather overlap to ensure a seamless modeling effort.

Pros and Cons of Agile Modeling

As with any approach, there are agile model advantages and disadvantages associated with the adoption of the agile Model in software engineering.

Advantages of Agile Modelling

• Agile Modelling brings flexibility by being open to changes and improvements.
• It also promotes collaboration between stakeholders and establishes feedback loops.
• Through early feedback, agile Modeling also helps improve the quality of the outcome.
• Through iterative and incremental development efforts, it enables faster time to market and can reduce costs.

Disadvantages of Agile Modelling

• The lack of detailed documentation may confuse some team members and stakeholders.
• It requires the active involvement of all stakeholders. Such involvement may only sometimes be practically possible, in which case stakeholders may have misaligned expectations.
• The Agile model approach provides limited predictability necessary to plan resource allocation and planning, which the team may require in some instances.

Agile Modelling approaches require skills and experience; finding the right mix of technical and soft skills can sometimes be challenging.
KnowledgeHut's Agile courses can help you understand how to use agile Modeling for better outcomes. In addition, they can guide you to adopt these practices to leverage all the advantages.

Agile Modeling Best Practices

Let us now see what agile model adoption means regarding what the teams should do. Scott Ambler created a diagram listing all the best practices to follow with Agile Modeling. These practices guide the process of agile model development and agile model application.

• Active Stakeholder Participation: Agile Modeling efforts should have active stakeholder participation for quick inputs and feedback throughout the process.
• Architecture Envisioning: A high-level envisioning of the overall architecture will help clear the requirements before getting into the detailed solution development efforts.
• Document Continuously: The team should develop required documentation parallel to the development process as the project progresses.
• Document Late: Instead of creating upfront documentation, wait till the solution development effort is mature and document only towards the end of the development effort.
• Executable Requirements: Write the requirements in a manner that can provide implementation guidance. This practice complements test-driven development (TDD).
• Iteration Modeling: Undertake the modeling efforts for each iteration to support the changes required based on the feedback.
• Just Barely Good Enough (JBGE) artifacts: Develop a model or document in sufficient detail to provide all required clarity and reference.
• Look Ahead Modeling: Explore the requirements that you may not consider for development immediately but are complex enough to uncover challenges early.
• Model Storming: Provide detailed attention, review, and revise the Model immediately in line for development.
• Multiple Models: You can use different types of models to communicate specific requirements, but evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each kind before using those.
• Prioritized Requirements: As part of the Agile Modeling process, teams should prioritize the requirements to provide stakeholders with maximum value and return on investment (ROI).
• Requirements Envisioning: Use the requirements gathering phase of the project beginning to identify and prioritize the most valuable requirements you can start to develop immediately.
• Single Source Information: Ensure that all the information is updated at a single source of information so that there is no misalignment.
• Test-Driven Design (TDD): Use TDD to write the test and immediately write the code to satisfy the test using a Just-In-Time (JIT) approach. TDD allows the adoption of agile Model in software testing.

Uses of the Agile Model

Suppose you are working on a project that has complex requirements. In that case, Agile Model can help you break down the run requirements and work towards meeting them iteratively and incrementally. It also enables you to deal with projects where all the details are unknown upfront or your stakeholders expect changes moving forward. Agile Model is quite helpful in those situations. The uses of agile Model cover the entire software development lifecycle, from business analysis to delivery.

Conclusion

Agile Model allows product development teams to produce valuable output for their stakeholders quicker. The agile modeling approach helps us think about the solution before writing code. It facilitates a comprehensive understanding of how different solution components interconnect. It does take skills and experience to have an effective Agile Modelling approach, but the benefits far outweigh the challenges.