What does it mean to “be agile”?

The answer is more complicated than you might think. Agile development isn’t a specific process you can follow. No team practices the Agile method. There’s no such thing.

A method, or process, is a way of working. Whenever you do something, you’re following a process. Some processes are written, as when assembling a piece of furniture; others are ad hoc and informal, as when I clean my house.

Agile methods are processes that support the agile philosophy. Examples include Extreme Programming and Scrum.

Agile methods consist of individual elements called practices. Practices include using version control, setting coding standards, and giving weekly demos to your stakeholders. Most of these practices have been around for years. Agile methods combine them in unique ways, accentuating those parts that support the agile philosophy, discarding the rest, and mixing in a few new ideas. The result is a lean, powerful, self-reinforcing package.