Adapting to evolving requirements

Traditional development sees changing requirements as planning failures. Agile views changes as learning opportunities. Developers need strategies to handle this constant evolution without feeling disrupted. Successful agile developers build flexibility into their code, avoid over-engineering, and manage technical debt carefully. They understand that requirements change because teams learn more about user needs, not because of poor planning. For example, a developer might use modular design patterns that allow sections of an app to change without affecting others. They might implement features behind feature flags so new functionality can be easily enabled, disabled, or modified based on feedback. Teams support adaptability by breaking work into small, independent pieces that can evolve separately. When developers view themselves as problem-solvers rather than feature-builders, changing direction becomes energizing instead of frustrating.^[1]