What approach does agile software development take towards documentation compared to traditional methods?

Agile software development takes a distinctive approach towards documentation by seeking to reduce documentation overhead. The key principle behind this is to prioritize working software over comprehensive documentation. Agile methodologies focus on delivering functional increments of the product quickly, which allows teams to be more responsive to changes and stakeholder feedback.

This does not mean abandoning documentation entirely; rather, it advocates for keeping documentation lightweight, relevant, and just sufficient to meet the needs of the team and stakeholders. The emphasis is on facilitating communication and collaboration rather than creating extensive documents that may become outdated or redundant. This approach helps teams to focus more on actual development and less on the bureaucratic aspects of software documentation.

In contrast, traditional methods often require extensive documentation upfront, which can lead to longer lead times and less adaptability in the face of changing requirements. Therefore, the agile philosophy encourages a more streamlined and pragmatic documentation strategy, aligning it with the goals of adaptability and efficiency in software development.