What is the agile method of project management? For more than two decades, businesses have adopted different aspects of this methodology. Agile project management is all about releasing software products more quickly by focusing on frequent releases and continuous feedback. Many businesses today follow this method of project management to build their products more efficiently.
The agile method of project management is a flexible yet structured approach to project management which has been gaining adoption in the world of business from large companies all the way down to small non-profits. A shift away from traditional waterfall style projects toward an agile methodology has become widespread in the last decade, especially in light of shortening commercial lifecycles due to advances in technology. Many companies are quickly learning that using the agile project management system is essential for staying competitive in today’s marketplace.
What Is Agile Methodology in Project Management?
The Agile methodology is a way to manage a project by breaking it up into several phases. It involves constant collaboration with stakeholders and continuous improvement at every stage. Once the work begins, teams cycle through a process of planning, executing, and evaluating. Continuous collaboration is vital, both with team members and project stakeholders.
Agile methodologies overview
The Agile Manifesto of Software Development put forth a groundbreaking mindset on delivering value and collaborating with customers when it was created in 2001. Agile’s four main values are:
- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
- Working software over comprehensive documentation
- Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
- Responding to change over following a plan
Agile methodologies frameworks
So what is Agile methodology in project management? It’s a process for managing a project that involves constant collaboration and working in iterations. Today, the word Agile can refer to these values and the frameworks for implementing them, including Scrum, Kanban, Extreme Programming (XP), and Adaptive Project Framework (APF).
1. Scrum:
Scrum method works on the principle of simplifying any complex project into several small parts called ‘sprints’. Based on sprint planning, these sprints can last from 2-4 weeks and each member of the team has a specific task to do.
The scrum master and the team members are kept updated on the progress through daily meetings called standups and several graphical illustrations like the ‘burn down’ chart. A product backlog is maintained where all tasks are recorded in order of their priority which is set either by the customers or their proxy.
Kanban:
The main focus of the Kanban methodology is to ensure continuity. The entire project is visualized on a kanban board where the tasks being performed, the tasks to do, and the completed tasks are listed separately.
Unlike many other methodologies, Kanban works comfortably in an organizational system where the official hierarchy is considered very important.
Lean software development:
This method focuses on improving the flow of value throughout the system. It helps to eliminate the wastes of lean management in the system such as incomplete work and task switching. It helps the work from piling up and proposes that more work should only be pulled in when there is the capacity to get it done.
XP:
Extreme programming or XP is used by small project teams for small to medium-sized product development especially when product requirements are changing rapidly.
Crystal:
This Agile methodology is focused on giving more autonomy to the development teams and encourages them for continuous improvement of the product and tackle issues on their own. Individuals and their interactions are valued more than processes and tools.
Dynamic Systems Development Method
It is used in the projects with a low budget and tight schedule. This methodology focuses on the following aspects of the project such as,
- Feasibility of the project
- Conducting a business study
- Creating a functional model
- Continuous prototype iteration
- Design and build iterations
- Implementation of the final project deliverable
Feature-Driven Development
FDD focuses on breaking down the project in small, client-valued functions that can be delivered in short time spans. It also stresses the product development process is a human activity rather than a purely mechanical undertaking and hence individuals and their interactions are given a great deal of value.
Advantages of Agile Project Management
Agile processes offer flexibility and helps the team produce short, working products in shorter sprints. That’s one of the main reasons a lot of companies, irrespective of the industry, adopt Agile.
Following are some of the benefits project managers can expect to achieve by implementing Agile methodology:
1. Improved business alignment
The team has to closely work with the customers to adapt and incorporate their constantly changing needs. This brings an alignment in the project execution.
2. Acute focus on business value
Agile methods ensure that at any given time the project team is focused on delivering working software. The Agile team is in a way, forced to prioritize the backlog items according to the customer’s demands.
3. Shorter delivery cycles
The shorter delivery cycles help the customers get a return on investment as early as possible. The ongoing project work gets reviewed by the clients in real-time. There’s also improved visibility into the product and track project progress which ensures transparency.
4. Reduced project cost
Agile practices help the self-organizing teams to get an insight regarding what features and not required in the product. The statistics point out that 46 percent of the features are not even used in the end products and Agile spares the development teams from wasting time and money which goes into the development of unwanted features.
How is Agile Different from Traditional Project Management Methodologies?
Agile methodology is all about being responsive to changes even if it entirely changes the project scope. In traditional project management, the managers have to step forward if changes are required while that is not the case with Agile project management.
It emphasizes on customer satisfaction and involves them to get prompt feedback to make sure that the project is heading in the right direction. The product is continuously tested and improved to meet with client requirements. It also gives autonomy to the teams; they organize and manage themselves with the project manager acting as an enabler.
Core principles of Agile Methodology
The concept of Agile hinges on the 4 values and 12 principles provided in the Agile Manifesto.
1. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
2. Working product over comprehensive documentation
3. Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
4. Responding to change over following a plan
10 Tools for Agile Project Management
As with other project management methodologies, some platforms will make better agile project management tools than others. Considering functionality and features, here’s a list of the 10 top Agile project management tools:
When is Agile not the right fit?
As with all other methodologies, Agile has a set of drawbacks as well. The agile planning process requires clients to be involved and teams to be self-organized. If that’s not the case with your project, you might want to think twice before using Agile for your projects.
Agile is less formal and more flexible, making it unattractive for traditional organizations that favor a certain amount of rigidity in the processes, policies, and teams. While smaller teams may be ready for agile, it may not work for the organization as a whole.
It requires the commitment and investment of the sponsors and the functional managers to ensure the teams adopting Agile are equipped for success. You need to have the right organizational set-up, clear roles and responsibilities, and proper training where teams are given the empowerment and autonomy they need to be successful. Agile isn’t the route to take if your organization’s structure is rigid.
Conclusion:
Agile project management is a kind of method in which the projects are managed. Such type of project management is mostly followed by software development in which in case of traditional method various documents are prepared, then re-organization of data happens in the team and in the end the changes are committed to be implemented in live site. Here all happening with agile project management is happening on daily basis, where code versioning is done very frequently.