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Agile Project Management

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Jithin S
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28 views5 pages

Agile Project Management

Uploaded by

Jithin S
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Origin of IT Agile Project Management

Historically, large IT projects achieved a reputation for “going off the rails.”

Going back as far as the 1970s, numerous post-failure analyses highlighted that
there were two consistent fault areas:

• Projects utilizing little, if any, formal overarching management


methodology

• Projects applying a methodology, but not necessarily one best suited to


software development

The origins of Agile stem from this second category. Many organizations
implemented a form of project management in an attempt to improve the success
rate of IT projects. However, due to the rigidity of the methodologies, they often
failed, causing “paralysis by analysis”. The procedural approaches placed emphasis
on demarcation lines, sequential step-based progressions, and the uniqueness of
role and responsibilities based upon hierarchies and fixed responsibility sets which
limited the capacity of the team and the overall productivity of the project. To put it
in perspective, it’s like an ER surgeon having to ask permission of the patient, chief
surgeon, and the hospital board of directors before they start a life-saving surgery.

Step-by-step methodologies may apply in industries such as construction, but they


are less suited to the world of software development. This became increasingly clear
as the 1990s introduced new more dynamic and flexible software development
tools. The need for a new system to conduct development in a controlled but highly
flexible fashion became paramount.

These pressures led to the development of Agile. Delivering a managed approach to


software development without conventional procedural emphasis and
compartmentalization, Agile focuses on iterating through product requirements,
encouraging continuous improvement, and responding quickly to changing
requirements from the aspect of a team mentality rather than on an individual level.
Agile vs. Waterfall

Agile Project Management has its roots in iterative project management. It is a


highly flexible and interactive model where requirements and the overall project plan
are regularly updated to meet changing requirements from stakeholders, suppliers,
and customers.

The traditional practice of project management, often referred to as “waterfall”


project management suffers from various drawbacks. For example, waterfall project
management is unable to meet the needs of complex projects—requirements cannot
be stated fully until either a prototype is developed until there are multiple facets of
the product being produced. In addition, when planning happens much in advance,
there are chances that requirements may change during the process of working on
the project—rendering the product ineffective or only partially effective.

Compare this to an Agile project where one module is developed in short period of
time—called a sprint. During each sprint (which typically lasts two or three weeks) is
implemented, feedback from users is collected, and any shortcomings are identified.
That feedback is used to build requirements into the development’s next sprint.

The difference between Agile and traditional project management can also be
described by comparing Agile: a relay race where each member passes on the baton
to someone else to do the next part versus traditional, or waterfall project
management, which is more like a basketball team where the entire team assumes
responsibility and tries to go the distance as a unit, passing the ball back and forth.

Agile Project Management is the result of collaboration between APMG-International


and the DSDM Consortium. DSDM (Dynamic Systems Development Method) is the
longest-established Agile method, launched in 1995, and is the only Agile method to
focus on the management of Agile projects.

How Scrum Works With Agile Project Management

Scrum, a subset of the Agile approach, is a set of governing principles, along with the
tools, that enables fast and responsive decision-making. It derives its name from a
player positioning move within the game of Rugby and is sometimes referred to as
“lightweight Agile.”

Scrum focuses on generating and managing fast conclusions to short-term


activities, typically called “sprints.” An important concept is the daily meeting of the
key players associated with a successful outcome to the Sprint. This is typical of a
short 15-minute duration and is the “Scrum” itself. This process is facilitated by the
“Scrum Master.” It’s important to note that this is a functional role and not a
hierarchical post. The Scrum Master’s job is not to exclusively lead but rather to
encourage and particularly to act as a clearer of roadblocks (e.g., procedural or other
obstacles) that are getting between the Scrum and their overall objectives.

Agile Iterative Development Overview

With Agile project management, the traditional project phases are maintained but
during each phase (see below), the amount of work done in each activity rises or
falls.

Agile Scrum Overview

1. Defines Project Management Framework

2. Encourages High User/Customer Involvement

3. Promotes Continuous Improvement

4. Delivers Iteratively and Incrementally via sprints

5. Ideally Suited for Projects with High Uncertainty

Popular Software on Agile


There is a wide range of software that has been designed explicitly for an Agile
environment or is commonly used within it. Selections usually depend on the
opinions of the granularity of the control mechanisms required.

The five most popular choices include:

1. Atlassian Jira

2. Agilean

3. SprintGround

4. VersionOne

5. SpiraTeam

How Agile Project Management Works?

Agile is a mindset rather than a rule-book of procedures. Exactly how an Agile


software development project might work in a given context is, therefore, open to
considerable flexibility.

Essentially, Agile does the following:

• De-emphasizes activities that are not directly related to the production of


software. This might include things such as fine detail written contractual
agreements, specifications, and change control negotiations.

• Pulls all required expertise together into one location and under one team.

• Encourages joint integrated development with people communicating side-


by-side rather than in a hierarchical manner. Ideally, this involves the
developer and final customer sharing responsibility for joint development
and eventual success.

• Recognizes that change is endemic in a team or a business and software


development must accommodate change as part of a development project
rather than to try and squeeze it out through processes and procedures.
• Delivers smaller, verifiable components to a business rather than an
overall, large scale solution.

• Rather than following the traditional way of sequential methods, Agile


works on a new and improved iterative method that allows the clients to be
involved at every stage of project management.

• Empowers individual software developers to make decisions within a


structured change management environment.

• Attempts to move away from the idea of a vast project plan that becomes
set in stone and which subsequently precludes the realization of
opportunities and individual innovation.

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