Originally published on TechRound
Twenty years on from the evolution of Agile project management, its methods are now ubiquitous across many industry sectors. Agile’s iterative and flexible approach make it ideal for complex projects with changeable scope. Here’s my guide to getting the best out of project management by utilizing Agile’s methodologies.
Agile was developed specifically for the software development sector back in the late 90s/early 2000s. Today it’s used in many sectors, ranging from healthcare to financial services, sustainable development and business management.
At its heart, Agile project management is about adaptability, flexibility and iteration. Before we go into more detail about the four core principles of Agile, it’s worth exploring its development and evolution.
How and why did Agile methodologies evolve?
Before you implement Agile methodologies, it’s beneficial to understand how and why the ethos evolved from more traditional, linear frameworks. For project development teams, it’s all about speed of delivery.
New features or products need to reach the client as efficiently as possible. Solving this primary concern has occupied development teams over the past 10 to 15 years. And the very reason most developers can now reach their targets faster and more efficiently today compared with 20 years ago is largely because of Agile.
From traditional methodologies to Agile
Not so long ago, it was entirely normal for clients to wait months or even years for their deliverables. This was when development teams from all kinds of sectors used linear methods, such as Waterfall.
Waterfall follows a set pathway. This always starts with setting the project scope, designing the product based solely on these pre-determined requirements, building it to the same requirements, testing, fixing and then launching. There’s no flexibility to make changes in response to client comments and this entire project methodology chokes creativity and efficiency.
The need for a more adaptive, flexible project framework in fast-changing environments led to Agile, which has become a structured yet flexible hybrid of traditional methods and more forward-thinking approaches to project management.
Agile’s early development
Other methodologies, such as Scrum, Extreme Programming, Feature-Driven Development (FDD) and Pragmatic Programming, appeared in the late 1990s in response to the need for change.
All of these have a commonality – they are lightweight development methods that are far more flexible than the likes of Waterfall. In the early 2000s, a group of 17 software developers met to devise the Agile framework, which has evolved further into the one we use today.
Agile’s core values – the Manifesto
The group of developers came up with the “Manifesto for Agile Software Development” – now known as the “Agile Manifesto”. It covers four core values that underscore all Agile practices by prioritizing:
- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.
- Working software over comprehensive documentation.
- Customer collaboration over before contract negotiation.
- Responding to change over following a plan.
To successfully adopt the Agile mindset, it’s important to understand these values. Here’s a more thorough breakdown.
1. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
The emphasis on individuals and interactions over tools and processes is the cornerstone of the Agile Manifesto. Agile project management relies on collaboration and communication among team members at all levels. Tools and processes are a support only.
Working in silos should be replaced by face-to-face interactions in a human-centric approach that allows team members to use their collective expertise to solve complex problems. Emotional intelligence and critical thinking are considered necessary for effective project management.
2. Working Software over comprehensive documentation
The main goal of Agile software development is the delivery of working software and this is always more important than extensive documentation. Traditional methodology is held back by requirements for endless documentation.
For Agile, the working software itself is the measure of success – it’s the benchmark for progress. By prioritizing frequent releases and continuous improvement, Agile encourages flexible thinking and swift amends along the way in order to deliver a product that aligns with the customer.
3. Customer collaboration over contract
Agile eschews the traditional way of negotiating contracts by working directly with the customer along the way. By inviting continuous client feedback, effective teamwork can be promoted throughout the project.
4. Responding to change over following a plan
Agile offers an adaptive approach that responds to change, allowing team members to flex their strategies as and when needed as the project evolves. Therefore, regardless of how changeable or uncertain the environment, Agile teams can respond quickly and meaningfully.
Key Agile methodologies within processes
Agile encompasses various widely used methodologies, such as Scrum and Kanban. These can be thought of as subsets of the Agile philosophy.
Scrum
Scrum is one of the most popular Agile methodologies. The lightweight ‘process framework’ is a specific set of practices that must be followed, such as ‘Sprints’. ‘Lightweight’ refers to keeping the oversight process as small as possible so that the team can concentrate on the work itself.
A Scrum process is divided into three categories: role, artifact and time box, which set it apart from other Agile methodologies. Scrum is often used to manage complicated product and software development, thanks to its iterative practices that increase productivity and speed up the project.
Rapidly changing requirements can be accommodated to ensure the project is finished on time and in budget. Scrum works well for small teams working on specific sprints and is managed by roles, including the ‘Product Owner’, ‘Scrum Master’ and ‘Development Team’. Each contributes towards the end goal, with the former ensuring deliverables are prioritized and the Scrum Master dealing with any challenges to the process.
Extreme Programming (XP)
Extreme Programming (XP) is another Agile subset that focuses on developing software in a cost-effective and rapid way. XP has five core phases: planning, analysis, design, coding and testing and focuses on facilitating technical excellence through continuous integration.
Kanban
Kanban is a visual framework commonly used to implement Agile development that relies on high levels of transparency and communication. Each deliverable is represented on a board to be seen by every team member. This visual approach to tasks allows for greater transparency and team work and is an effective of managing a project efficiently.
Lean software development (LSD)
Lean software development (LSD) aims to optimize development resources, eradicate waste and deliver only what is absolutely necessary for the project. The Lean approach borrows its philosophy from mid-20th century manufacturing processes that slashed waste on assembly lines.
First applied to software development in 2003, today Lean helps Agile teams streamline processes and eliminate unnecessary work to reduce costs. Lean requires tight teamwork but isn’t particularly scalable so is ideal for specific projects, rather than across the board.
Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)
DSDM focuses on the entirety of the full project lifecycle and is all about clearly defined strategies and goals with a strong focus on early delivery. This philosophy is supported by eight principles that help teams maintain focus. It’s a structured approach that is eminently scalable so can be used for all kinds of projects across different sectors.
Feature-Driven Development (FDD)
Structured around features, FDD emphasizes delivering efficient results. Customer-focused and iterative, FDD encourages status reports at every level, helping to efficiently track progress and results.
First used in 1997 for a bank in Singapore, FDD was refined for software development and works well for complex projects that need a simple methodology. While it’s related to Scrum, FDD is more feature focused and favours documentation more than XP and Scrum.
Benefits of Agile methodologies
Since the Agile Manifesto was created, teams across many sectors around the world have absorbed the philosophy into their project management frameworks. Organizations of all kinds continue to recognize the value of Agile. Agile offers many benefits to those who adopt its methodologies, such as significantly higher revenue and profit growth. Agile methodologies focus on flexibility, collaboration, teamwork, communication and swift deliverables.
1. Satisfied customers
By involving customers directly throughout the process, Agile enhances communication all the way through the project. Stakeholders can get involved, give real-time feedback and remain confident that they’ll end up with what they truly want.
2. Flexibility and adaptability
Flexibility and adaptability are at the heart of the Agile methodology. Teams can respond quickly to last minute changes with minimum disruption. As deliverables are not set in stone, teams can easily adjust as they go.
3. Improved quality
Agile’s iterative approach means processes are incrementally improved every time an interval is repeated, helping to create superior quality products.
4. Improved collaboration and teamwork
Effective collaboration is a hallmark of Agile project management and face-to-face communication is usually prioritized over documented communication. This helps to facilitate clear understanding of any issues along the way.
5. Predictable delivery
As Agile teams tend to work in Sprints, it’s easier for project managers to measure progress and assign resources when required. This, in turn, makes it easier to predict short-term costs and the whole estimation process.
Challenges in adopting Agile
There are always challenges linked with adopting new project management methodologies. Agile requires a shift from a traditional hierarchical structure towards collaborative and self-organizing teamwork, which can also be challenging. Sufficient training and funding is necessary to ensure a successful transition.
Taking the time to discuss the benefits of lightweight development methods, what Agile is, its core principles and overarching ethos will help make the transition successful.
How to choose the right Agile Methodology for your needs
The first step towards successful implementation is to make the correct choice of Agile framework. It’s a good start to clearly establish exactly what’s needed directly with the team involved. Consider all stakeholders and the type of work involved as well as relevant historical projects that will help to define the kinds of challenges ahead.
Other factors to consider include the project’s scope, its potential for scalability, the team culture and the project’s overall complexity. Each Agile framework can be customized to specific needs, helping to ensure an effective approach.
Tools that support Agile methodologies
There are many tools designed to support Agile methodologies and boost its values, such as:
1. Jira
Jira was designed for Agile software developers as a Sprint planning tool that refines product backlogs, generates ideas, prioritizes tasks and defines tasks to achieve successful delivery. It can also co-ordinate projects that involve more than one team and can be synchronized across the entire organization.
2. Confluence
A centralized knowledge management platform, Confluence works well for Sprint retrospectives, which allow continuous improvement. Everyone in the team can share what worked and what didn’t and suggest improvements.
3. Zoom
Scrum stand-up meetings across dispersed teams can benefit from Zoom video hosting. Zoom can bring the whole team together every day and its screen sharing ability means that decisions and discussions can be captured.
4. Loom
Loom allows project managers to turn information into videos so the Agile team can watch in their own time, in order to ensure no time is lost through random interruptions.
To summarize
Agile methodologies offer a transformative approach to project management. The watchwords are flexibility, collaboration and continuous improvement. The software development industry were the first to utilize Agile principles and therefore to benefit from accessing scaled Agile framework tools.
Today, most software development projects use Agile as standard allowing them to increase customer satisfaction. Since its inception, Agile practices have spread to many different sectors thanks to their flexibility, scalability and adaptability.
To truly embrace Agile methodologies, it’s important to understand its development and evolution. And by following best practices, using the ideal tools and internalizing its core values, Agile project management can truly transform the way you work.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Agile project management?
An iterative approach that emphasizes flexibility, collaboration and continuous improvement in managing projects. Agile methodologies overcome limitations linked with traditional methods, such as Waterfall and enables teams to adapt quickly and deliver value more effectively.
What are the core values of Agile methodologies?
The core values of Agile methodologies include prioritizing individuals and interactions, delivering working software, fostering customer collaboration, and being responsive to change.
How do Agile methodologies improve collaboration?
By emphasizing face-to-face communication and team co-location, which fosters creative problem-solving and supports intellectual approaches to problem solving. This creates a supportive environment that leads to more effective teamwork.
What are some common challenges in adopting Agile methodologies?
Integrating it with existing processes and cultures, not enough support from sponsors and difficulties transitioning from traditional methodologies. If not addressed and planned for, these obstacles can hinder successful implementation of Agile.
Can Agile methodologies be applied beyond software development?
Yes, absolutely. Agile has been proven effective in fields as disparate as household management, financial services and marketing. The flexibility and adaptability of Agile methodologies mean that productivity and customer/client satisfaction can be enhanced.
About George Rist
I’m George Rist, a Monmouth-based Management Consultant, dedicated to helping organizations achieve transformative change through strategic, sustainable and measurable solutions. With expertise in digital transformation, project management and operational excellence, I’m passionate about making a positive impact across industries.