Agile project management is a popular and flexible approach that prioritizes short work sprints and gathering feedback. While there are many specific methodologies that fall under the umbrella of agile project management, this guide breaks down the pros and cons, how to implement agile, and the five phases of agile project development.
Agile is an iterative approach to project management that focuses on continuous deliverables, incremental progress through sprints, and frequent gathering of customer feedback. It has become a popular choice for teams across various industries due to its flexibility and effectiveness, especially for small businesses or smaller teams in larger enterprises.
When implementing agile project management, it’s important to fill knowledge gaps, determine if agile is the right approach for your project, pick a specific methodology, get buy-in from stakeholders, assemble an agile team, start with a small project, and choose the right agile project management tools.
Agile stands in contrast to traditional project management, known as waterfall project management, which follows a strict series of phases and focuses on completing specific deliverables by specific dates. The five phases of agile project management are envision, speculate, explore, adapt, and close, with popular agile methodologies including Scrum, Kanban, XP, and Lean.
Agile project management principles are outlined in the Agile Manifesto, with values such as individuals and interactions over processes and tools, and principles like welcoming changing requirements and delivering working software frequently. Overall, agile project management emphasizes flexibility, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
