Agile Project Management Methodology

 





An example of the Agile philosophy is the principle of operation of the famous Toyota plant, where any subordinate could stop the conveyor, and make adjustments. (See also the project management company's certification)

Many consider this method of project implementation to be the only correct one. The basis of such a statement is the involvement of each participant in the overall process. At any time, a member of the project team has the right to make a proposal or make changes to the project.

Often, when creating a product, people responsible for certain stages of the project conflict with each other. When problems are detected, the developers blame other team members.

The innovative Agile methodology involves all participants in the work, while maintaining their usual responsibilities. The approach aims everyone to achieve a result in the form of a product that satisfies the customer.

Such a methodology is able to change the business culture of the entire company, rallying the team, which will later become effective in the market.

However, there are organizations that do not need this technique. For example, all the activities of state structures are based on legislation. Change is not necessary here. We also identified 16 project management methodologies You can see the article here Project management methods. 16 project management methodologies

Agile Methodology

The characteristic features of Agile include the delineation of possible risks, independent organization, predictability, prompt responses to transformations and stable interaction (feedback).

To date, there are two fairly widely used ways of establishing a working relationship with the client – fixed-price contracts and time and materials. The fixed price agreement shifts responsibility for possible risks to the counter party, the second provides for payment by the client for the services performed, which may adversely affect the final result.

Predictability rejects long-term planning, clear deadlines and a set final price. The Agile methodology calls for defining tasks in the form of a black box with a given amount of input information and a given period to demonstrate the achieved result. At the beginning of the process, participants evaluate the task and take responsibility for the result.

Feedback has a main problem, which is the inability of the customer to correctly formulate the task. Even a clearly documented plan can lose relevance after several months of elaboration. Restructuring the initial concept may entail lengthy revisions and alterations of the results.

The methodology states that even after the initial stage of work on the plan, the product will not have the declared functionality, which will allow the client to comment and make adjustments, starting from the starting line of the project. After going through two stages of development, you can run a test version of the product to get feedback. An additional feature here is an almost instantaneous reaction to functional changes.

Self-organization contributes to the elimination of an excessive management structure, the absence of the need to control team members, each of whom takes on a certain responsibility. This will be a guarantee of performance and the release of a high-quality product. However, many make mistakes Agile methodology. Top 10 mistakes when using Agile


Agile is the name of a project management methodology in which a project is divided into several small parts that will be completed by a certain deadline, instead of a long implementation of the entire project. You can read about the reasons why companies implement these principles of project management in the article Three reasons to start implementing the Agile methodology. This method of project management is applied not only to IT projects, but is also successfully used in marketing and similar projects (mainly in those where intellectual labor is used). Article about Agile marketing: the road to a happy future

History of Agile

in 1970, Dr. Winston Royce introduced the methodology of "managing the development of large software systems". Since then, the concept of Agile has existed. The full history of the formation of project management is described in The history of the development of project management methods in 

Something about the Scrum method

In fact, Scrum is an offshoot of Agile, which is most widely used as a "lightweight process" when using agile development methodology. To distinguish a real Agile methodology from a fake one will help our 

Benefits of Agile Development Practices

• Improve the quality of results
• Adapting to change
• Very fast and efficient
• More controlled project schedule
• Agile Core Principles
• User engagement is crucial;
• To make decisions, teams must be highly effective;
• Phasing and cyclicity as a basis;
• Concentrates on frequent submissions of intermediate project results;
• The 80/20 work rule applies;
• Use of a joint approach to the implementation of the plan;
• Completion of a separate stage, to move on to the next.

 

We also brought the 12 basic principles of agile methodology into a separate infographic. You can see it here

Characteristics of the technique:

• Iterative
• Modular
• Increasing
• Adaptive
• The unifying bugs in implementing agile project management practices are described in Implementing an Agile Methodology. Seven Common Mistakes
• Why use Agile?
• Cash flow growth
• Risk control
• Reduced time and overhead costs
• Increased accountability 
• About how to use Agile for development, read project management 2.0. Agile as a development tool
• What project management methodology is right for you?
• Often, the secret to the success of the project lies in the correctly chosen project management methodology.

Choosing an effective management system for quality implementation is crucial for any project.

But when you have a choice between the waterfall and Agile planning method, how will you understand which one is the best for your project and team.

To help you decide, we've compiled a list of pros and cons for each method.

• Comparison of waterfall and agile methodology
• Cascade Project Management Methodology
• Cascade methodology requires detailed planning at the beginning of the project

All the stages are known and logical dependencies are built between them, and you proceed to the next step only after the previous one is completed.

Advantages of the waterfall method of project management

• Best suited for projects that deal with physical objects – from construction projects to equipment installation projects
• Requirements are described at the beginning of the project
• Best for projects with well-defined tasks and milestones that need to be completed in a specific sequence (e.g., build the first floor of a building to the second floor)
• No customer involvement in the development process is required
• Project schedules can be used in the future, for identical or similar projects
• The full scope of the requirements is known in advance
• The results defined in the TK reduce the likelihood of incompleteness
• Disadvantages of the classical methodology of project management
• Requires considerable effort on high-quality project planning and scheduling before work begins
• The client sees the results of the work only at the end of the project and may be dissatisfied
• Changes in project scope can be lengthy and require formal management of change processes
• The client may have problems with the vision of the project at the very beginning.
• Late changes in TK are the reason for exceeding the budget
• Late changes to the ToR extend the timing of the project

 

The method is less effective for projects in the service sector, software, design and other projects in which there are no physical objects.

Agile is a fast and agile approach to project management based on the principles of collaboration, adaptability and continuous improvement

In contrast to the orderliness of waterfall planning stages, Agile principles are typically implemented in fast, iterative product release cycles.

Advantages of agile project management methodology

1. The best methodology for projects that deal with service-oriented and non-physical results, such as coding, copywriting, or design
2. The project is transparent and understandable for the client at all stages
3. Great for a quick start
4. Provides quick course adjustments based on stakeholder feedback
5. Priorities focus on the benefit to the client's business
6. The project gives the team the freedom of action to work creatively and efficiently
7. Involving the client in the project gives a focus of development
8. Includes interaction and collaboration with all members of the project team
9. Disadvantages of agile project management methodology
10. The team is always involved in the project
11. Not suitable for projects with well-defined requirements and scopes
12. Uncertainty in the scope and timing of work can make customers and management nervous (at the beginning)
13. The client may not have time to get involved in the project
14. Requires constant tracking of work and documentation of team task management
15. The customer can revise the scope of work
16. A quick startup can cause tasks to run incompletely
17. The project management method you choose will vary depending on the project, team, and goals. Once you choose a management style, make sure you use project management software that will allow you and your team to customize the project the way you want.

Good luck with your projects!

Combining Agile and Threading Methodology

The success of the project largely depends on the chosen methodology and the level of training of the project manager. A methodical approach to software development reduces the amount of clutter in the process and therefore ultimately provides shorter development times and better quality.

Projects often use a combination of an agile and waterfall product development lifecycle model, an agile methodology for developing small stages, and a flow-by-line methodology for the implementation of the entire project.

Service Delivery Process

1.Problem Definition

The developer must understand and define the problem that the client is trying to solve as accurately as possible. To a greater extent, the correct definition of the problem is half the solution.

2. Definition of the solution

It is necessary to think through several possible solutions, and offer the client. Stop at the offer that best solves business problems and has the maximum benefit.

3. Market

Verification It is necessary to check the proposed solution with the help of marketing tools, such as determining the competitive environment, industry trends and target customers. This is done in order to reasonably confirm and strengthen the solution offered to the client.

This is an optional step, you can involve third-party market research companies, use the initial expert data of the customer (if any) or monitor open data sufficient for proof of concept. With a constant flow of projects, you can start your own department of analysts and offer it as a separate service.

4. Solution development The development

team begins to work on the solution.

Agile development methodology (agile structure)

Managing complex software development projects involves efficient use of resources, prioritization of tasks, accurate estimation of deadlines and risk management. Agile methodology is used to reduce risks and increase benefits for customers.

Using the Agile methodology, the various aspects of the team's activities are combined with each other, this ensures that the whole concept is based on correctly defined goals, and approaches and methods of work are constantly being improved. The methodology divides the entire development process into small stages and iterations with the constant integration of all developed components. The features include a cycle of sequential design and periodic inspections, clarification of requirements and development of the final product. The agile methodology also ensures continuous improvement when receiving feedback from the customer to avoid any surprises at later stages of the life cycle.

Uniqueness of the combined methodology:

The use of Agile methodologies at each step leads to savings in funds and resources for both the client and the contractor.

Using a waterfall model for a large project leads to control over the overall results. Providing quick feedback between the client and the development team.