Agile’s influence on the project management industry continues to rise at pace. More organisations and project professionals than ever are embracing Agile tools and frameworks as they aim to increase the success of – and return on investment from – projects and other change initiatives.
Despite originating in the software development arena, Agile methods and frameworks are becoming increasingly popular in a wide variety of industries and projects as the benefits over more traditional frameworks and methodologies are realised.
Key benefits often attributed to Agile include:
- Improved revenue and speed to market: The Agile philosophy supports the notion of early and regular releases, enabling benefits to be realised early as the solution continues to develop.
- The right product/solution: traditional approaches typically require detailed specifications during the start-up phase. As all deliverables are based upon documented requirements, the client may not see the final solution until it’s almost finished. At this stage, changes can be difficult (and costly) to implement. Agile, in contrast, advocates a high-level plan at the start of the project whilst encouraging change and flexibility though incremental development cycles, helping to ensure that what’s delivered at the end of the project is current, fit for purpose and satisfies the client/business.
- Increased collaboration and customer satisfaction: the continuous involvement of a user representative and/or product owner, high visibility of the solution and progress, and the flexibility to change when change is needed, create much better business engagement and customer satisfaction.
In partnership with the Agile Business Consortium (formerly DSDM Consortium), APMG developed AgilePM – a training and certification scheme underpinned by the AgilePM Handbook, a project manager’s subset of the Consortium’s Agile Project Framework.
The AgilePM guidance offers a practical and repeatable methodology that achieves an ideal balance between the standards, rigour and visibility required for good project management, and the fast-pace, change and empowerment provided by Agile. It’s based on the Consortium’s eight principles for effective Agile project delivery:
AgilePM has fast become the world’s leading framework and certification for agile project management. Over 52,000 exams have been taken globally since 2011 with numbers increasing rapidly year-on-year, with candidates representing a broad range of organisations and industries.
Hugely popular in the UK, it’s also leading the Agile charge in a host of other countries including Australia, France, Netherlands, Poland and South Africa. In total, exams have been sat in over 40 countries across six continents.
Aimed at current and aspiring project managers and project team members, AgilePM focuses project teams on developing solutions incrementally, enabling them to react effectively to changing requirements, whilst empowering project personnel and encouraging increased collaboration and ownership.
Accredited training courses are available globally via APMG’s network of Accredited Training Organisations (ATOs).
Find out more at Agile PM (Agile Project Management).
See also:-
- AgileBA® (Agile Business Analysis): guidance, training and certification scheme for Business Analysts operating in an Agile environment.
- AgilePgM® (Agile Programme Management): guidance, training and certification scheme offering an Agile approach to the management of transformational change.
