Typical Agile Development Lifecycle
I ran across this nice graphic of an agile lifecycle produced by Galorath’s David Dewitt. I thought it was clear in its presentation of the lifecycle and how estimation and planning fit in.
I am often surprised when speaking to people who say, “We don’t need estimation or planning any longer because we are agile.”
I suppose that may be true for very small projects. But for projects of any significance, it is not enough to tell stakeholders who need to budget and plan for delivered software that we will tell you we are done when we get there. Estimation at the macro level is required so the overall project scope is understood as well as at the lowest levels for developers to commit to their work in a sprint.
