What are Agile Project Management Basics?

Charlotte Miller

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If you work in the project management space, you might have come across or heard about agile methodologies. Agile project management is a popular approach and as per a survey by PMI, about 71% of organizations report using agile methods for their projects. 

In this article, let’s learn about the Agile project management basics to get you started. 

What is Agile?

Agile is a methodology that allows users to rapidly respond to changes. Agile first emerged for the software development industry, and soon a variety of industries started opting for agile methodologies, including the project management domain. 

The 4 values of Agile

Agile methodologies are built on the following 4 basic values as mentioned in the Agile Manifesto, which was published in 2001. 

  • Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
  • Working software over comprehensive documentation
  • Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
  • Responding to change over following a plan

These values demonstrate that functionality is more important than structure. 

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The 12 principles of Agile

Apart from the 4 values of the agile methodologies, every Agile team member must follow the 12 principles of Agile as mentioned in the Agile Manifesto. Here is the list of 12 principles that you can go through. 

  1. Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
  2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage.
  3. Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.
  4. Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.
  5. Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.
  6. The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.
  7. Working software is the primary measure of progress.
  8. Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
  9. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
  10. Simplicity–the art of maximizing the amount of work not done–is essential.
  11. The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
  12. At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly

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What is Agile project management?

After understanding the values and principles of Agile, we can say that Agile project management is an iterative approach where the agile team breaks down the project processes into smaller cycles called iterations, or sprints. In simple words, rather than delivering the project all at once, agile teams deliver aspects of the project as they complete them. 

For example, think if you were a project manager or a team member in a project. Then it is very likely to encounter unexpected changes. Such as the client changing their mind, a team member leaving, or any other challenge that you might have faced led to the reconfiguration of the entire project causing loss of time and effort. 

Therefore, Agile projects operate on iterations, and there is a continuous release of deliverables to the client.

About The Author

If you are interested in Agile project management, you can explore a variety of agile certifications and courses on Techcanvass. Techcanvass is an Information Technology certifications training Organization for professionals. It offers internationally recognized certifications in the fields of Project Management and Business Analysis. It is a premier Authorized training partner (ATP) of Project Management Institute (PMI), USA and a premier Endorsed Education Provider (EEP) of International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA), Canada. Founded by IT professionals, Techcanvass is committed to making learning a more structured, practical and goal-oriented exercise. We also provide consulting services in the fields of Project management and Business Analysis.