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Agile Project Management

By the
Mind Tools
Editorial Team

Organizing Flexible Projects

Fast-moving project
environments can be
challenging.

iStockphoto
chinaface

Picture a start-up technology business, where the

founders are trying to carve out a sustainable business
niche.The sector is changing fast, and they must quickly
develop a service that users are prepared to pay for.
This is tricky!
They can only find out so much through market research, so they need to experiment.
This means trying a variety of different offerings. Step-by-step, they need to learn from
these and try improved offerings until they develop a solution that really works.
You can probably see that many work-related projects particularly those involving
complex, fast-moving situations resemble this scenario. You can be working towards
one deliverable or solving one problem, but then need to change course and revise your
plans.
If you're using a traditional project management approach, these revisions will lead to
missed deadlines, inflated costs, and increased workloads. And, in a worst-case scenario,
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you can find that the situation has changed so much during the course of the project that
your final product, when it is eventually delivered, is no longer relevant.
Agile Project Management is an approach that helps you deal with these challenges. In
this article, we'll describe what Agile is, and we'll explain why it's beneficial.

What is Agile Project Management?

Agile Project Management is built around a flexible approach. Team members work in
short bursts on small-scale but functioning releases of a product. They then test each
release against customers' needs, instead of aiming for a single final result that is only
released at the end of the project.
The end product of an agile project may be very different from the one that was
envisaged at the outset. However, because of the checking process, team members can
be sure that the product is one that customers want.
This makes Agile Project Management particularly appropriate for new or fast-moving
businesses, for those in a fast-changing environment, or for highly complex situations,
where managers are "feeling their way forward" to find the optimum business model. It's
also helpful with urgent projects that can't wait for a full, traditional project to be set up.

The Origins of Agile

The elements of Agile Project Management have been around for decades. However,
two events helped to lay the foundations for the approach.
First, in 1986, Hirotaka Takeuchi and Ikujiro Nonaka published an article called "The New
New Product Development Game" in the Harvard Business Review. In it, the authors
outlined a new way of developing products that resembled a rugby match.
They imagined a project management approach in which, just as on the pitch, team
members would achieve their goal by constantly re-evaluating the situation and
responding accordingly. Projects would therefore evolve, but would lead to products that
met customers' needs more fully as a result.
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The second event occurred in 2001, when a group of software and project experts met
to discuss what their most successful projects had in common. They created the Agile
Project Manifesto, which outlined the values and principles that underpinned Agile
Project Management.
Agile Project Management is built on the product development approach of Takeuchi
and Nonaka, and incorporates the values and principles outlined in the Agile Project
Manifesto.

Agile Versus Traditional Project Management

Let's compare Agile Project Management with traditional project management to show
how the approaches differ.
Agile Project Management

Traditional Project Management

Teams are self-directed and are free to

Teams are typically tightly controlled by a project
accomplish deliverables as they choose, as long manager. They work to detailed schedules
as they follow agreed rules.
agreed at the outset.
Project requirements are developed within the Project requirements are identified before the
process as needs and uses emerge. This could project begins. This can sometimes lead to
mean that the final outcome is different from the "scope creep," because stakeholders often ask
one envisaged at the outset.
for more than they need, "just in case."
User testing and customer feedback happen
User testing and customer feedback take place
constantly. It's easy to learn from mistakes,
towards the end of the project, when everything
implement feedback, and evolve deliverables.
has been designed and implemented. This can
However, the constant testing needed for this is mean that problems can emerge after the
labor-intensive, and it can be difficult to manage release, sometimes leading to expensive fixes
if users are not engaged.
and even public recalls.
Teams constantly assess the scope and direction Teams work on a final product that can be
of their product or project. This means that they delivered some time often months or years
can change direction at any time in the process after the project begins. Sometimes, the end
to make sure that their product will meet
product or project is no longer relevant, because
changing needs. Because of this, however, it can business or customer needs have changed.
be difficult to write a business case at the outset,
because the final outcome is not fully known.

Ultimately, traditional project management is often best in a stable environment, where a

defined deliverable is needed for a fixed budget. Agile is often best where the endhttps://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/agileprojectmanagement.htm

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product is uncertain, or where the environment is changing fast.

About the Process

Agile Project Management is also different from other project management techniques
in the roles and events it uses. We've outlined these below.

"Scrums" and "Sprints"

The heart of Agile Project Management is the "scrum" framework. This uses specific
roles, events, meetings, and increments to deliver a usable product in a specific time
frame for example, within 30 days.
The framework involves three key roles:
1. The product owner is an expert on the product being developed. He or she
represents key stakeholders, customers, and end users, and is responsible for prioritizing
the project and getting funding.
The product owner describes how people will use the final product, communicates
customer needs, and helps the team develop the right product. His or her expertise also
helps combat scope creep.
2. The scrum master is responsible for managing the process. This person solves
problems, so that the product owner can drive development, and maximize return on
investment. The scrum master ensures that each sprint is self-contained, and that it
doesn't take on additional objectives.
The scrum master oversees communication, so that stakeholders and team members
can easily understand what progress has been made.
3. The team is the group of professionals responsible for turning requirements into
functionality.
The team will work on each project via "sprints" short phases of work which deliver
completed, tested, documented, and functioning products at their conclusion.
Each sprint begins with a sprint planning meeting. Here, team members decide what
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they can deliver within the agreed timeframe. They define the goal and assign task
responsibilities.
During the sprint, team members focus solely on achieving their defined goal. They will
meet every day for a 15-minute meeting to report on progress, to discuss what they
will work on that day, and to talk through any challenges that they're facing. (Meeting
participants are encouraged to stand up so that meetings are quick and efficient.) These
meetings are an essential part of the daily inspection process.
Teams are free to change their approach, based on what works for the specific project.

Reporting
In Agile Project Management, there are regular opportunities for reporting on progress.
As well as daily scrum meetings, team members meet the product owner and key
stakeholders after each sprint to present the sprint deliverable. In this meeting, the group
decides together what they should change for the next sprint.
After this, the scrum master (and sometimes the product owner) holds a retrospective
meeting, in which they look at the process that they used in the last sprint and decide
what they can improve for the next one.

Tip:
If you're working with a virtual team, make sure that everyone is using the same instant
messaging (IM) software to speed communication. Virtual meeting software is essential
for daily scrum meetings.
Social media can also be useful for helping team members collaborate between
meetings.

Key Points
Agile Project Management aims to deliver fully working upgrades of a product or
process on a regular basis typically, every 30 days.
It's ideal for software development and other projects where requirements are likely to
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change during the project for example, in new or fast-growing businesses or in fastchanging business environments.
Teams are entirely self-managed and have the freedom to change their approach when
needed. This flexibility can save costs and ensure that the final product meets
customers' needs.
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REFERENCES

Beck, K. et al. (n.d.) Manifesto for Agile Software Development. (Available here.) [Accessed 18
February 2013.]
Layton, M.C. (2012) 'Agile Project Management For Dummies,' Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Schwaber, K. (2004) 'Agile Project Management with Scrum,' Redmond, WA: Microsoft Press.
Takeuchi, H. and Nonaka, I. (1985) 'The New New Product Development Game,' Harvard Business
Review, January. (Available here.) [Accessed 18 February 2013.]
Wernham, B. (2012) 'Agile Project Management for Government. Case study: Case study: The
Success of the FBI Sentinel Project,' Talk given at the Agile Business Conference (ABC2012),
October 2012. (Available here.) [Accessed 8 March 2013].
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