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In the quest for smaller, faster, and cheaper software, companies have been looking hard at a new paradigm in programming methodologies called agile programming. Used in the right context and for the correct project, it can be an extremely effective technique.
The first agile methodology, "extreme programming," or XP, was developed in the late 1990s by Kent Beck, Ward Cunningham, and Ron Jeffries. By 2001, the umbrella term was coined to describe a number of methodologies that shared the common characteristics of breaking projects into small, manageable modules and using a highly iterative development approach instead of traditional "waterfall" schemes.
Agile programming is particularly effective in startup situations or in secret projects where the final product is, by necessity, ill-defined at the start. From a business perspective, this can be very attractive as it more...