Getting Started with Agile Thinking, Explained

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Getting Started with Agile Thinking

Software Engineering · Chapter 4: Rapid Development, Testing, and Software EvolutionSection 4.7 · lesson 30 of 1036 min · free with a free account

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In this lesson

A shift in orientation, before any principle or framework.

  • Contrast agile thinking with the plan-protecting instinct
  • Explain what it means to build with the customer, not just for them
  • Explain why agile thinking treats change as a sign of learning
  • Explain why agile favors small, real increments of value

Transcript

Everything said in the video, section by section (809 words). Read along, or search it.

Rapid Development, Testing, and Software Evolution

Getting Started with Agile Thinking

Every approach covered so far, however different in structure, shares one instinct. Make a plan, and then treat protecting that plan as the measure of success. Agile thinking starts from a genuinely different place. This section introduces that shift, before any formal principle or named framework.

A Shared Instinct

Make a Plan, Then Protect It

Think back over the approaches so far. A sequential approach, a risk-driven cycle, even a business framework like Stage-Gate, all treat the plan as something to protect once it is set. Success is often measured by how closely reality ended up matching what was decided at the start. Agile thinking starts somewhere else. Before any formal principle or framework enters the picture, there is a simpler shift in orientation, and it is worth understanding on its own.

A Different First Question

From Plans to People

Agile thinking asks a different question first. Instead of asking how to protect the plan, it asks how to keep learning, and let what gets built change in response to that learning. This is a mindset, not yet a method. The formal values and principles that give it a precise form, and the named frameworks built on top, both come later. What matters here is the orientation itself. None of those later specifics make much sense until this shift is genuinely understood.

2 Orientations

The Same Questions, Different Answers

Here are the same questions, answered from two different starting points. What counts as success? Protecting the plan says, matching the original plan. Embracing the journey says, value that was delivered and validated. What is change? To one, a problem to be controlled. To the other, a sign of real learning. When is the customer involved? At the start and the end, or throughout. And when does value arrive? All at once, at the very end, or in small, usable pieces along the way. The agile practices and frameworks that follow all build on that second column.

Customer Focus

Building With, Not Just For

Start with the customer. In many earlier approaches, the customer appears mainly at two moments. Near the start, when requirements are gathered, and near the end, when the finished result is checked against them. Agile thinking treats that as too little contact. It puts the person who will use the software at the center of the work, continuously, not just at its edges. That means building with the customer, through ongoing conversation, rather than building for them from one handoff of requirements. Exactly how that conversation is structured comes later. Here, the point is simply that continuous involvement is the goal.

Embracing Change

Change as a Sign of Learning

Next, change. A sequential approach tends to treat a changed requirement as a sign that planning failed somewhere. Agile thinking reframes that same event. A requirement changing partway through is often a sign of progress. The team and the customer are learning something real about the problem. That is information that genuinely was not available at the start, however carefully anyone planned. This does not mean change is free, or that planning does not matter. It means change is treated as a normal, expected part of building something worthwhile, not as a failure to be minimized.

Incremental Value

Small, Real, Early

Finally, value. Rather than holding all of a project's value until one large release at the end, agile thinking favors small, usable pieces, delivered early and often. A small slice of working software, put into real use as soon as it exists, teaches the team more. It also gives the customer real benefit sooner, than a complete plan that has not yet been tested against reality. This connects back to a pattern from earlier. An iterative structure is what makes small increments possible in practice. Agile thinking is the reason that structure feels like the natural choice, rather than just one option among several.

Why This Matters

Orientation Before Technique

Why start with orientation, rather than technique? The specific practices and named frameworks that come next are ways of putting this mindset into action. Without the orientation, those practices can be followed mechanically, without ever producing the benefit they are meant to deliver.

Key Terms

The Vocabulary of This Section

Let's lock in the key terms. Agile thinking is a mindset that puts ongoing learning and adaptation ahead of strictly protecting an original plan. Customer collaboration is the continuous involvement of the person who will use the software, not just contact at the start and end. Responding to change means treating a shifted requirement as a normal sign of learning, not as evidence that planning failed. And incremental value means delivering small, genuinely usable pieces early and often, rather than holding everything for one final release.

Key Takeaways

What to Carry Forward

To pull this together. Earlier approaches tend to measure success by how closely reality matched the plan. Agile thinking asks how to keep learning, and adapting. It builds with the customer, through continuous involvement, rather than for them. It treats a changed requirement as real learning, not as failed planning. It delivers value in small, usable increments, which an iterative structure makes possible. And it is a mindset first. Practices followed without it tend to become mechanical.

About Software Engineering at UPI Study

Software Engineering (Computer Science 301) is a self-paced online course of 103 video lessons in 15 chapters, from process models and agile to requirements, design, user interfaces, reliability, security and project management. It carries a NCCRS credit recommendation for 3 semester credits.

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Why students take Software Engineering with UPI Study

How professional software gets builtSoftware Engineering covers how teams turn requirements into working, maintainable software: process models, agile, requirements, design, testing, reliability and project management. It is a core course in computer science and software degrees.
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Universities that work with NCCRS

Software Engineering carries a NCCRS credit recommendation. These universities work with NCCRS; some are UPI Study's signed partners. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.

Thomas Edison State UniversityThomas Edison State UniversitySigned partnerUniversity of the PeopleUniversity of the PeopleSigned partnerCharter Oak State CollegeCharter Oak State CollegeSigned partnerStrayer UniversityStrayer UniversitySigned partnerColumbia Southern UniversityColumbia Southern UniversitySigned partnerIndiana TechIndiana TechSigned partnerPenn StatePenn StateWorks with NCCRSSouthern New Hampshire UniversitySouthern New Hampshire UniversityWorks with NCCRSSUNYSUNYWorks with NCCRS +many more cooperating universitiesFind my college →

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FAQ

Questions students ask us

About Getting Started with Agile Thinking

What is the agile mindset in software development?
The agile mindset puts ongoing learning and adaptation ahead of strictly protecting an original plan. Instead of measuring success by how closely the result matched the plan, it measures success by value that was delivered and validated. It is an orientation that comes before any specific practice, so practices followed without it tend to become mechanical.
What does it mean to build software with the customer instead of for the customer?
Building with the customer means involving the person who will use the software continuously, through ongoing conversation, rather than mainly at the start, when requirements are gathered, and at the end, when results are checked. Continuous involvement keeps the work aligned with real needs instead of depending on a single handoff of requirements.
Is a changing requirement a sign of poor planning?
Not necessarily. Agile thinking treats a requirement that changes partway through as a sign that the team and customer are learning something real that was not available at the start, however carefully anyone planned. This does not mean change is free or that planning is unimportant, but change is treated as normal rather than as a failure.
Why does agile deliver software in small increments?
Agile favors small, usable pieces delivered early and often because a working slice put into real use teaches the team more and gives the customer benefit sooner than one large release at the end. An iterative structure makes these increments possible in practice, and the agile mindset is why that structure feels like the natural choice.

About the Software Engineering course

How many college credits is Software Engineering?
Software Engineering (Computer Science 301) carries a NCCRS credit recommendation for 3 semester credits. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
How much does Software Engineering cost and what is included?
$250, paid once, with lifetime access: all 103 video lessons, a practice quiz after each, the graded work and final exam, and an official transcript when you finish. Students who want several courses choose UPI Study PRO instead.
Which universities accept UPI Study credits?
UPI Study has signed partner agreements with universities such as Thomas Edison State University, University of the People and Charter Oak State College, and works with universities such as Penn State, SNHU and SUNY. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities. Use "Find my college" on this page to check yours.
How long does Software Engineering take?
It is self-paced with no deadlines. The 103 lessons total about 11 hours of video; most students add reading and practice time and finish in a few weeks to a few months, on their own schedule.
How are the exams done?
Quizzes and assignments are online in the course. The final exam is taken online with proctoring; a person on the UPI Study team checks assignments, usually within two days.
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