An increasing numbers of individuals and organisations are turning to agile methods and frameworks to manage projects more effectively
It’s rather common knowledge now that the world of project management has changed significantly over recent years. For decades the profession has been dominated by traditional, sequential, “waterfall” approaches. Now, increasing numbers of individuals and organisations are turning to agile methods and frameworks to manage projects more effectively.
No longer confined to product development and IT & software development projects, agile approaches have become popular with a wide variety of organisations that need to be more flexible and responsive as the pace of change continues.
Benefits often attributed to agile approaches 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 and it can be expensive to change anything, particularly as the project progresses. In fear of scope creep and a never-ending project, changes are often resisted. This can often result in the end product/solution being obsolete or out-of-date before the project has even finished. 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 active involvement of a user representative and/or product owner, the high visibility of the product and progress, and the flexibility to change when change is needed, create much better business engagement and customer satisfaction.
One approach that has experienced phenomenal growth in popularity over recent years is AgilePM. 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.
The guidance was developed by DSDM Consortium and acts as a subset of their Agile Project Framework which is underpinned by DSDM’s eight principles for effective Agile project delivery:
- Focus on the business need
- Deliver on time
- Collaborate
- Never compromise quality
- Build incrementally from firm foundations
- Develop iteratively
- Communicate continuously and clearly
- Demonstrate control
The AgilePM methodology 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.
Through DSDM’s partnership with APMG International, the AgilePM guidance is supported by an accredited training and certification program. Approved training courses are available around the world, offered by APMG’s global network of Accredited Training Organisations (ATOs).
AgilePM certification is aimed at aspiring and practising project managers, and at team members wishing to adopt a fast-paced, flexible and collaborative approach to project management whilst maintaining standards and rigour. Successful candidates become knowledgeable team members who can apply the DSDM Agile techniques to project management.
