‘Agile’ is a catch-all term which encompasses several modern methods of managing software development projects. All software development is inherently filled with uncertainties, which is why more traditional ‘Waterfall’ management tends to fail badly. Agile methods embrace uncertainty and treats learning as a part of the process of creating software.
Each method is based around the idea of building software iteratively, separating it up into small deliverable parts and working on tight timeframes (usually 2-4 week cycles), and eschews trying to create grand game design documents at the start of the project.
Most modern studios now use some form of agile management, however most publishing contracts are still framed with waterfall planning in mind.
Related Topics
Clean Development, Customer Validation, Game Design Document, Iteration, Lean, Kano Model, Publisher
