If not, what makes it beneficial and who should learn about it?

Is it something the solo freelancer or small team can safely ignore?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agile_software_development and Yes.

Agile is just a methodology. You don't have to use it - you should use what works best for you.

The Agile methodology focuses on light-weight methods - very little specification, and multiple iterations of development - each augmenting the previous (adding complexity and improvements)

The other end of the spectrum would be the Waterfall methodology, which focuses on heavy-weight methods - lots of specification in requirements and design phase (prior to building), then post-build UAT and maintenance.

Agile would be preferable for a small team. Anything design+specification intensive requires a team of non-developers just to manage those tasks (they become a full-time job)

Originally Posted by smoseley

Agile is just a methodology. You don't have to use it - you should use what works best for you.

The Agile methodology focuses on light-weight methods - very little specification, and multiple iterations of development - each augmenting the previous (adding complexity and improvements)

The other end of the spectrum would be the Waterfall methodology, which focuses on heavy-weight methods - lots of specification in requirements and design phase (prior to building), then post-build UAT and maintenance.

Agile would be preferable for a small team. Anything design+specification intensive requires a team of non-developers just to manage those tasks (they become a full-time job)

Thanks. That's the kind of plain language explanation I was looking for.

So what's Scrum then? Is it just a synonym for Agile methodology?

Agile development is a human-centered, iterative, evolutionary development methods. In agile development, software project construction is cut into multiple subprojects, each subproject results are tested, with the characteristics of integration and can run. In other words, it is to divide a large project into small projects they are multiple interrelated , but also run and were completed independently, in the process software has been in a usable condition.
so Agile development is not buzzword, just need time.

I suppose as a project management methodology it must work at the Enterprise project scale otherwise it wouldn't be promoted as much.

But as a small development company that creates websites to a fixed budget, I can't see it working for me.
As I understand it, Agile means continual iterative development - in the real world that would mean catastrophic cost blowout.

It really depends on your needs. In development teams with more than 4-5 members it will soon become clear that you need some methodology (systematic approach) how to manage your project. That's where "agile" comes in as on of the new methodologies.

The company I work for uses this methodology. I can't see it working on smaller projects or with a single freelancer trying to complete a website. As others have mentioned, it breaks things down into small iterations, with each new sprint adding to the overall product.

Scrums are meetings at which everyone who has an assignment hashes out what they've done, what they haven't, any roadblocks, etc. I believe it's a rugby term, but I could be mistaken.

Originally Posted by Red Star

I believe it's a rugby term, but I could be mistaken.

Yeah, it's a Rugby term alright.

A scrum is a set play where 6 guys stick their heads up the @rses of the guys directly in front of them.

So I can kind of see the analogy now