Agile management
Encyclopedia
Agile management or agile project management is an iterative method of determining requirements for engineering development projects in a highly flexible and interactive manner, for example agile software development
. It requires empowered individuals from the relevant business, with supplier and customer input. There are also links to lean techniques
and Six Sigma
. Agile techniques are best used in small-scale projects or on elements of a wider programme of work, or on projects that are too complex for the customer to understand and specify before testing prototypes.
Agile techniques may also be called extreme project management
. It is a variant of iterative life cycle
where deliverables are submitted in stages. One difference between agile and iterative development is that the delivery time in agile is in weeks rather than months. Since agile management derives from agile software development
, it follows the same standards defined in the agile manifesto
when it comes to collaboration and documentation. Several software methods derive from agile, including scrum
and extreme programming
.
The Agile Project Leadership Network provides a community of practice
for those using Agile methods, with international conferences and online forums. Their Declaration of Interdependence extends the Agile Manifesto further into the value stream and emphasises the collaborative, whole-business nature of this work.
, as a project management
methodology, has been criticized for not being able to cope with constant changes in software projects, and with the inability of customers to specify adequate requirements before they have tried prototypes. Also, the huge overhead of specifying requirements before starting the actual development may cause long delays of a project. The iterative nature of agile makes it an excellent alternative when it comes to managing development projects, especially software projects.
Agile, however, has its disadvantages. Many believe that it doesn't scale well, hence large software projects are still being conducted in Waterfall. Additionally, since the strength and usefulness of agile are both exhibited in projects with frequent changes, it does not offer any advantage over waterfall when it comes to classical projects where requirements are nearly always constant and unknowns are rare, such as construction projects.
Agile software development
Agile software development is a group of software development methodologies based on iterative and incremental development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams...
. It requires empowered individuals from the relevant business, with supplier and customer input. There are also links to lean techniques
Lean project management
Lean project management is the comprehensive adaption of other lean concept like lean construction, lean manufacturing and lean thinking into project management context....
and Six Sigma
Six Sigma
Six Sigma is a business management strategy originally developed by Motorola, USA in 1986. , it is widely used in many sectors of industry.Six Sigma seeks to improve the quality of process outputs by identifying and removing the causes of defects and minimizing variability in manufacturing and...
. Agile techniques are best used in small-scale projects or on elements of a wider programme of work, or on projects that are too complex for the customer to understand and specify before testing prototypes.
Agile techniques may also be called extreme project management
Extreme project management
Extreme project management refers to a method of managing very complex and very uncertain projects.Extreme project management differs from traditional project management mainly in its open, elastic and undeterministic approach. The main focus of XPM is on the human side of project management...
. It is a variant of iterative life cycle
Iterative and incremental development
Iterative and Incremental development is at the liver of a cyclic software development process developed in response to the weaknesses of the waterfall model...
where deliverables are submitted in stages. One difference between agile and iterative development is that the delivery time in agile is in weeks rather than months. Since agile management derives from agile software development
Agile software development
Agile software development is a group of software development methodologies based on iterative and incremental development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams...
, it follows the same standards defined in the agile manifesto
Agile software development
Agile software development is a group of software development methodologies based on iterative and incremental development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams...
when it comes to collaboration and documentation. Several software methods derive from agile, including scrum
Scrum (development)
Scrum is an iterative, incremental framework for project management often seen in agile software development, a type of software engineering....
and extreme programming
Extreme Programming
Extreme programming is a software development methodology which is intended to improve software quality and responsiveness to changing customer requirements...
.
The Agile Project Leadership Network provides a community of practice
Community of practice
A community of practice is, according to cognitive anthropologists Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger, a group of people who share an interest, a craft, and/or a profession. The group can evolve naturally because of the members' common interest in a particular domain or area, or it can be created...
for those using Agile methods, with international conferences and online forums. Their Declaration of Interdependence extends the Agile Manifesto further into the value stream and emphasises the collaborative, whole-business nature of this work.
Comparison with traditional or "waterfall" project management
WaterfallWaterfall model
The waterfall model is a sequential design process, often used in software development processes, in which progress is seen as flowing steadily downwards through the phases of Conception, Initiation, Analysis, Design, Construction, Testing, Production/Implementation and Maintenance.The waterfall...
, as a project management
Project management
Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, securing, and managing resources to achieve specific goals. A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end , undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value...
methodology, has been criticized for not being able to cope with constant changes in software projects, and with the inability of customers to specify adequate requirements before they have tried prototypes. Also, the huge overhead of specifying requirements before starting the actual development may cause long delays of a project. The iterative nature of agile makes it an excellent alternative when it comes to managing development projects, especially software projects.
Agile, however, has its disadvantages. Many believe that it doesn't scale well, hence large software projects are still being conducted in Waterfall. Additionally, since the strength and usefulness of agile are both exhibited in projects with frequent changes, it does not offer any advantage over waterfall when it comes to classical projects where requirements are nearly always constant and unknowns are rare, such as construction projects.