A new approach

Agile project management uses iterative methodologies to plan and steer (or guide) projects. Inspired by agile software development, agile projects complete their work in many small pieces over time, called iterations. Iterations happen in a predictable, cyclic pattern with defined start and end dates (usually two weeks).

Agile software development implies a software development lifecycle. In this lifecycle, the result is presented to stakeholders and project team members to receive feedback on the use and application of the functionality. The iteration outcome is critiqued, and feedback is gathered to determine the next steps in realizing the big picture. In agile software development, the result of each iteration must be validated to confirm or debunk initial assumptions.

Agile project management significantly benefits from early insights gained during the feedback process and issues during the project. Simply put, responding to change could mean the life and death of projects: how will the recently acquired insights affect resources and the budget? When is the expected timeline for the project’s realization? Can we do the project with the insights we’ve acquired since the previous iteration?

Agile Project Management vs. Waterfall

Before explaining agile project management, let’s discuss what it isn’t. There are variable project management life cycle process models, such as linear, incremental, iterative, adaptive, and extreme (Wysocki, 2014), and the conditions of the project typically determine which process model makes sense.

The traditional waterfall project management style applies the linear process model of project management. Waterfall project management styles depend on a plan-driven approach and are resistant to change—they come with heavy documentation and expectations, rigid mock-ups, requirements that have been so thoroughly (or not) reviewed, and plans so strictly organized that changing even the most minor aspect of it can cause a cascading effect of unpredictability.

Incremental project management process models are pretty similar to linear models. The only difference is that requirements and project scope are delivered incrementally rather than all together before the project starts.

Agile project management uses a change-driven approach. Agile project management approaches encourage change. After all, it would be nice to know early if unexpected consequences arise due to changes in the work. A business wouldn’t want to continue with everything as planned and not leave room for the unexpected and unplanned. This ongoing collaboration and open communication is encouraged, from those who create the product to stakeholders who have a stake in the direction of the product. There is a vested interest throughout the entire agile project management lifecycle process model. Agile project management improves upon the waterfall (linear) model by incorporating planning as part of incremental activity and resolving those plans iteratively.

Agile Project Management vs Waterfall Project Management

The more uncertainty in a project, the more space for change. Adaptive and extreme project management process models encourage uncertainty, but navigating the terrain from an uncertain perspective may be difficult. Most organizations favour agile project management in small—to large-scale agile project implementations.

What is Agile Project Management?

An agile project methodology divides projects into smaller pieces, which are completed periodically throughout the design, testing, and quality assurance phases. These intervals are called sprints, a popular term for an iteration used by Scrum, one of the most popular agile development methodologies.

Sprints are short bursts of intense productivity that begin and end every two to four weeks. Agile methodologies rely on specialized teams to release functionality when completed (and tested). These continuous release cycles allow teams to see the effect of their deployments and, if unexpected consequences arise (not found in testing), enable teams to fix those issues quickly and redeploy.

Agile project methodologies empower companies to reduce large-scale failures and react quickly to uncertain conditions throughout the project’s lifecycle.

How does Agile Project Management work?

Agile teams adopt various best practices (quality assurance, software craftsmanship) and continuous adaptation throughout an iteration.

Agile teams incorporate and develop an environment that promotes automation, error-free deployments, and early error detection in product development to speed up release deployments and testing procedures. They adopt DevOps best practices (and mentalities) to synthesize an environment capable of improvement.

Agile project management requires that agile teams iteratively evaluate their time and efforts as they continue throughout their work. Metrics such as velocity, burndown, and burnup charts allow agile teams to measure their work. Here, agile teams acquire a baseline potentiality of their team’s ability (not all teams have the same metrics).

Agile project management does not require a project manager because the work of the PM is distributed among agile teams (the teams know best how to deliver their work and what effort is needed. From this, teams can synchronize their work in a timely way). A project manager was essential in project-delivery-focused waterfall methods because the company developed projects, not products. This difference is vital.

Dedicated Product Owners set project goals on time, with an agile team to which their work is dedicated. With the product owner, agile teams handle scheduling, report project progress, and measure quality. Some agile approaches like Scrum deploy an agent dubbed the Scrum Master, whose role is to facilitate the relationship between the Product Owner and the agile team by removing impediments, streamlining workflows and processes and simplifying communication to shepherd the project to its completion.

In some cases, agile project management may still use the project manager, except not in the same role that person once had in the traditional waterfall process. Instead, the project manager is a coordinator and facilitator, relaying information and supporting the project’s development in a more tertiary capacity. This is rather than administering teams. The project manager is transformed into a visionary leader rather than the previously held taskmaster role in the linear process model.

Since agile teams no longer need a project manager to tell them how to do their work and prioritize and evaluate risks, agile project management demands more from agile teams. Agile teams know how to do their job and what is essential. When those things can be done, organizations trust agile teams to steer and determine their work. Companies that adopt agile project management must empower teams to take the appropriate actions and maintain a delivery pipeline at all times. Agile teams must communicate with stakeholders, product owners, and others. Social competence is fundamental.

History of Agile Project Management

Continuous development, continuous deployment, and continuous integration is not new to today’s vernacular. It has been around since the mid 20th century and it has been practised in various forms throughout the decades, championed by visionaries in software engineering and software craftsmanship. While waterfall project management techniques were gaining ground in the 1990s, James Martin’s 1991 publication introducing Rapid Iterative Production Prototyping (RIPP) became the foundations of what is now practised in Rapid Application Development (RAD).

In recent years, the agile methodology known as Scrum has gained significant momentum. Scrum is an agile methodology that has three roles: Product Owner, Development Team, and Scrum Master. The product owner works with a development team to create a product backlog, which is them prioritized in according to business value in order to deliver features, fixes and the overall software to production. The team delivers this in rapid increments.

With the increasingly dense, and sophisticated world of software engineering, technological innovations, and connected systems, the 21st century demanded an evolved way of navigating the growing complexity. Rapid response is not only an expected, but desired.

Sources:
Wysocki, R. K. (2014). Effective project management: traditional, agile, extreme. Indianapolis, Indiana: Wiley.