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guess you're asking about the XVI-XIX centuries.
Initially firearms were highly innacurate. Rifling was highly unusual until the mid-XIXs (and even then it was quite rare), meaning that all firearms were smoothbores. Lacking the gyroscopic stabilization the rifling forces upon a bullet, that meant that no soldier could shoot accurately beyond a very short range.
Even more, until the introduction of breech loading and cartridges, reloading was quite a big deal for any soldier. Even more in the middle of a battle with smoke, explosions, bullets flying ,enemies charging while yelling and the risk of getting killed.
To overcome this problem, massed formations of infantry were given the same model of weapons and trained to move and fire as a group. Volley fire was simply a whole formation firing upon another enemy formation mostly at the same time. Thus even while a single soldier couldn't shoot accurately at mid or long ranges, it was expected that it a whole formation was to shoot simultaneously at an enemy formation, a decent % of the shots fired would hit something.
There were several drills of volley fire, depending on the nation and era. By the napoleonic wars it was mostly usual that a formation would form in several rows of soldiers (Usually three or more) and shoot in sequence. First row would shoot, then go crouch and start reloading. The second line would take aim and shoot then, and afterwards would crouch on turn and start reloading. Following row would follow suit and so on. It was expected that for the time the last row had fired it's volley, the first row or even the two first rows would've loaded already. The first row ,still crouched, would fire again, then the second, and the whole process would repeat itself.
This allowed for continuous fire to be kept by a single formation, something it wouldn't be possible if everybody was to shoot at the same time. It also provided flexibility, as in a close formation of the era the after rows would have no clear field to shoot but with the previous rows crouched they could fire when their turn came while still standing up.
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