Summary

Agile methodology is a project management framework that breaks projects down into
several dynamic phases, commonly known as sprints. In this article, get a high-level
overview of Agile project management, plus a few common frameworks to choose the right
one for your team.

Scrum, Kanban, waterfall, Agile.

There's a wide array of project management frameworks you can use. Some methods though,
like waterfall, aren't as effective for software teams. With priorities and customer needs
constantly changing, the Agile methodology breaks projects up into several phases to drive
continuous improvement.
Agile project management isn’t just useful for software project management—all types of
teams have been successful with this dynamic methodology. If you’re looking to get started
with Agile, you’ve come to the right place.

What is the Agile methodology?

Agile methodology is a project management framework that breaks projects down into
several dynamic phases, commonly known as sprints.
The Agile framework is an iterative methodology. After every sprint, teams reflect and look
back to see if there was anything that could be improved so they can adjust their strategy for
the next sprint.

What is the Agile Manifesto?

The Agile Manifesto is a document that focuses on four values and 12 principles for Agile
software development. It was published in February 2001 by 17 software developers who
needed an alternative to the more linear product development process.

What are the 4 pillars of Agile?

As outlined in the Agile Manifesto, there are four main values of Agile project management:
 Individuals over processes and tools: Agile teams value team collaboration and teamwork
over working independently and doing things "by the book.”
 Working software over comprehensive documentation: The software that Agile teams
develop should work. Additional work, like documentation, is not as important as developing
good software.
 Customer collaboration over contract negotiation: Customers are extremely important within
the Agile methodology. Agile teams allow customers to guide where the software should go.
Therefore, customer collaboration is more important than the finer details of contract
negotiation.
 Responding to change over following a plan: One of the major benefits of Agile project
management is that it allows teams to be flexible. This framework allows for teams to quickly
shift strategies and workflows without derailing an entire project.

What are the 12 Agile principles?

The four values of Agile are the pillars of Agile methodology. From those values, the team
developed 12 principles.
If the four values of Agile are the weight-bearing pillars of a house, then these 12 principles
are the rooms you can build within that house. These principles can be easily adapted to fit
the needs of your team.
The 12 principles used in Agile methodology are:
1. Satisfy customers through early, continuous improvement and delivery. When customers
receive new updates regularly, they're more likely to see the changes they want within the
product. This leads to happier, more satisfied customers—and more recurring revenue.
2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in the project. The Agile framework is all about
adaptability. In iterative processes like Agile, being inflexible causes more harm than good.
3. Deliver value frequently. Similar to principle #1, delivering value to your customers or
stakeholders frequently makes it less likely for them to churn.
4. Break the silos of your projects. Collaboration is key in the Agile framework. The goal is for
people to break out of their own individual projects and collaborate together more
frequently.
5. Build projects around motivated individuals. Agile works best when teams are committed and
actively working to achieve a goal.
6. The most effective way to communicate is face-to-face. If you’re working on a distributed
team, spend time communicating in ways that involve face-to-face communication like Zoom
calls.
7. Working software is the primary measure of progress. The most important thing that teams
should strive for with the Agile framework is the product. The goal here is to prioritize
functional software over everything else.
8. Maintain a sustainable working pace. Some aspects of Agile can be fast-paced, but it
shouldn't be so fast that team members burn out. The goal is to maintain sustainability
throughout the project.
9. Continuous excellence enhances agility. If the team develops excellent code in one sprint,
they can continue to build off of it the next. Continually creating great work allows teams to
move faster in the future.
10. Simplicity is essential. Sometimes the simplest solution is the best solution. Agile aims to not
overcomplicate things and find simple answers to complex problems.
11. Self-organizing teams generate the most value. Similar to principle #5, proactive teams
become valuable assets to the company as they strive to deliver value.
12. Regularly reflect and adjust your way of work to boost effectiveness. Retrospective meetings
are a common Agile practice. It's a dedicated time for teams to look back and reflect on their
performance and adapt their behaviours for the future.

What are the benefits of the Agile

development methodology?
You commonly find Agile project management used in application development or other
types of software development. This is because software is constantly changing, and the
needs of the product have to change with it.
Because of this, linear project management methods like the waterfall model are less
effective. Here are a few other reasons why teams use Agile:

Agile methods are adaptable

There's a reason why they call it the Agile methodology. One of the main benefits of using
Agile processes in software development is the ability to shift strategies quickly, without
disrupting the flow of a project.
Because phases in the traditional waterfall method flow into one another, shifting strategies is
challenging and can disrupt the rest of the project roadmap. Since software development is a
much more adaptable field, project managing rapid changes in the traditional sense can be
challenging. This is part of the reason why Agile project management is favoured in software
development.

Agile fosters collaborative teamwork

One of the Agile principles states that the most effective way to communicate with your team
is face-to-face. Combine this with the principle that encourages teams to break project silos
and you have a recipe for collaborative teamwork.
While technology has changed since Agile’s inception and work has shifted to welcome more
remote-friendly policies, the idea of working face-to-face still hasn't changed.
Read: 10 easy steps to boost team collaboration

Agile methods focus on customer needs

One of the unique aspects of software development is that teams can focus on customer needs
much more closely than other industries. With the rise of cloud-based software, teams can get
feedback from their actual customers quickly.
Since customer satisfaction is a key driver for software development, it’s easy to see why it
was included in the Agile process. By collaborating with customers, Agile teams can
prioritize features that focus on customer needs. When those needs change, teams can take an
Agile approach and shift to a different project.

Agile methodologies
The Agile framework is an umbrella for several different variations. Here are a few of the
most common Agile methodologies.

Kanban
Kanban is a visual approach to Agile. Teams use online Kanban board tools to represent
where certain tasks are in the development process. Tasks are represented by cards on a
board, and stages are represented in columns. As team members work on tasks, they move
cards from the backlog column to the column that represents the stage the task is in.
This method is a good way for teams to identify roadblocks and to visualize the amount of
work that’s getting done.
Read: A beginner's guide to Kanban boards

Scrum
 Scrum is a common Agile methodology for small teams and also involves sprints. The team
is led by a Scrum master whose main job is to clear all obstacles for others executing the day-
to-day work.
Scrum teams meet daily to discuss active tasks, roadblocks, and anything else that may affect
the development team.
 Sprint planning: This event kicks off the sprint. Sprint planning outlines what can be
delivered in a sprint (and how).
 Sprint retrospective: This recurring meeting acts as a sprint review—to iterate on learnings
from a previous sprint that will improve and streamline the next one.

Extreme Programming (XP)

Typically used in software development, Extreme Programming (XP) is an Agile framework
that outlines values that will allow your team to work together more effectively.
The five values of XP include:
 Communication
 Simplicity
 Feedback
 Courage
 Respect
Similar to daily Scrum standups, there are regular releases and iterations, yet XP is much
more technical in its approach. If your dev team needs to quickly release and respond to
customer requests, XP focuses on the “how” it will get done.

Adaptive Project Framework (APF)

The Adaptive Project Framework, also known as Adaptive Project Management (APM) grew
from the idea that unknown factors can show up at any time during a project. This technique
is mainly used for IT projects where more traditional project management techniques don’t
apply.
This framework is based on the idea that project resources can change at any time. For
example, budgets can change, timelines can shift, or team members working on the project
may transition to different teams. APF focuses on the resources that a project has, as opposed
to the resources a project needs.

Extreme Project Management (XPM)

 This type of project management is often used for very complex projects with a high level of
uncertainty. This approach involves constantly adapting processes until they lead to the
desired result. This type of project involves many spontaneous changes and it’s normal for
teams to switch strategies from one week to the next.
XPM requires a lot of flexibility. This is one of the reasons why each sprint is short—only a
few weeks maximum. This methodology allows for frequent changes, trial-and-error
approaches to problems, and many iterations of self-correction.
Read: Understanding the iterative process, with examples

Adaptive Software Development (ASD)

This Agile methodology enables teams to quickly adapt to changing requirements. The main
focus of this process is continuous adaptation. The phases of this project type—speculate,
collaborate, and learn—allow for continuous learning as the project progresses.
It’s not uncommon for teams running ASD to be in all three phases of ASD at once. Because
of its non-linear structure, it’s common for the phases to overlap. Because of the fluidity of
this type of management, there’s a higher likelihood that the constant repetition of the three
phases helps team members identify and solve problems much quicker than standard project
management methods.

Dynamic Systems Development Method

(DSDM)
The Dynamic Systems Development Method is an Agile method that focuses on a full project
lifecycle. Because of this, DSDM has a more rigorous structure and foundation, unlike other
Agile methods.
There are four main phases of DSDM:
 Feasibility and business study
 Functional mode or prototype iteration
 Design and build iteration
 Implementation

Feature Driven Development (FDD)

Feature Driven Development blends different Agile best practices. While still an iterative
method of project management, this model focuses more on the exact features of a software
that the team is working to develop. Feature-driven development relies heavily on customer
input, as the features the team prioritizes are the features that the customers need.
This model also allows teams to update projects frequently. If there is an error, it's quick to
cycle through and implement a fix as the phases of this framework are constantly moving.
Read: Waterfall vs. Agile vs. Kanban vs. Scrum: What's the difference?

Organize Agile processes with Asana

You’ll often hear software development teams refer to the Agile process—but any team can
run Agile. If you’re looking for a more flexible project management framework, try Agile.

Six Sigma is a set of methodologies and tools used to improve

business processes by reducing defects and errors, minimizing
variation, and increasing quality and efficiency. The goal of Six
Sigma is to achieve a level of quality that is nearly perfect, with only
3.4 defects per million opportunities

ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) is a framework

designed to standardize the selection, planning, delivery,
maintenance and overall lifecycle of IT services within a business.
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Footnotes
1. Noor, Hassan et al. Acceptance towards the Use of Internet
Banking Services of Cooperative Bank. International Journal of
Academic Research in Business & Social Sciences 2.3 (2012):
p.137.
2. Wadie, Nasri. Factors Influencing the Adoption of Internet Banking
in Tunisia. International Journal of Business & Management 68
(2011): p.146.
3. Ibid. p.137.
4. Wadie, Nasri. Factors Influencing the Adoption of Internet Banking
in Tunisia. International Journal of Business & Management 68
(2011): p.143.
5. Ibid. p. 147.
6. Noor, Hassan et al. Acceptance towards the Use of Internet
Banking Services of Cooperative Bank. International Journal of
Academic Research in Business & Social Sciences 2.3 (2012): p.
138.
7. Maura, Keller. Making Your ATM Work for You. National Petroleum
News 101.7 (2009): p. 119.
8. Ibid. p. 120.
9. Charles, Keenan. Putting the Cinch on ATM Costs. Community
Banker 15.3 (2006): p. 132.
10. Maura, Keller. Making Your ATM Work for You. National
Petroleum News 101.7 (2009): p. 118.
11. Keenan, Charles. Putting the Cinch on ATM Costs. Community
Banker 15.3 (2006): p. 135.
12. Ibid. p. 145.
13. Gatev, Evan, Til, Schuermann, and Philip, Strahan. Managing
Bank Liquidity Risk: How Deposit-Loan Synergies Vary with Market
Conditions. Review of Financial Studies 22.3 (2009): p.998.
14. Gatev, Evan, Til, Schuermann, and Philip, Strahan. Managing
Bank Liquidity Risk: How Deposit-Loan Synergies Vary with Market
Conditions. Review of Financial Studies 22.3 (2009): p. 1002.
15. Yang, Haijing. Research on Legal Liability for Bankcard
Deposit Loss. Asian Social Science 8.2 (2012): p.278.
16. Ibid. p. 378.
17. Abdul-Aziz, Aljabre. Cloud Computing for Increased Business
Value. International Journal of Business & Social Science 3.1
(2012): p. 235
18. Joshua, Parker,. Lost In The Cloud: Protecting End-User
Privacy In Federal Cloud Computing Contracts. Public Contract
Law Journal 41.2 (2012): p. 389.
19. Ibid. p. 236.
20. Joshua, Parker. Lost In The Cloud: Protecting End-User
Privacy In Federal Cloud Computing Contracts. Public Contract
Law Journal 41.2 (2012): p. 395.