Agile project management is a very industry specific term and as a result not too many people are familiar with the term agile project management.
So let’s have a definition. Basically agile project management is just a different way of managing IT teams and development, the term agile originating from the ‘agile manifesto’ where in 2001 a group of individuals got together to discuss the future of management software development and their unhappiness with the current culture. Click here to learn more. From here the ‘agile manifesto’ came up with four values for agile project management that are still used today, which are:
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan
However, this doesn’t fully explain the terminology and methodology of agile project management so here are a few of the frequently asked questions and their answers when it comes to agile project management.
How are agile projects managed?
So as we have surmised agile project management is just a more efficient way and less traditional way of managing and developing IT software, teams and everything else that IT covers, but how do they do it? Firstly a project is split up into three roles – product owner, ScrumMaster and team and each has their own responsibilities. A product owner must ensure that the business aspects of the project are going to plan and this means making sure the right product is being built, and in the right order. Certain characteristics that make a good product owner with agile product management are:
Balancing priorities
Always being available to the team and;
Being empowered to make decisions about the project and product
The ScrumMaster is the coach of the project and makes sure team members work well together in the most efficient way possible, providing service to the team, facilitating meetings and discussions and tracking progress and issues.
The team assumes the agile project management roles and decides which members would be best for which jobs and why and which practices are required to achieve their goals and targets.
What is agile about this? The dividing of responsibility amongst the team.