Agile Project Management: A Roadmap for Enterprise IT Projects

Agile project management has become the preferred method of managing software development projects. The Agile Project Manager (APM) methodology helps to ensure success by working on the project from the outset. This article provides an overview of the most critical components of an APM.

Agile project management (APM)

An iterative method of planning and directing project processes is known as agile project management (APM). It divides project processes into shorter periods known as sprints or iterations. Software development project teams can work quickly and cooperatively on a project while being able to adjust to changing development requirements thanks to agile project management. Additionally, it helps development teams respond to criticism quickly so they can make adjustments during each sprint and product cycle. An Agile project is completed in manageable sections, just like Agile software development. An iteration is a single development cycle, for example, in agile software development. The project team, which should include representatives of various stakeholders, evaluates and provides feedback on each section or iteration. The project’s next step is decided upon using the knowledge gained from the iteration’s critique. Working in small batches, visualizing processes, and collaborating with end users to get feedback are all critical components of agile project management. Continuous releases, which typically incorporate provided feedback within each iteration, are also a focus. The ability of Agile project management to address problems as they arise during the project is its main advantage. When necessary changes are made to a project at the right time, resources can be saved, and a successful project can be completed on schedule and within budget.

The Agile Methodology

Projects are divided into manageable pieces using the Agile project methodology. These project components are finished in sprints, typically lasting a few days to a few weeks. These meetings cover everything from the early stages of design to testing and quality assurance (QA). Teams can publish segments as they have finished, thanks to the Agile methodology. Teams can demonstrate that these segments are successfully using this continuous release schedule; if not, they can quickly address any issues. Because of the ongoing improvement throughout the project lifecycle, it is thought that this helps lower the likelihood of catastrophic failures.

How APM functions

Rapid feedback, ongoing adaptation, and best practices for QA are all incorporated into iterations by agile teams. Utilizing technology that automates processes, they adopt continuous deployment and integration to hasten product release and usage. Teams must continuously assess time and cost as they go along in Agile project management. Instead of using Gantt charts and project milestones to measure their progress, they use velocity, burndown, and burnup charts. Agile project management doesn’t need a project manager to be present or involved. The role of the project manager is divided among team members under APM, even though a project manager is necessary for success under the conventional project delivery methodologies, such as the Waterfall model, where the position manages the budget, personnel, project scope, and other crucial elements. The product owner, for instance, establishes project objectives, and team members divide up scheduling, progress reporting, and quality tasks.

Some Agile methodologies include additional management tiers. For instance, the Scrum methodology requires a Scrum Master to help set priorities and steer the project to completion. Agile project management still allows for the use of project managers. They are still used by many organizations, especially for more significant, more complex Agile projects. In these organizations, project managers typically serve more as coordinators, with the product owner overseeing the project’s successful completion. Agile project management requires that team members understand how to operate within the framework because the work has shifted from project managers to Agile teams. They must be able to work together as well as with users. To keep projects on schedule, they must be able to communicate effectively. Additionally, they should feel at ease taking the proper steps at the correct times to maintain delivery schedules.

Values and Principles

Agile project management has four fundamental values and twelve main principles.

The four core values of the Agile Manifesto are that software development is a team effort, is collaborative, focuses on the user, and responds to change.

• People and relationships are more important than processes or tools.
• It’s far better to produce working software that doesn’t wholly satisfy an audience than to try to help an audience with complete documentation.
• If customer collaborations are your primary goal, don’t negotiate contracts; just collaborate and let it fly.
• When a change is needed, taking the time to consider what you might do next will help you make better decisions.
• The 12 principles of Agile project management are as follows: The highest priority for Agile projects is the early and continuous delivery of quality software to achieve customer satisfaction.
• You can change requirements at any point in development, even in the late stages.
• Continuously create and deploy working software in short sequence.
• Developers must work with end users and project stakeholders throughout the project.
• Employees should help to develop their companies so that it is more sustainable.HIV-1 infection among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Europe: trends and current knowledge.
• Convey information about development progress in development teams through face-to-face discussions.
• How to measure progress. You don’t have to wait to measure your progress until your project is complete. Start now, and measure your progress as you work as you make changes to your software.
• The software requires continuous attention. Good software design ensures that it is easy to use and the products are helpful and easy to understand.
• Design with the customer in mind.
• Companies must be self-organized to produce the best software.

The 5 phases of Agile

There are five main phases involved in the APM process:

• Envision. In this phase, the project and final product are first conceptualized, and the target market’s needs are determined. The project’s stakeholders and employees are also chosen during this phase.
• Speculate. The initial requirements for the product are created during this phase. Teams will collaborate to develop a list of features for the finished product before deciding on project milestones.
• Explore. Teams will explore alternatives to meet project requirements while working on the project, focusing on respecting project constraints. Before moving on to the next milestone, teams work on individual ones and iterate.
• Adapt. Teams review their completed work and make any necessary adjustments. This stage focuses on adjustments or changes that result from staff and customer feedback. Feedback should be continuously provided to ensure that each project component satisfies end-user requirements. With each revision, the project ought to get better.
• Close. Teams review their completed work and make any necessary adjustments. The completed project is evaluated against the most current requirements. The process’ errors or other problems should be examined to prevent them.

History of Agile

The 21st century saw a rapid rise in the use of the Agile project management methodology, particularly for software development projects and other IT initiatives.

However, the concept of continuous development dates back to the mid-20th century and has taken various forms, championed by different leaders over the decades. For example, James Martin developed Rapid Iterative Production Prototyping, the basis for the 1991 book Rapid Application Development and the same-named method.

A specific Agile project management framework that has evolved in more recent years is Scrum. This methodology features a product owner who works with a development team to create a product backlog — a prioritized list of the features and functionalities. It fixes required to deliver a successful software system. The team then provides the pieces in rapid increments.

Additional Agile frameworks include Lean, Kanban, and Extreme Programming (XP).

Benefits of Agile

Agile project management proponents claim the methodology offers a variety of advantages, including the following:

• More liberties – Designers can work on models that play to their strengths, thanks to project management.
• Increased adaptability and flexibility – Developers are better able to adjust and make the necessary changes.
• Rapid problem identification – This makes quick fixes and better project management possible.
• Collaboration with users increases – Products that better meet user needs result from this. Contrasts with other project management techniques.

APM differs from more established project management techniques like Waterfall in that it doesn’t demand specific goals and processes at the beginning of the development process.

Drawbacks of Agile

Additionally, agile project management may have some disadvantages, such as the following:

• Inconsistent outcomes There are fewer predetermined courses of action at the beginning of a project, which makes it more likely to veer off course. Progress is challenging to quantify.
• Projects that produce less predictable results—time limitations.
• Agile management isn’t appropriate for organizations that take long to analyze problems because it depends on making decisions quickly.

Communication is not always accessible. Teams or end users must frequently collaborate to create the best product possible.

Waterfall vs. APM

Agile project management has always been an alternative to Waterfall project management. The Waterfall methodology has a rigid sequential approach to projects, where initiatives begin with gathering all requirements before the start of work. The following steps involve determining the required resources, creating timelines and budgets, carrying out the actual work, testing, and then delivering the project once all the work is finished. The Agile Manifesto, which outlined 12 principles of Agile software development, was published in 2001 by 17 software developers in response to problems with that methodology. Agile project management is still guided by these principles today.

APM Examples – Agile Project Management

Agile is a project management framework or style of project management, but it doesn’t stop there; Agile can be applied in several sub-styles or methods.

Teams implement all four APM methods. There are some methods that teams use more often:

• Scrum. Scrum is a project management framework that prioritizes collaboration, accountability, and incremental advancement toward a clear objective. The premise of the framework is what can be seen or known. Teams then monitor development and make any necessary adjustments to the procedure. Daily scrums, sprints, sprint planning sessions, sprint reviews, and sprint retrospectives are just a few techniques used in Scrum. Product owner, scrum master, and scrum development team are examples of scrum roles. These roles support the three Scrum pillars of transparency, inspection, and adaptation.
• Extreme Programming (XP). With frequent releases and quick development cycles, XP is an Agile software development methodology that emphasizes increasing software quality while introducing checkpoints for incorporating new client requirements. XP emphasizes good development practices, including anticipating changes, working in pairs, writing clear code, conducting unit tests, and delaying the development of features until they are necessary.
• Feature-driven development (FDD). Short iterations and frequent releases are hallmarks of the customer-centric software development methodology known as FDD. The project business owner must attend the initial design meetings and iteration retrospectives under FDD, similar to Scrum. In the FDD process, a model is created, a list of features is completed, each component is planned out, then each piece is designed and built.
• Lean software development. Lean software development is a philosophy that emphasizes increasing productivity and reducing waste throughout the software development process. The process entails reducing waste, enhancing quality, fostering learning, postponing commitments to experiments, and process optimization.
• Adaptive software development (ASD). ASD is an early iterative approach to Agile software development that emphasizes ongoing learning rather than adherence to a predetermined plan. There are three phases of ASD: education, collaboration, and speculation or planning.
• Kanban. Kanban is a visual method for managing and monitoring work as it progresses. Kanban starts with the customer’s order and follows production downstream in the manufacturing industry. Team members can see every piece of work at once because work items are visualized on a Kanban board.​​

Corey Wade