RAD Process: A Replacement for Agile

RAD (Radical Adaptive Development) is Buildly’s evolution of Agile—automation-first, AI-assisted, and shaped for the real pace of modern software development.

Flow over frameworks. Transparency over tickets. Outcomes over ceremonies.

Note

Post-Agile • AI-Assisted • Continuous

Overview

I’ve stood on both sides of the stand-up circle: developer and Scrum Master. Agile rescued us from waterfall and big-up-front design—no question. But in an era of AI-assisted development, aggressive CI/CD, and component-driven architectures, fixed sprints and ritualized ceremonies often slow the actual flow of work.

RAD keeps Agile’s spirit—continuous reflection and adaptation—and removes the drag.

The RAD process is the smallest process that preserves clarity, alignment, and speed while leveraging modern tools and automation to enhance team productivity.

RAD at a Glance

Aspect	RAD Approach
Cadence	Adaptive, continuous “radical intervals”
Planning	AI-assisted decomposition; ship when ready
Documentation	Decision trace linked to code & design
Quality	CI, tests, feature flags, telemetry
Governance	Transparency & explainability by default

Core Principles

The RAD process is built on six core principles that guide how modern teams work:

• Flow Over Frameworks
• Automation as Collaboration
• Context Everywhere
• Continuous Reflection
• Transparency by Default
• Adaptive Cadence

BabbleBeaver: AI That Amplifies the Team

Inside Buildly Labs, BabbleBeaver acts as a collaborative layer: planning, surfacing risk, keeping decisions attached to code, and turning daily signals into live retrospectives.

Key AI Capabilities:

• Project planning: realistic timelines, dependency detection, resource hints

• Task intelligence: auto-categorization, effort estimation, progress prediction

• Team analytics: load balance, productivity patterns, skill gap insights

• Continuous reflection: summarized decisions and micro-retros in flow

• BabbleBeaver Overview
  • What is BabbleBeaver?
  • Core Philosophy
  • Key Capabilities
  • How BabbleBeaver Learns
  • Integration with RAD Principles
  • The BabbleBeaver Interface
  • Getting Started with BabbleBeaver
  • Best Practices
  • Privacy & Security
  • What’s Next?
• BabbleBeaver: Current Features
  • Project Planning & Management
  • Team Analytics & Insights
  • Continuous Monitoring & Alerts
  • Natural Language Interface
  • Context & Knowledge Management
  • Reporting & Summaries
  • Quality & Performance Monitoring
  • Integration Capabilities
  • Getting Started
• BabbleBeaver: Coming Soon Features
  • Development Status Legend
  • Advanced AI Planning
  • Enhanced Context & Knowledge
  • Intelligent Automation
  • Advanced Analytics
  • Integration Enhancements
  • Experimental Features
  • Beta Program
  • Feature Requests
  • Roadmap & Timeline
  • Stay Updated

Automation Tools

Buildly provides powerful automation capabilities that support the RAD process by reducing manual work and enabling continuous delivery.

• Current Automation Capabilities
  • Overview
  • Workflow Automation
  • GitHub/GitLab Integration
  • Continuous Integration/Deployment
  • Automated Reporting
  • Slack Integration
  • Documentation Automation
  • Quality Automation
  • Deployment Automation
  • Time Tracking Automation
  • Integration APIs
  • Custom Automation Rules
  • Getting Started
• Deployment Tools
  • Deployment Scripts
  • Feature Flag Management
  • Monitoring & Alerts
  • Continuous Deployment Pipeline
  • Best Practices
• Future Enhancements
  • Intelligent Deployment
  • Enhanced Testing Automation
  • Infrastructure Automation
  • Workflow Enhancements

Why RAD, Not Capital-A Agile?

Agile was right for a pre-AI, pre-automation era. RAD keeps the values—collaboration, responsiveness, continuous improvement—and removes the ceremony. It’s how teams work now.

• RAD vs. Capital-A Agile
• References

Getting Started with RAD

Ready to implement the RAD process with your team? Here’s how to get started:

1. Set up Buildly Labs - Create your account at labs.buildly.io

2. Enable BabbleBeaver - Activate AI features in your project settings

3. Configure automation - Set up CI/CD pipelines and deployment tools

4. Adopt radical intervals - Replace fixed sprints with adaptive work cycles

5. Enable continuous reflection - Use AI-powered retrospectives and insights

See also

• AI Features & BabbleBeaver Integration - Detailed AI Features Documentation

• Getting Started - Quick Start Guide for Buildly Labs

• BabbleBeaver: Current Features - Current BabbleBeaver Capabilities

Additional Resources

Articles & Books:

• Time to Kill Agile - Why we need to move beyond traditional Agile

• Radical Therapy for Software Teams - Book by Buildly’s founder

External References:

• Dave Thomas — “Time to Kill Agile”

• Harvard Business Review — “Have We Taken Agile Too Far?”

• TechBeacon — “The End of Agile”

Buildly Platform:

• Buildly Homepage

• Buildly Labs Platform

• Complete Documentation

Note

The RAD process is continuously evolving based on real-world usage and feedback from development teams. We regularly update our practices and tools to reflect the latest in AI-assisted development and automation capabilities.