Purpose of the Agile Manifesto

The Agile Manifesto arose in response to growing frustrations with traditional software development methods, perceived as slow, cumbersome and often disconnected from real customer needs.

At the beginning of the 21st century, a group of professionals sought to define a set of values and principles that would guide a more adaptive, collaborative and value-delivery focused way of working.

This document was not intended to be a prescriptive methodology, but rather a statement of intent, a philosophical foundation for lighter, more flexible approaches that were already emerging.

Its fundamental purpose was to discover and promote better ways to develop software, prioritizing responsiveness to change and customer satisfaction over rigid processes and exhaustive documentation.

The 2001 Meeting: Finding Better Ways

In February 2001, seventeen software professionals representing various lightweight methodologies (such as XP, Scrum, DSDM, and others) met at a ski resort in Snowbird, Utah.

Their common goal was to find shared ground and articulate the core values and principles underlying their alternative approaches to the heavy, bureaucratic processes dominant at the time.

They were "discovering better ways to develop software, both through their own experience and by helping others."

This meeting did not seek to create a new unified methodology, but to distill the essence of what made these "agile" approaches effective, resulting in the writing of the concise but influential Manifesto for Agile Software Development.

From Software Development to Universal Application

Although the Agile Manifesto originated explicitly in the context of software development, its underlying values and principles proved to have much broader applicability.

The need to adapt to change, collaborate closely with customers, value people, and deliver value incrementally is not unique to software.

Over time, the agile mindset has been adopted and adapted across diverse industries and functions, such as human resources, marketing, sales, education and even manufacturing.

When applying the principles, the word "software" is often replaced with "product," "service," or "valuable outcome" to reflect their universal application in the search for more effective and humane ways of working in complex environments.

Summary

The Agile Manifesto arose in response to frustration with traditional methods. A group of professionals sought to define values for more adaptive work.

In 2001, seventeen professionals met in Snowbird, Utah. Their goal was to find common ground and articulate the values of agile approaches.

Although it originated in software development, its mindset has universal application. Industries such as marketing or human resources have adopted these principles.