The Manifesto for Agile Software Development (aka the Agile Manifesto) is a document first published in 2001, in Utah. It was written over two days when seventeen people envisioned an alternative future to the historically, documentation and process-heavy, software development practices of the time.
They found common ground, and true to the spirit of their meeting, they didn’t create a heavy, process-laiden framework, but instead distilled their ideas into a rather simple manifesto:
We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan
That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.
At the heart of the manifesto is the idea that those who subscribe to its ideologies should let go of archaic methodologies and practices that haven’t aged well and don’t translate into modern software development. Indeed, many would argue that the old practices hinder what would otherwise be high-performing software, teams, and organizations.
The most common casualties in an agile transformation are waterfall processes because technology often operates and evolves faster than waterfall can accommodate.
Another tenet of the manifesto is that process is not implemented or followed for process' sake. Each company, team, and even individual needs a thorough introspection to see what works for them. The minimum process required to achieve the company, team, or individual mission or objective is all that is needed.
Furthermore, a single process–even a lightweight process–won’t apply to all situations. Each company and team is different because each is made up of unique individuals who interact in myriad different ways.