Most web design companies tend to miss the point of Agile. While they may believe that it’s a framework, a process, or a methodology, it’s more of a set of principles and values a team must have to deliver value to their customers quickly.
Yes, using these methodologies, best practices, and Project Management tools does help teams become more Agile, but they don’t embody it. Your team can meet for your daily standup, but if they lack the guiding principles behind it, the result can be questionable. Implementing a project management planner can assist in keeping track of these principles and ensuring that Agile values are consistently applied throughout the project lifecycle.
When you understand that Agile is a collection of beliefs your team can use to make better decisions when developing a product, you can satisfy your customers on a consistent basis.
Before the rapid changing needs of customers who expect high-quality products and services, there was the traditional waterfall approach.
The Waterfall methodology has a linear yet slower method in the development phase with clear deadlines. But if your team needs to tweak and alter something after putting your product out to the market, it’s too late. That is why Agile project management can help your organization make constant readjustments as changes would pop up.
In this in-depth guide, you’ll discover the key principles of Agile project management and how to overcome the challenges of establishing them with your team.
Key principles of Agile project management
The Agile framework revolutionized how today’s businesses develop their products and services. All thanks to the Agile principles, which help project managers understand what it takes to create an agile project.
The Agile manifesto was created in 2001 by a group of software developers who had grown frustrated with traditional, heavily-regulated project management methodologies.
These developers are representatives from Extreme Programming, Scrum, Crystal, Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM), Feature Driven Development (FDD), and others. They sought to create a more flexible and adaptable approach to project management that would better meet the needs of software development teams. From their meeting in Sunbird, Utah, they came up with the following most essential core principles of Agile project management:
Emphasis on flexibility and adaptability
When you have an agile team, they are open to adapting to changes and unexpected developments throughout the project’s lifecycle. You can achieve these revisions through frequent check-ins and adjustments, allowing your team to pivot to ensure the project stays on track.
Unlike the traditional approach to project management, being agile lets you include a new feature in your product in your next sprint without disrupting the project schedule and budget.
Continuous improvement and iteration
Agile is all about making improvements and trying new things. This means that your team is always looking for ways to improve the project, whether through a new process or deliverables.
Since they’re open to feedback and suggestions from all stakeholders, they stay ahead of the curve to ensure they deliver a product beyond customer expectations.
Importance of clear communication and collaboration
Your development team understands how important it is to interact with other departments involved in the product, including the customer.
You can resolve any issues while avoiding costly mistakes when your teams are on the same page. You can make communication within team members more efficient with team time off calendar. So constant and transparent communication is vital because it allows the project to move in the right direction.
Focus on delivering value to the customer frequently
Teams using the agile approach are always in contact with the customers, gathering feedback and data throughout the development process.
Agile projects don’t usually emphasize a lot of documentation. Instead, they prioritize more on quick project implementation. So, they take proactive steps to solve problems by delivering a minimum viable product (MVP) early and often. This ensures team members stay focused on what’s important: Making customers happy.
The best results come from self-organizing teams
Self-organizing teams have the autonomy and freedom to take ownership of their work, making decisions about the best way to complete their tasks.
These teams consist of people who are highly motivated, skilled, and empowered to meet customer needs. Because agile projects rely heavily on self-starters, it’s ideal to cultivate an environment that fosters trust and support.
Best practices for implementing Agile project management
There’s a 64% success rate if you use the Agile framework for your projects. While there’s no one-size fits all approach, it’s essential to stay flexible and adapt the process as needed.
Agile is a way of working and a mindset, so it’s advisable to stay true to its values and principles rather than observing one specific methodology.
If your organization is looking to be more agile, the following best practices of Agile project management can be your guide:
Setting up an Agile team
Establish a dedicated team that’ll be responsible for the project. Your team should include a mix of people with different skills and expertise to create diversity while contributing to workplace productivity. Apart from that, they must balance working independently and collaboratively. to ensure everyone is working together towards a common goal.
Choosing the right Agile methodology (Scrum, Kanban, etc.)
There’s an umbrella of Agile methods you can apply to your projects, such as Scrum, Kanban, or Lean. It’s important to choose the methodology that best fits the project, team size, and team culture.
For example, Scrum is best suited for projects that require a lot of coordination and has a defined end date, while Kanban is more suitable for projects that have no defined end date.
You may also consider the Hybrid approach, where you can combine Agile methods with another, most often the rigid style of Waterfall, to create a new one. It allows you to use the best parts of each, maximizing the strengths of your chosen approach.
Establishing clear roles and responsibilities
When everyone has a clear definition of their roles, they can exercise the freedom to be self-starters. They know who is responsible for what tasks and who they should go to for help. It’s important to assign a project leader who can coordinate the team’s efforts. They should ensure everyone feels confident and committed to putting out their best.
Regularly reviewing and adjusting the process
Agile project management is an iterative process, which means that it requires regular reviews and adjustments in the process of creating a valuable end product. So you need to look at how well your team collaborates, what procedures work well, and what needs improvement.
Gathering feedback and opinions from team members, stakeholders, and customers must be on your priority list so you can solve potential issues quickly.
Overcoming challenges with Agile project management
Challenges are inevitable, which is why the Agile framework highlights continuous improvement. But when an organization is undergoing a shift in its system, it can be taxing for everyone involved. They tend to focus too much on the process and lose sight of what’s more important; The people.
Here are 4 challenges of Agile project management and how to solve them:
Resistance to change
When a mature organization tries to pivot from traditional methods to being agile, not everyone is going to be on board. Teams are too used to their old system that they fear change. Educate how Agile can benefit them.
Provide training and support to team members to help them understand and adapt to the new way of working. Get everyone involved in the implementation process. But be sure to stay open to suggestions from them too.
Remember, be transparent. Communication is your ally here. Don’t let your team feel abandoned.
Difficulty in estimating and planning
Focusing on flexibility and adaptability can be difficult for team members to estimate and accurately plan for the entire project. That’s why Agile lets you granularize a project into smaller, manageable chunks (called sprints). This method can help your team create an estimation for each sprint rather than the whole project.
Maintaining focus on long-term goals
When you want higher chances of customer satisfaction, your long-term goals might get thrown out the window. But it doesn’t have to be like that. Instead, keep your project’s vision integrated into the minds of your team.
Review and reflect on your long-term goals with your team frequently. Alter them if you need to because even goals change as you scale your organization.
Managing scope creep
Scope creep occurs when the project changes without the corresponding change in budget and schedule. It’s when you add tasks and workloads that are not part of the original sprint. So, it’s important to clearly define the project’s priorities and regularly revisit its progress.
Schedule a scrum meeting 2-3 times a week to identify any possibility of scope creep. But keep your standups focused on the deciding actions needed and who must do them.
Deliver exceptional results with Agile project management
‘Being Agile’ is different from ‘doing Agile’. Project managers must value people more than the process, collaboration more than tools, and adaptability more than the plan. By now, you have a complete understanding of welcoming changes to deliver a working product your customers will be happy to use.
Regular communication to identify problems and know why or how it happens ensures continuous attention to technical excellence. Involve all team members in the implementation process, be open to suggestions, and focus on the values of Agile rather than following a specific methodology.
If you’re ready to take your project to the next level, think about how your team and customers can benefit from the Agile framework.
