Agile
ELI5 — The Vibe Check
Agile is a philosophy of building software in short cycles, learning from real feedback, and adapting quickly instead of following a massive upfront plan. The opposite is waterfall — plan everything for months, then build it all at once and hope for the best.
Real Talk
Agile is a software development philosophy outlined in the 2001 Agile Manifesto. It prioritises individuals and interactions, working software, customer collaboration, and responding to change. Agile is implemented through methodologies like Scrum and Kanban.
When You'll Hear This
"We adopted Agile to respond faster to changing requirements." / "Agile doesn't mean no planning — it means adaptive planning."
Related Terms
Backlog
The backlog is the master to-do list for a product — every feature, bug, and idea that hasn't been built yet, prioritised by importance.
Kanban
Kanban is a visual workflow system where tasks move through columns — To Do, In Progress, Done. Unlike Scrum with fixed sprints, Kanban is continuous flow.
MVP (MVP)
An MVP is the simplest version of your product that actually works well enough for real users to use and for you to learn from.
Scrum
Scrum is a specific recipe for doing Agile.
Sprint
A sprint is a fixed time-box — usually 1-2 weeks — where a team commits to completing a specific set of tasks.
Standup
A standup is a short daily team meeting — meant to be done standing so it stays brief.