The Complete Guide To Agile Project Management

Agile approaches such as Scrum and Kanban are rapidly gaining popularity in order to keep up with the ever-changing needs of today’s business. If the result is a more productive working environment, agile thrives in cultures where team members are willing to adjust quickly. In this article, you’ll gain a better understanding of agile project management, including its major components and principles, as well as how to put it into practice.

What is Agile Project Management? #

Agile project management is an iterative method for managing software development projects that guarantees prompt feedback and adaptable changes at every level of a sprint or product cycle.

The majority of modern agile project management techniques originated in software development. In the 1990s, software teams discovered that the highly-structured (heavyweight) traditional project management approaches, such as Waterfall were inadequate for the way they needed to work. They lacked adaptability, flexibility, and autonomy when responding to change and applying new knowledge. The project’s plans were set in stone from the start, leaving no room for surprises.

Agile project management allows teams to account for these developments instead of being held prisoner by their initial strategy. This required shorter development cycles (sprints), an iterative approach, and regular testing and feedback.

Then, in 2001, a group of software developers gathered to debate the fundamental principles of agile and delve deeply into its underlying philosophy. They devised The Manifesto for Agile Software Development, a compilation of values and principles that would serve as a guiding light for teams attempting to become agile.

Scrum and Kanban #

Scrum and kanban are the two frameworks that make up traditional agile project management. While scrum focuses on iterations of set duration, kanban emphasizes continuous releases. After finishing one task, the crew instantly moves on to the next.

How does scrum work? #

Scrum is a framework for managing agile projects that employ “sprints,” which are short work cycles.

All of this starts with the backlog, which is the amount of work that needs to be done. In scrum, there are two backlogs: the product backlog, which is a prioritized list of features and is owned by the product owner, and the sprint backlog, which is filled by taking issues from the top of the product backlog until the capacity for the next sprint is achieved. Scrum teams have roles that depend on where they are in the process.

Usually, there is a scrum master, who is the leader of the scrum process for the team, a product owner, who is the voice of the product, and a scrum team, which is made up of cross-functional team members who are responsible for completing tasks.

The four ceremonies of scrum #

1. Sprint planning: a planning meeting in which the sprint’s objectives are determined.
2. Sprint demo: a meeting where the team presents the deliverables for the sprint.
3. Daily scrum: a 15-minute mini-meeting, often known as a stand-up meeting, for the project team to sync.
4. Retrospective: a review of what went well and what did not, with actions to improve the next sprint.

The scrum board #

The complete sprint’s work is represented on a scrum board. They move items from their product backlog to their sprint list at this time. Scrum boards can show several stages of the workflow, such as To Do, In Progress, and Done.

Scrum boards make agile project management more transparent.

How does kanban works? #

Project managers can use Kanban to scale their workload to their team’s capabilities. In order to get things done quickly, it gives teams the capacity to respond even more quickly than scrum.

No backlogs are required to implement kanban, unlike in scrum (usually). Instead, work is piled high in the To Do section of the calendar. Allows continuous releases to be made at any moment. When a task is accomplished, the team goes on to the next one.

Through WIP (Work In Progress) limitations, the amount of work is matched to the team’s capacity, which is a predefined limit of work that can be in a single column at a time (except the To Do column).

The four components of kanban #

1. List of work: This define as the task that need to be completed.
2. Column: Used on a kanban board to separate tasks from different workflows, users, projects, etc.
3. Work in Progress limit (WIP Limit): A rule that says how much work can be done based on how much the team can do.
4. Release: The team decides how many stories to write within the WIP limit and can release them at any time.

The kanban board #

The work that is being done can be seen on a kanban board. It’s also used to plan resources, so project managers can see what needs to be done and make schedules accordingly.

A kanban board has columns and lanes that stories move through as they get finished. Stories are put in the “To Do” column until the number of projects being worked on allows the next task to be done. The list of things to do should be broken up into smaller tasks and put in order of importance.

Agile Project Estimating #

The estimation of projects is a crucial part of both Kanban and Scrum project management. Many teams determine the WIP limit for each state in kanban based on past experiences and team size.

Using project estimation, Scrum teams determine how much work can be completed in a given sprint. Numerous agile teams utilize strategies such as planning poker, ideal hours, and narrative points to derive a numerical value for the current work. This provides agile teams with a point of reference to which they may refer during sprint retrospectives to assess their performance.

Agile Reporting #

Estimations of the project are utilized at the beginning and end of each sprint. They assist teams in determining what they can accomplish at the beginning of the sprint, but also reveal the accuracy of their initial estimates at the conclusion. Agile reports, such as Burndown charts, illustrate the number of “story points” achieved during a sprint.

FoxPlan Software provides dozens of pre-built reports providing real-time, actionable insights into the performance of your teams. Agile teams can significantly benefit from having data to back their retrospectives.

Backlog Management #

The product backlog is a prioritized list of tasks for the development team that is derived from the product roadmap and its specifications. For each sprint, the development team takes tasks from the product backlog.

Backlog grooming and maintenance assists teams in achieving their long-term objectives by continuously adding and removing things based on the team’s long-term capability and shifting business goals.

The 4 Core Values of Agile #

The Agile Manifesto was established by software developers, as was the case with the early agile project management approaches. As a result, you’ll see phrases like “developers” and “customers” used frequently. In spite of this, do not limit yourself.

You can take away a lot of useful information, no matter what business you’re in, whether you’re producing software or something completely different, for example, a marketing campaign.

It is stated in the original Agile Manifesto that the four basic values of agile are:

1. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
2. Working software over comprehensive documentation
3. Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
4. Responding to change over following a plan.

12 Principles of Agile Project Management #

1. Satisfy customers with early and consistent delivery #

By using this idea, you will be able to adjust to processing changes more quickly. The benefit for your clients is that they will receive the value they are paying for more frequently, resulting in increased satisfaction. Because they may provide early feedback, it will be easier for you to avoid making substantial changes later.

2. Adapt to changing requirements throughout the life cycle of the project #

Late-stage changes are viewed with mistrust in conventional project management since they often lead to scope creep and increased costs. On the other hand, agile teams aim to embrace uncertainty and acknowledge that even a late update can still bring significant value to customers in a flexible manner. In light of the Agile methodology’s iterative nature, teams should have no problem responding quickly to these changes.

3. Deliver working software frequently #

At the close of the 20th century, software development had gathered such a vast amount of documentation that this concept became necessary. If you follow this recommendation, you will spend less time preparing and more time finishing responsibilities. As a result, your employees will be able to build more agile strategies.

4. Work together as a team #

The objective is to synchronize those who produce value with those who plan or sell it. You may enhance the performance of your processes and make internal cooperation seamless in this way.

5. Build projects around motivated people #

By decreasing micromanagement and empowering motivated team members, projects will be finished faster and with higher quality, according to the fifth principle of Agile.

6. Face-to-face communication is the most powerful means of interaction #

With the evolution of technology, this Agile principle can be translated from face-to-face to “synchronous” or otherwise direct communication. So long as you have a mechanism to swiftly contact your colleagues and discuss work-related concerns without exchanging emails back and forth for days, you are set to go.

7. The primary indicator of progress is working software #

The seventh key premise of Agile is rather straightforward. It makes no difference how many hours you’ve spent on your project, how many problems you’ve fixed, or how much code your team has created. If the outcome of your labor does not meet the customer’s expectations, you are in danger.

And this doesn’t always mean literally working software. If you are in marketing team, make sure that you and your team deliver the best project deliverables to your client.

8. Maintain a stable work pace #

When utilizing Agile techniques, the goal is to decrease overburden and optimize the way you operate so that you can deliver frequently to the market and respond to change without requiring personal heroics from your team.

9. Continuous excellence enhances agility #

In the context of software development, this idea enables teams to produce not only functional software but also a reliable, high-quality output. As a result, code modifications will be less likely to result in defects and malfunctions.

Nonetheless, the ninth principle of Agile management is applicable across all industries. Maintaining operational excellence will make it easier to respond to changes and sustain agility.

10. It’s important to keep things simple #

Why spend effort making something complicated if you can do it easily? Your customers do not compensate you for the amount of effort you put out. They are purchasing a solution to a particular problem they have. When implementing Agile, keep this in mind and avoid doing things for the sake of doing them.

11. Teams that self-organize produce the most value #

Once again, we realize that when given autonomy, motivated teams deliver the best customer value. If you need to push your team and “drive them forward,” you may not be prepared for Agile or you need to adjust your leadership style.

12. Reflect on your work often and make changes to make it more effective #

We’ve reached the final of the Agile management principles. It pertains to assessing your performance and identifying areas for development. This will allow you to continue explore and enhance your performance. If your plans go awry, you can analyze what went wrong and make adjustments to get back on track.

The Benefits of Agile Project Management #

Agile project management may appear to be a passing trend, but it’s proven to be more than just a trend in the project management world. As a result, people may see for themselves the results. As a result of adopting agile project management principles, teams of all shapes and sizes are now better equipped to respond to the constantly evolving needs of their projects and complete their work more quickly. Agile project management has many advantages, some of which are listed below.

Agile methodologies empower those involved, promote accountability, promote the variety of ideas, provide the early release of benefits, and encourage continual improvement.

Agile helps develop client and user involvement since changes are incremental and evolutionary rather than revolutionary; consequently, it can effectively promote cultural change, which is crucial to the success of the majority of transformation programs.

Agile permits early testing and rejection of decision “gremlins”; the tight feedback loops bring benefits that are not as apparent in the waterfall.

How to Become Agile? #

Increased-quality outputs, happier clients and users, and higher team morale may sound too fantastic to be true. But agile project management isn’t a magic bullet that will fix all your project management problems.

For agile methods to have such a game-changing effect, you need support, buy-in, and very good team members. So, if you want to know how to get more flexible, think about the following.

1. Bring the appropriate individuals on board. #

Agile project management approaches rely on employing exceptional individuals and enabling them to perform their best work. Even the agile core values emphasize people over processes. This implies that you must prioritize recruiting and hiring the proper individuals. Find the proper people and allow them to use their talent to solve problems, rather than mechanically obey directions, and you’ll be halfway there already.

2. Be agile certified! #

If you’re serious about agile project management, you should consider earning a certification in the field. This will help you learn more about agile’s core concepts and principles and how they may assist your team.

3. Utilize FoxPlan project management tools #

Having a tool that can be used by everyone on your team is essential if you want to help it become more agile. An agile project management software should allow you to operate the way you like, rather than requiring it.

FoxPlan has everything you need to provide your team the transparency, adaptability, and cooperation they need to keep work going forward, whether you pick Scrum or Kanban boards, it can scale with you when the time comes.

FoxPlan: Solution for Agile Project Management #

You should keep in mind that you can begin by borrowing the principles and processes that make sense for you and your team if you are still trying to decide which methodology you should go with. If you are still trying to decide between agile, Scrum, Kanban, Scrumban, or some other hybrid, keep in mind that you can start by borrowing the principles and processes from agile. Sign up to FoxPlan today for FREE or contact our representative for FoxPlan Agile Project in Action!