Agile software development focuses on rapid delivery of working software through short development cycles, continuous improvement, and close collaboration between self-organizing cross-functional teams and customers. It emphasizes adaptability and flexibility over comprehensive planning and documentation. The key principles of agile development include satisfying customers through early delivery of valuable software, welcoming changing requirements, delivering working software frequently in short iterations, close daily collaboration between developers and business people, trusting motivated individuals and self-organizing teams, face-to-face conversation, working software as the primary measure of progress, and responding to change over following a plan.