What is Agile Project Management?

An Agile Project is made up of a number of iterations that are repeated over a time period with a feedback loop after each time period work is completed. At the discretion of the client the last time period may release a partial solution. Agile practices are suited for situations when most but not all of the solution is clearly known or when the solution is known but not to the expected level of depth.

Benefits of Agile Project Management:

• Incremental results early and often
• Client can review current solution for suggested improvements
• Can accommodate scope changes between iterations
• Adapts to changing business conditions
• Easily engages the client
• Gives immediate feedback on the effect of solution changes
• Does not waste time on non-value added work
• Avoids all management issues in addressing change requests
• Does not waste time in planning uncertainty
• Provides maximum business value within the given time and cost constraints

Agile practices proceed from iteration to iteration based on very limited specification of the solution. Each iteration learns from the proceeding ones and redirects the next iteration in an attempt to converge on an acceptable solution. At the discretion of the client an iteration may release a partial solution.

Difference between Agile Project Management (APM) and Traditional Project Management (TPM)

The traditional project management approach is a linear approach where you try to get it all done at one time. You do a lot of very detailed planning at once upfront and then deliver it in what's known as the 'Big Bang'. That industrial age thinking has spilled over from software development to other projects as well. This is the heart of the difference between Agile and traditional project management.

The 'Big Bang' now comes from the greater flexibility and collaboration APM provides. 'Just enough' planning is done up-front. As each increment of the system is built, the team gathers input and learns from customer feedback. Since the customer sees and/ or experiences a working prototype, he or she is better able to refine or redefine requirements and describe to the team what the organization really needs.

APM development is conducted collaboratively, with a small co-located team. This core team usually consists of two developers who write code in pairs (for quality control), the customer/ end-user, IT architect(s), a business analyst and a project manager. The work is accomplished through a series of sessions where the team writes code, then tests working modules of the system and repeats the process. There is minimal documentation as the team relies almost exclusively on informal internal communication.

This differs from the traditional approach where a considerable amount of time is invested in planning and a significant amount of requirements documentation is produced. The Agile team identifies and prioritizes the features based on business value, and after high-risk components of the system are produced, works on the highest value features first. This approach works if the solution can be delivered incrementally to the customer. If this is not possible, features still can be built incrementally and then integrated into the first release of the system.

SCRUM Benefits:

According to Ken Schwaber, “Scrum is an iterative, incremental process for developing any product or managing any work. It produces a potentially shippable set of functionality at the end of every iteration.”

Scrum is a framework for creating an effective Agile development process. It is based on the belief that software development must be controlled by responding to feedback received during the course of development. That is, although software development is inherently empirical (you can’t predict it) you can control it with feedback.

The more frequent the feedback, the more effective developers can be. Scrum suggests building software in stages—say, every two to four weeks. Assess where you are, reprioritize, and develop the next step. Doing this helps expose problems and impediments. And problems are not to be avoided, but rather to be solved. For example, a team may find it does not have enough contact with someone who can speak for their customers. This is a problem that needs to be solved (increase the level of contact) or the team’s efforts will be hampered.

According to Allan Shalloway, author of Lean-Agile Software Development: Achieving Enterprise Agility, below is a list of Benefits of Agile methods such as SCRUM:

Agile methods benefit an enterprise and its teams in the following ways:

• Add value to the business quickly
• Help clarify customers’ needs
• Promote knowledge-based product development and better project management
• Motivate teams and allow failing (that is, learning) early
• Focus on product-centered development
• Improve team efficiency

Growth in one area spurs growth in other areas, resulting in greater capacity to create value.