Project management is a major determinant of the outcome. There are several project management strategies. Here is an overview of what Agile Project Management entails.
What is Agile Project Management?
Agile Project Management (APM) is an iterative (repetitive) approach to the different aspects of project management. APM breaks down a project into small sections called iterations or sprints. Each spring is completed in a work session running from start to finish — from the design phase to the testing and quality assurance phase.
APM is characterized by input from all parties in every sprint and process of development. For example, the product’s owner defines the goals and the teams come up with the plan to achieve these goals.
Teams are somewhat autonomous, as management roles are distributed among team members. This requires close collaboration between the team members (and other parties), which is one of this strategy’s main principles. However, project managers are still useful for coordinating the different teams, consequently facilitating collaboration.
Teams working under an APM strategy adopt a range of practices to get the job done. For example, they utilize continuous integration and continuous deployment to speed up the process. Additionally, they measure their work using burn-down, burn-up, and velocity charts instead of the usual Gantt charts.
If you’re ready for a challenging career in the telecommunications industry, check out our open positions.
How is Agile Project Management Different?
Agile Project Management was introduced in 2001 in a bid to overcome many of the challenges of the waterfall method. To this end, the two strategies differ in several major aspects.
The waterfall approach is rigid, while the agile approach is versatile and flexible. The waterfall method entails sourcing all the requirements, putting the project together step-by-step, and then testing and releasing it as a whole. In contrast, the APM approach enables teams to break the project down and offer their input as they see fit, including testing and releasing their results multiple times.
The difference in these two strategies’ methodologies gives rise to many other differences. Some of the most notable ones include:
- AMP focuses on collaboration between the different parties, while the Waterfall method focuses on contract negotiation
- APM leverages individual team members and their collaboration, while the Waterfall method leverages tools and processes
- APM is flexible and designed to respond to changes, while the Waterfall method follows a rigid, structured plan throughout the process
These are just some main differences between these two approaches. You will notice other beneficial differences as you work with the APM technique.
Principles of Agile Project Management
There are 12 principles of Agile Project Management:
- Prioritizing customer satisfaction
- Embracing and adjusting to change
- Delivering products/services at a higher frequency
- Close collaboration between developers and stakeholders
- Motivating and equipping team members
- Face-to-face meetings
- The outcome is the measure of success
- A focus on sustainable development
- Technical excellence and proper design are necessary for agility
- Simplicity is essential
- Self-organization among teams is important
- Fine-tuning at regular intervals is important
Benefits of Agile Project Management
The Agile Project Management technique’s greatest benefit is that teams can overcome challenges quicker and more easily. This is credited to the technique’s flexibility and versatility.
Individuals and teams can collaborate to solve problems and explore improvement options. Additionally, they can test and release their projects multiple times, making it possible to identify shortcomings and formulate solutions. This ensures the best outcome possible.
Other benefits of the APM technique include:
- Increased flexibility and transparency
- Better quality outcomes
- Faster turnaround times
- A focus on the customer’s needs (customer satisfaction)
- Faster detection of problems
- A lighter and easier framework
Final Thoughts
Agile Project Management was introduced to help overcome challenges associated with other project management techniques. It does a great job when it comes to problem-solving. More importantly, it creates enough room for improvement, enabling the best outcome possible.
If you’re ready for a challenging career in the telecommunications industry, check out our open positions.
