Comparing Lean, Agile, and Continuous Delivery
With DevOps and Continuous Delivery gaining traction, are the principles behind Lean and Agile still relevant? How do they compare to the 5 Continuous Delivery principles, and what do any differences mean for software development teams?
Throughout the 1990s, a revolution was brewing in the software development industry. The early phased models divided the delivery process into skill-based steps, with designs and documents used to run approval processes to control a project.
The process for delivering software was heavyweight and slow, with little indication that the overheads reduced the risks they tried to mitigate.
A collection of lightweight methods emerged, designed to generate fast feedback and iteratively adapt the plan based on new information. Rather than controls and approvals, developers used small batches to manage the risk and provide frequent opportunities to change direction.
- Innovators (-3)
- Early adopters (-2)
- Early majority (-1)
- Late majority (+1)
- Laggards (+3)