Author - Santosh Kumar, Product Lead at OfferX (a subsidiary of Wallero)
In recent years, Agile project management has grown in popularity across the businesses and teams.
But have you ever thought about what is agile project management or is it worth the hype? Here you will get answers to all your questions. So, let’s get started!.
Agile planning helps you manage and stay on top of any changes that come your way in a project while keeping it firmly grounded.
Why Switch to Agile Project Management?
Agile project management is an iterative and incremental method for software development, allowing requirements and solutions to evolve through the collaborative efforts of self-organizing, cross-functional teams, and their end users or clients. This blog offers a concise history of agile project management and explores various ways teams can adopt this methodology.
What is Agile Project Management?
Agile methodology focuses on an iterative approach to software development, enabling teams to deliver value to customers faster while reducing glitches. Agile development accepts the uncertainty that comes with rapidly changing technologies and suggests iterative, short-term planning to address this. Work is divided into sizable chunks, known as sprints, which are completed at intervals ranging from one to six weeks. Agile development acknowledges that change is inevitable in projects and views projects as a partnership between the company and the customer.
Where Did It All Begin?
Software development traditionally followed the waterfall method, which had five sequential stages: requirements gathering, design, development, testing, and deployment. By the 1990s, it became evident that this model was not effective for large-scale, long-term projects. In 2001, 17 software practitioners met at a ski lodge in Utah to create an alternative approach—thus, agile project management was born. The Agile Manifesto is a document that outlines the agile mindset through 12 principles and 4 values, forming the foundation of all agile frameworks in use today.
The 12 principles of Agile Project Management
- Our primary aim is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
- Adapt to changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage.
- Frequently deliver working software, from a few weeks to a few months, with a preference for shorter timescales.
- Businesses and developers should collaborate daily throughout the project.
- Build projects around motivated individuals. Provide them with the environment and support they need and trust them to complete the work.
- The most efficient and effective method of conveying information within a team is through face-to-face conversation.
- Working software is the primary indicator of progress.
- Agile processes promote sustainable development. Sponsors, developers, and users should maintain a steady pace indefinitely.
- Continuous focus on technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
- Simplicity—the art of maximizing the amount of work not done—is essential.
- The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
- At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective and adjusts its behaviour accordingly.
The Four Core Values of Agile Project Management
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools: People drive processes and, consequently, the business. Prioritizing team communication over rigid processes and tools builds trust, making the team more responsive and better able to meet customer needs.
Working software over comprehensive documentation: Agile methodology reduces excessive documentation, which has historically hindered teams from focusing on creating functional software. Any documentation should support team progress and be kept current as the software evolves.
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation: In the agile approach, the customer is the team’s most important collaborator. Customer feedback should be integrated throughout the entire product lifecycle, not just at the start or finish.
Responding to change over following a plan: The term “agile” signifies adapting to and embracing change. Agile project management emphasizes releasing a minimum viable product that can be adjusted and assessed from one sprint to the next.
The five phases of agile project management
- Envision: Establish project vision and goals.
- Speculate: Gather and prioritize requirements.
- Explore: Implement features iteratively.
- Adapt: Embrace changes and feedback.
- Close: Deliver final product incrementally.
Be The Decision Maker
Agile teams work in short, time-constrained iterations called sprints, usually lasting one to four weeks. They choose tasks from a prioritized backlog for each sprint. Incomplete tasks are returned to the backlog and reprioritized. When the backlog is well-maintained, deciding the next steps becomes much simpler.
What’s Your End Goal?
Every project starts with a vision. While adapting to new requirements, your sprint and release plans may change, but your original vision should guide you. For example, if your goal is to build a practical, family-friendly car, don’t let appealing design or high-speed performance steer you away from that objective. Your Minimum Viable Product (MVP) description should anchor your decisions throughout the project.
Don’t Let “Perfectly Planned” Mislead You
Initial ideas are broad and are broken down into detailed tasks as they approach implementation. The user story for the next sprint will be more detailed than one planned for three sprints away. As your team refines plans progressively, they gain context and insights, ensuring more informed decisions. A well-documented plan can be misleading if not revisited and refined regularly.
Who is the “Scopegoat” for Your Project?
The Project Management Institute’s “iron triangle” illustrates the constraints of Scope, Schedule, and Resources, with Quality at the center. In agile projects, flexibility in scope is crucial to meeting deadlines without compromising quality or overspending on resources. Adjusting the scope, rather than extending timelines or adding more resources, often ensures project success.
How much Effort Is Required?
In Scrum, teams select tasks they can complete within a sprint, requiring accurate effort estimation.
Play Your Cards Right
Planning should involve the entire team. A fun way to estimate effort is Planning Poker, where team members use cards with point values to estimate tasks. The team discusses and agrees on estimates through consensus, ensuring everyone’s input is considered.
Estimates ≠ Promises
Estimates made during sprint planning should remain flexible. They are not hard commitments. Deadlines should allow for safety margins and flexibility. Using both “estimate” and “deadline” in your project language can help manage expectations accurately.
Excessive Overtime Leads to Burnout
Relying on overtime to meet deadlines is a short-term fix and can lead to burnout. Sustainable productivity requires balanced workloads. According to Extreme Programming Explained, persistent overtime indicates a deeper project issue.
Know Your Team’s Vibe!
Understanding your team’s pace helps in planning accurately. Like marathon runners, agile teams need to maintain a sustainable pace, with occasional stretches to meet deadlines. Continuous sprinting leads to burnout, so it’s crucial to respect your team’s natural rhythm.
By refining and streamlining these agile practices, you can maintain focus, ensure quality, and achieve sustainable productivity.
Remember, agility is about flexibility and continuous improvement, so keep evaluating and adapting your approach to stay on course.