Intro to Agile Project Management

What is Agile Project Management? Agile Project Management was first applied to software development projects. This method is now used by companies in other sectors to streamline development of products and services in the Marketing, Advertising, Construction, Educational and Financial industries. Agile Project Management is a model where shorter development cycles (sprints) are implemented. There is a focus on improvement during any stage of the development cycle for products or services.

12 Principle Manifesto for Agile Project Management:

Developed through the collaborative efforts of 17 software developers in 2001.

1.) The top priority is customer satisfaction achieved through quick and continuous delivery of company products and services. 2.) Changes in environments, project deliverables and priorities are welcome at any stage of the development process to meet customers’ change in needs. 3.) Increase the quantity of products and services available. 4.) Stakeholders and Developers should work together on a daily basis (practice good and frequent communication). 5.) All Stakeholders and Team Members are provided with the necessary tools and support to accomplish project goals on time. 6.) Facilitate face-to-face meetings on a regular basis to discuss project milestones and deadlines. 7.) Success comes in the form of a working, finished product. 8.) Sustainable development is defined as the maintenance of a constant and ongoing work pace for Development Teams and Stakeholders. 9.) Agile Project Management goals focus on proper design and ever-improving technical standards. 10.) Keep it simple. 11.) Self-organizing teams are stressed- most likely to develop best workflow, designs and meet project deadlines. 12.) Development Teams are given the opportunity to improve efficiency in workflow behaviours on a regular basis.

Agile Project Management Explained:

In Agile Project Management, smaller focus groups (e.g. a product development team) meet more often to discuss specific goals. Team meetings occur more frequently to allow for easier adjustments to be made in the product development cycle/workflow, thereby facilitating the ever-changing product requirements. For example, as customers’ needs change, the goals of the final product also change. Moira Alexander explains that “agile arms teams with a mechanism to rapidly repeat a contained process, isolate problems and achieve specific goals quickly, rather than waiting until the end of a lengthy project phase to find out customer requirements and goals have been missed.”

Advantages of Agile Project Management:

• Solutions are acted upon immediately

• Less resources are consumed

• An increase in flexibility and adaptability to change

• More focused efforts and goals

• Quick detection of issues and defects

• Optimized development process

• Great focus on specific customer needs

• Stressed importance of collaboration and feedback between Stakeholders, Team Members and Customers

Source:

Alexander, Moira. “Agile project management: A beginner's guide.” CIO, CIO, 12 Jan. 2017, www.cio.com/article/3156998/agile-development/agile-project-management-a-beginners-guide.html.