Ever wondered what’s all this fuss about Agile project management going around everywhere? Why organizations are using Agile Methodology in Project Management? Well, then keep reading to know about it…
Agile methodology is the process by which teams can deliver a project by dividing it into several stages with also involving stakeholders in every stage giving no room for communication errors. Winston W. Royce, in the year 1970, published an article named “Managing the development of large software systems” which mentioned agile methodology with other development methodologies. Later in 2001, the Agile Manifesto was published by 17 developers which had four key values and 12 principles to guide an iterative and result-oriented approach to software development.
This was some very formal introduction about agile methodology. But why should one use Agile for their project management? If something is available in the market that doesn’t mean one goes and buys it just for the sake of buying something, right? And using a certain process for your project management without going through its pros and cons could result in a big mistake and could cost a fortune to the business owners.
Agile methodology for project management now has been accepted by major organizations. No doubt there have to be more advantages than the traditional methods like the Waterfall model. Software Teams and Developers together use the iterative sessions known as Sprints to manage and track the progress of their deliverables. Sprints really help the team members to stay on track both individually and as a team. A sprint is of 14 days within which a developer has to complete the task assigned. As soon as the task is completed by the developer, the software is tested and made sure that it is of deployment level.
We live in the age of information and innovation. New and efficient solutions are provided daily to solve complex problems. This make the markets more dynamic. So does the customer requirements. If the customer product is huge and would take months before completion, definitely as time passes by, there is going to be a gap between the customer requirement and the delivered product because market trends change constantly. Here is where Agile methodology comes in picture. Dividing the requirement into small stages makes it easier to deliver and test the product leaving much less scope for regression. Agile focuses only on things that matter.
Agile Methodology:
- Prioritizes People interactions
- Ensures working model of software is always(mostly) available rather than at the end of complete development
- Early validation of the software
- More focus on end customer needs
- Early detection of issues and defects
This is not to say that other life cycle methodologies are not effective. Still Waterfall or any other iterative model may be effective for some type of projects.
While Agile is the right methodology, combining with correct project management tools like Kytes PSA will enable effective outcome of your projects.
So, when are you “Going Agile”?
