Agile (software) development has nothing to do with frameworks. You can use frameworks or not use frameworks with it. What makes development "agile" is (non limitative):

• the iterative character
• minimal planning
• emphasis on stakeholder involvement

It seems perpendicular to the waterfall method: non-iterative, everything planned upfront and stakeholders only involved in initial stage.

There are many agile methodologies around, as an example I would like to mention XP, eXtreme Programming and RAD, Rapid Application Development.

As with any methodology there are pitfalls: The project in question needs to be suitable for agile development otherwise it won’t work. Also the organization/company needs to be ready for it. If the stakeholders are not "available" enough or management is uncomfortable with it you can also forget about it. Last but not least the designers/programmers also need to be ready for it. If you have never worked in an agile environment I suggest you go on same training/course.

The good news is that you can use Perl "as-is".

HTH