Agile project management is a methodology for bringing an organization from idea to market. It promises high-quality results while reducing costs and time to market, which has made it extremely popular with organizations of all sizes that are looking to maximize efficiency in the face of unprecedented change. Have you ever wondered how companies like Apple and Google manage to produce and update so many items in such a short period? The solution may be found in Agile. Speed, frequent releases, and feedback loops are essential aspects of agile project management. According to Vitality Chicago, Agile has an 8 percent failure rate compared to Waterfall’s 22 percent. So it’s no surprise that 71 percent of businesses utilize Agile methods, and interest is higher than ever.
What is Agile Project Management?
Agile project management is an iterative process that emphasizes collaboration, feedback, and change reaction throughout the project’s lifetime. The project is divided into iterations, brief developmental cycles, or phases. Team members work with stakeholders to change and enhance procedures and the final delivery at each iteration.
The origins of agile project management may be traced back to 1990s software development. Traditional project management methodologies (such as Waterfall) were considered overly strict by software teams in particular. In contrast to more conventional initiatives (such as manufacturing) with defined procedures and predictable outputs, software development needs autonomy, adaptation, and flexibility.
The Agile technique has gained significant adoption outside of software development and can be used for nearly any project with continually changing goals.
4 Tools to Help You Implement Agile Project Management
Aside from the Agile mindset and principles, you’ll need specific practical tools to deploy this technique properly. The following are the most important tools:
1. Software for project management
You can locate a cheat sheet for integrating Agile project management in a software suite if there ever was one. In addition, project management software designed specifically for agile software development teams is available. However, since Agile is fundamentally a software development methodology, this software tends to target DevOps.
Instead, we suggest Wrike, a more versatile project management solution that can be used in various sectors. Wrike has capabilities that address all of the key Agile concepts, including:
- Dashboards, request forms, and processes can all be customized to fit the needs of any team.
- Improved communication, including the exchange of files, reports, tasks, and calendars
- Kanban boards, interactive Gnatt charts, and custom themes are all available.
- Automated tasks
- Integration of media
- Keeping track of time
- The use of advanced analytics
- And more
All of Wrike’s plans come with a free trial. The essential tools you’ll need to manage an Agile project from start to end are good project management software. See our Best Project Management Software page for a detailed view of the finest project management software presently available.
2. Templates for Agile Project Planning and Workflow
You’ll need to create a project plan, as with any other project management methodology. The first stage is to create a project vision, including a list of all known business and technical needs. Gathering and recording estimates for scope, duration, and money are all part of this step. Importantly, project planning entails assembling your project team.
Unlike conventional project management approaches, Agile planning focuses heavily on the first sprint. By adopting a checklist-style method to avoid missing anything, an elegant template makes planning more straightforward. The project plan template also aids in the visualization of the strategy and is simple to communicate with team members.
The project plan template is not the same as the process template. A suitable template might assist speed up this process depending on the framework you use (Scrum is the most popular for Agile project management). Templates are essential for picturing your process once again. In addition, the Agile PM methodology focuses on the first sprint or iteration.
These templates are usually included with good PM software, so all you have to do is fill in the blanks. Wrike, for example, takes care of project planning and workflow without the need for different templates.
3. WIP (Work in Progress) Limit
The Agile PM technique imposes a strict limit on how many tasks team members may accomplish at any time. A WIP tool may be used to see work in progress and make appropriate modifications to keep this notion in mind. Agile, for example, suggests a maximum of three active tasks at any one moment. This method eliminates the need for context switching and multitasking.
A Kanban board is an essential yet efficient work-in-progress management tool. The board divides jobs into “To Do,” “In Progress,” and “Complete” portions of a process using cards and columns.
Kanban boards are already included in most project management software, including Wrike. In addition, Trello is a Kanban-style standalone solution that we endorse.
4. Charts of Burndown
From the end-user’s standpoint, a burndown chart aids in visualizing the team’s progress. Said, this graph shows how much work remains and how much time is available to do it. The following critical data points are included in a burndown chart:
- Each iteration’s total work
- Tasks yet to be completed
- Team speed is estimated.
- Team speed in real-time
Burndown charts are divided into two categories. The first is the Sprint Burndown, which depicts the work left in the sprint or iteration. Second, there’s the Product Burndown, which shows the project’s overall performance.
Burndown charts are included in Wrike and most other Agile project management software.
Agile Project Management Fundamentals
In the Agile Manifesto, there are four paramount values listed. Agile project management is founded on these ideals.
Individuals and Interactions vs. Tools and Processes
It’s tough to accept fresh thinking, new ideas, and unique needs when you’re focused on procedures and technologies. This Agile principle emphasizes team members’ contributions to the project rather than the project’s methods and technologies. Instead of being slowed down by bureaucracy and inflexible processes and tools, this strategy aids in the development of an agile team that can swiftly react to internal and external changes.
In any event, sophisticated procedures and technologies are more difficult to tap into than team members’ enthusiasm, problem-solving ability, and ingenuity. Maintaining the latter takes a lot of time and money, which might take your attention away from the essential duties at hand. Communication, cooperation, invention, and personal project ownership are all fundamental to this human-centric concept.
Working Software vs. Thorough Documentation
Documentation is a big part of traditional project management approaches. So it’s no surprise that delays in the development process occur due to interface design papers, technical prospectuses, technical requirements, documentation plans, and subsequent approvals.
While Agile does not eliminate documentation, it does reduce it to the absolute minimum in need to finish the task.
User stories are used instead of documentation in Agile. From the end-user’s viewpoint, the user narrative defines the program (or product) capabilities. User stories are a reduced version of typical documentation that employ simple, informal, and natural language.
In a nutshell, a user narrative determines the phases in the project lifecycle by answering the “who,” “what,” and “why” of the product’s needs.
Collaboration with customers takes precedence over contract negotiations.
Before and after the project, traditional project management approaches need comprehensive contracts. Unfortunately, the contract terms, the actual product, and the customer’s expectations are often out of sync. Agile project management focuses on client participation throughout the project lifecycle to avoid this problem.
This method guarantees that the finished product fits the customer’s requirements while wasting the least time and resources possible.
Adapting to Change and Sticking to a Plan
Agile project management is unique because it takes a straightforward approach to project planning. Traditional project management approaches detailed layout plans at the start of the project that team members must adhere to the letter. However, if the client wants additional features or alters the project scope, this method may come in customer happiness.
After each project stage or sprint, Agile recommends an assessment. In the following step, any new information or findings are implemented. Throughout the project lifespan, this system enables flexibility and adaptation and accommodates evolving priorities.
7 Ways to Make Agile Project Management Work for You
Here are seven things you can do to make the Agile approach to project management a reality in your organization.
1. Select an Agile Approach that is appropriate
Agile project management is an umbrella phrase that encompasses multiple ways. While there are set principles that characterize Agile project management, Agile is essentially an umbrella term encompassing various methodologies. There are two elements that all Agile approaches share in common in the end. First, they are gradual and iterative procedures. The project at hand primarily determines the Agile methodology you choose. It’s also possible that the framework will vary from one project to the next. The following are some examples of Agile frameworks:
- Scrum: Scrum is undoubtedly the most popular framework and is practically associated with Agile. Scrum divides the project into sprints, generally two to four weeks in length. Team members prioritize a list of needs to fulfill during the sprint at the start of each sprint. One sprint at a time, the project develops. A Scrum Master and a Product Owner make up a Scrum team. The scrum master is the team’s leader and ensures the section follows Agile standards. The Product Owner is the project’s subject matter expert, ensuring that the project meets the stakeholder’s expectations. Cross-disciplinary expertise like designers, architects, engineers, and testers make up the remainder of the scrum team.
- Kanban: The Kanban framework is designed to help you see your workflow. This allows teams to divide down the project into manageable chunks. Kanban is very good at spotting bottlenecks and minimizing waste. This framework also establishes specific process principles and well-defined project constraints to enhance efficiency and productivity.
Kanban encourages teams to concentrate on a smaller number of tasks at a time. This method prevents work items from being blocked, stuck, or delayed throughout the various phases of development. Extreme Programming (XP) is a kind of programming that (XP)
Extreme programming is a kind specially designed for software development projects. In the same way that scrum divides a project into sprints, this framework also does. XP, on the other hand, specifies procedures unique to software development. Furthermore, Extreme Programming emphasizes the quality of a software developer’s habits, such as following coding standards and often testing code against the master code.
Scrum, Kanban, and Extreme Programming (XP) are the most popular Agile frameworks. There are also the following frameworks:
- Development with a focus on features (FFD)
- Methodology for Developing Dynamic Systems (DSDM)
- Lean
- Crystal
- Bimodal
- Hybrid
2. Define the project’s scope
Defining the project scope is part of project planning. This is the perfect moment to do so during the first planning meeting. The project’s final aim and how to attain it will be vaguely defined in Agile. The work scope should reflect this reality since Agile projects are inherently fluid and depend significantly on input. Setting the content of your project with an elevator pitch is a good idea.
3. Provide training to your team members
Although seeming to be easy on the surface, Agile may be challenging to put into practice. As a result, it’s a good idea to teach Agile concepts to critical team members. Although the Agile Manifesto is an excellent starting point, your team may want further in-depth training. For example, it’s a good idea to start with a modest, non-critical project if you’re applying Agile for the first time. This technique provides your team with a low-pressure environment to exercise their Agile knowledge and skills. Similarly, before going on to more significant and more crucial initiatives, you may review these modest projects and identify areas for improvement.
4. Make daily standups a habit.
The Agile term for daily meetings is the daily standup. Given the fast-paced nature of Agile project management, these sessions are critical. These sessions last around 10-15 minutes and cover three important topics:
- What did we do the day before yesterday?
- What do we have planned for today?
- Is there anything in your way?
Because Agile is a team-centric approach, these daily sessions guarantee that your team can identify and fix issues as they arise.
5. Maintain a laser-like focus on flow efficiency.
Traditional project management approaches place a premium on maximizing capacity utilization. On the other hand, Flow should be the primary emphasis of Agile. For example, you may establish an atmosphere where team members gravitate toward value-adding activities, cooperation, and knowledge sharing by adopting the slogan “control the work, not the employees.” For this purpose, it’s helpful to distinguish between activities that bring value and ones that don’t. The former is placed on the Kanban board, making it simple to outline the process from beginning to end. Swarming is another valuable approach for improving Flow. Instead of beginning new work after team members complete their allotted work items, they assist other team members with their jobs. Swarming is a valuable method for reducing bottlenecks and fostering cooperation and communication.
6. Review your sprints.
Sprint reviews account for a significant portion of incremental progress. After each sprint cycle, you should have a working piece of software (or a finished product). This is a great time to reflect on what the team accomplished well and what may be improved in the next sprint. The sprint review should include everyone who is working on the project and the key stakeholders. It should take an hour or two to do a thorough sprint review. Long PowerPoint presentations and feature dissertations aren’t appropriate at this time. Instead, concentrate on the sprint’s practical features and how they may be enhanced.
7. Keep an eye on the number of people in line.
Timelines are critical in traditional project management. While this approach is necessary for producing goods on schedule, it might put the team under unnecessary stress. In this aspect, agile project management takes a somewhat different approach. Agile is more concerned with controlling queue size than with meeting deadlines. Managing the queue size improves efficiency and cuts cycle time in half. Using a Kanban board to visualize the work queue helps to call attention to places where jobs tend to build up. After that, you may make efforts to eliminate bottlenecks, such as lowering the batch size of work items.
Related Tags
- what is a scrum
- waterfall methodology