Thoughts on Agile Project Management

Every idea can be turned into a project. This means that the idea will get its place in the real world and in order to do that, the project needs to be made well. There are many ways to make this project effective and realized. These ways and organizational methods are management techniques.

More and more management techniques and approaches are made and one of the very interesting ones is the Agile. Here are some of the most important questions about Agile, asked and answered, as this is something that everybody who has the need for management should know.

image credit: projectdirectors.org

For Inexperienced – What is Agile?

Agile is a type of project management that functions in a way in which the project is divided and separated into pieces and each of the pieces is trusted to a certain group or individual. These pieces are referred to as sprints or iterations.

When it is broken down into these tiny pieces, it makes the work far more flexible. With each step and with each sprint, the next one can be altered and made into the completely different direction. This makes it perfect for highly changeable businesses that are greatly influenced by the market or other factors.

Agile is divided into stages and it emphasizes the communication that is face to face, rather than the other forms and it puts practice over documentation anytime.

As some are more comfortable with video so here it is.

Why Pick Agile?

The first of the many reasons to pick Agile is that you own an IT company. Agile is implemented in many different ways and in many different business branches, but it seems to fit perfectly with the IT companies and their way of work although digital marketing companies tend to use it more and more lately (my particular case).

You should opt for agile if you need project management that requires fast and personal communication, high level of flexibility and adaptability to current factors that are not always stable.

Another amazing feature of Agile is the micro organization within the teams which makes the project owner free to think about the market and other things, knowing that the internal organization of the teams will make them more efficient and that their goals and sprints will (or at least should) be successfully accomplished.

Pairing up of the employees and making close teams makes the knowledge about the project common and widespread. Therefore, your project doesn’t depend on one person or even a couple of them.

Is Everything So Cool About Agile?

Agile is cool, but there are some downsides to this way or organizing project and managing it.

One of the key things about the Agile is the close and interpersonal collaboration. On the long run, this may be very exhausting and it will drain energy from you given that you need your entire team to work properly.

This can be too much for some. Another thing is this flexibility that Agile is famous for. The downside is unpredictability and the chance of everlasting project as the focus is so easily shifted and altered.

Who Should NOT Use Agile?

Naturally, Agile has some downsides, but its still proven, battle-tested and works well. However, there are people and projects that should definitely avoid Agile and go with some other management plan.

Expecting rigid and determinedly defined goals will definitely get you off the list for perfect Agile users. It changes, everything about it changes. This means that keeping an open mind at all times is essential for Agile project management and that is just not sustainable state for everybody.

Fluid finances are important for Agile. If you can have only one annual distribution of budget, then this management system is not going to give you what you want as the finances may change as they go. Another big thing is transparency. If you are not willing to be open about who said what and who decided what, then this is not what you need management wise.

There are good and bad sides of Agile, but one thing is for sure, this might just be the best management system when it comes to IT companies and software development businesses. Although, this is an excellent system, it simply is not for everyone.