Agile Buzz!

Why are Companies Moving to Agile Project Management Methodologies?

“In projects with evolving requirements, high risk, or significant uncertainty (usually software projects), the scope is not often understood at the beginning of the project. Agile (adaptive) methods spend less time trying to define and agree on scope in the early stage of a project and spend more time establishing the process for its ongoing discovery and refinement. Many organizations find a gap between the real business requirements and the business requirements originally stated. Therefore, they use Agile methodologies to build and review prototypes and release multiple iterations to refine requirements.” – Project Management Institute

Scrum and Kanban are commonly used Agile methodologies adopted by several organizations.

Project managers can offer structure, guidance, and drive execution of Agile projects across industries to improve outcomes of scope, cost, and quality metrics.

Agile Key Elements:

• Segmented into a sequence of stages called iterations, each iteration follows project management 5 core phases (planning, initiating, executing, monitor & controlling, closing), phases are repeatedly performed for each iteration.

• Continuous overlapping of phases.

• Variations in how project management phases interact.

Initiating – revalidate project charter frequently, changing dynamics may impact constraints and success of project so initiating processes are performed regularly to move project along, it’s imperative to have knowledgeable stakeholders provide feedback on evolving deliverable on a continuous basis (daily 15 min stand up meetings, weekly iteration status meetings).Planning – high level plans for initial requirements and further elaboration after iterations completed.Executing – work performed in short, time fixed iterations or sprints (2-4 weeks), sessions are held with key stakeholders for feedback and to share completed work.Monitor & controlling – manage backlog (ordered list of all work, presented in a story form) to track progress of iterations, communicate technical dependencies, and manage change request, project metrics are measured frequently against iterations.Closing – prioritize highest business items first to reduce impact of premature closure.

If you are new to Agile and need more information, check out articles, trainings and webinars on PMI and LinkedIn sites – robust information is available for novice and experienced project managers

https://www.pmi.org/learning/featured-topics/agile

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/topics/agile-project-management

Glossary

Predictive life cycle – more traditional approach, with bulk of planning upfront, then executing in a single pass, a sequential process.

Iterative life cycle – an approach that allows feedback for unfinished work to improve or modify that work.

Incremental life cycle – an approach that provides finished deliverables that customer may be able to use immediately.

Agile life cycle – Approach that is both iterative and incremental to refine work items and deliver frequently.

Story / User Story – software system requirement expressed in a few short sentences.