AGILE PROJECT

MANAGEMENT
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 Agile Project Management

Introduction:
In the recent times businesses have evolved using different models. Many of them do not really know
about the methods they are incorporating to develop the strategies and move towards the success.
There are many contemporary methods/models which are quite beneficial in managing the projects and
delivering the projects within specified time. These contemporary methods have pros and cons, but
agile method is quite significant in the matter of managing the risks, saving the time and cost, and
delivering the project in minimum possible time. According to Lynn, Agile method was introduced firstly
in software development in 2000 when a bunch of developers gathered in Oregon and developed a
strategy/manifesto to cater the growing problems in the development industry and making the
developing and delivering process quicker and more effective. It is quite beneficial compared to other
methods because of its agility and flexibility. In the next portion you will find the origin of agile and lean
approach, the differences and similarities between Kanban and Scrum, and the advantages of adopting
the agile manifesto in the project management.

Agile vs Traditional Approaches:

Agile method incorporated in different sectors after the success in software industry because of its
swiftness (Augustine et al., 2005, p. 87). Before the dawn of agile the workers and project managers did
not actually know what, they are building. Agile provides a direct communication between the project
managers and the workers which leads to fill the gap and it also connects the project managers and
customers/stakeholders which differentiates it from other models. Agile approach provides a welcoming
way for the change because many other traditional approaches are not welcoming to the change or they
are not ready to make changes in between the process of manufacturing and delivering. It makes the
process of manufacturing and delivery faster because of its flexible and iterative approach it is quite
significant. The agile manifesto suggested that all the software development industries should be
customer friendly and deliver the projects within a limited time and cost which proved to be quite
effective in the modern industries when they applied the agile approach because of its limited time
delivery and minimizing the cost approach every new industry wants to incorporate it and moves
towards success. The second principle of agile manifesto suggested that every sectors should be
welcoming to the changes which is quite new and highly effective process because it is another step to
satisfy the customer at any stage, its breakdown of the project process lead a company to become
customer friendly and modify the product at any stage and provide the best possible product to the

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customers. Before the agile manifesto companies used to deliver the projects late (in the time period of
months or years) which cost much time and energy and cost a lot of money as well, after the
introduction of agile companies now make and deliver the projects in matter of weeks and with the
lowest possible cost that makes them effective and flexible. The flexibility that it provides make the
project managers to work alongside workers and produce a worker friendly environment which leads a
company to a productive stage and make the work easy for both project managers and workers. Apart
from other traditional approaches agile provides the opportunity to the businessmen and stakeholders
to interact and establish a direct communication to ease the process of manufacturing and deliverance
(Augustine et al., 2005, p.85). Agile approach directs the project manager to investigate the
marketplace, learn the customer requirements, manufacture the product according to the
requirements, and deliver the project in time. After the launch of project in the marketplace the
company get the reviews and if there is a fault or the product is not up to the mark then the product
should be sent back to the manufacturing team to reinvestigate the product and work on the
suggestions provided by the customers which helps the companies to make the product market and
customer compatible. Flexibility and agility are the key, agile approach establishes an interconnected
link between the stakeholders, workers and business owners which lead to a well-mannered progress
and minimize the communication gap. It is quite necessary for a company to establish a working friendly
environment which increases the productivity and peace. The whole process of manufacturing and
delivery is being thoroughly investigated by this approach because it provides a go through strategy
which increases the chances of a better product. (Augustine et al., 2005, p. 85)

Lean and Agile:

Lean approach was introduced after investigating the TPS, its basic purpose was to introduce an
approach in the manufacturing industry to enable the companies to look thoroughly at the process and
improve the traditional basis which were not much effective. As Gauci, (2010) claimed that Lean
approach is based on the philosophy of waste management, in many manufacturing sectors there were
a lot of companies who did not know about the modern techniques to improve the manufacturing
process and manage the risks. It identified the waste and introduced the strategies to manage that
waste, companies of that time were unaware of the wastes. Along with waste management Lean
approach determined the steps from manufacturing to gain the excellence in the product. Lean
approach influenced the agile in a way that it should be a customer friendly product and know the mood
of market. Agile approach adopted some concepts from the lean approach like in the lean approach it is

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a basic principle to manufacture the product on the demand of the client and deliver the best possible
product and manufacturing teams should minimize the time of production and deliver the product in
minimum time. These ideas are the foundations of agile approach, agile approach is based on the
principles of easing the customers, workers, owners and project managers (Fernandez and Fernandez,
2008, p. 12). In Agile approach a project is break down into many segments to ease each working team
and a direct communication being established between the company and their stakeholders, which give
a width to welcome the changes and tackling the product issues at any time without panicking or being
irresponsive. Agile process is the best approach for each sector, the sector which wants to improve all
departments and gain the agility in the whole procedure can adopt the agile approach for the swiftness
and effectiveness.

Scrum and Kanban both are the frameworks of agile approach and are being applied in many companies
to gain the agility (Conforto et al., 2014, p. 22). They both are take as the same but in addition to
similarities there are many differences in both frameworks. I will discuss the similarities and the key
differences between them and then compare the both to understand which is significant in applying the
agile approach. The similarities between them are:

 They work on the agile approach; in these frameworks work is done based on
demand/requirement of the user unlike traditional approaches these work on the customer
needs. For example, if a company wants to introduce a product firstly through these frameworks
it will understand the needs and then apply the requirements to manufacture and deliver the
product.
 These both are agile and lean; they break down the whole tasks into smaller tasks to work
rapidly and easily. Which creates productivity and effectiveness in the system.
 Scrum and Kanban are both based on the feedback strategy and they are prepared anytime for
the change.

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The differences between Scrum and Kanban are:

Scrum Kanban

 After the launch of the product/ after the
delivery of the project, if customer is not
satisfied and want some changes then in
this framework provides a facility to
make changes rapidly and deliver the
improved product in a limited time.
 Changes are welcomed but within a
prescribed time this framework delivers
the projects because it really cares about
the time box.
 Scrum provides an honesty with the
whole project.
 Kanban is quite slow in this process
because it follows the depth of the
project and make changes slowly but
perfectly.
 Whereas this does not really care about
the time box and adjust the changes
slowly.
 It is for small scale projects where the
commitment is not being taken as
mandatory.
 It is for small scale projects which makes
it not comply with commitment.

There are many advantages of adopting the agile, which are:

1. It provides swiftness and agility in the whole process and increase the productivity.
2. It minimizes the communication gap between project managers, workers and stakeholders
because if provides the feedback process in which customer can interact directly with managers
and workers with their owners.
3. It generates the flexibility which improves the decision-making process.
4. It compels to indulge in the teamwork which increases the productivity and provides continuous
improvements.

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Conclusion:

Agile approach is very crucial in many sectors because many sectors are lacking the agility and flexibility,
which lead them to poor decision making. Agile should be adopted by the business sectors because
many businesses are falling due to hierarchy, no teamwork, poor decision making, not delivering the
projects in time and costing a lot of money in a normal deliverable. The agile approach is providing the
strategies to counter all these hindrances and businesses and many other sectors can make the most of
it. It is quite different from traditional approaches which makes it more valuable and easier to
adoptable.

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References:

Augustine, Sanjiv, Payne, Bob, Sencindiver, Fred, Woodcock, Susan. (2005). Agile project management: steering
from the edges. Communications of the ACM, 48(12), 85-87. https://doi.org/10.1145/1101779.1101781

Conforto et al. (2014). Can Agile project management be adopted by industries other than software development?
Project Management Journal, 45(3), 22-27. https://doi.org/10.1002/pmj.21410

Fernandez, Daniel, J. & Fernandez, John D. (2008). Agile Project Management —Agilism versus Traditional
Approaches. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 46(2), 12-15.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08874417.2009.11646044

Gauci, James. (2010). What is Lean? Discover what Lean is, how it relates to Six Sigma and the seven wastes of
Lean. https://www.processexcellencenetwork.com/lean-six-sigma-business-performance/articles/what-is-lean

Lynn, Rachaelle. (n.d). The history of agile. https://www.planview.com/resources/guide/agile-methodologies-a-

beginners-guide/history-of-agile/