A brief review of the Agile in project management

Agile methodology is a project management method that emphasizes flexibility, collaboration and iterative development. This project management method was developed in response to the limitations of traditional project management approaches.

Agile values people and the interactions between them, as well as customer collaboration and responding to change. The Agile Manifesto, created in 2001 by a group of software development professionals, outlines the key values and principles of the methodology.

Agile is most often used in software development projects, but it can be applied to a wide variety of projects in any industry. Agile aims to deliver high-quality products or services quickly while continuously improving and adapting to changing customer needs and market conditions.

A key feature of Agile is the use of short sprint periods (typically 1-4 weeks) during which a team works on a specific set of tasks or features. At the end of each sprint, the team presents a product or prototype that can be reviewed and tested by stakeholders.

Agile also emphasizes collaboration and communication between team members and stakeholders, with frequent meetings and feedback to ensure that everyone is aware of the project's status and that the project is progressing smoothly.

In general, Agile is a flexible and adaptive approach to project management that prioritizes customer satisfaction, team collaboration, and continuous project improvement.

Advantages of using an agile approach

There are several advantages to adopting an agile approach to project management:

1. Faster Delivery: Agile approach is about delivering software or products that are perfected with minor changes and improvements during use. This allows teams to get feedback from customers and stakeholders at an early stage. This means teams can quickly identify and correct any issues, reducing overall delivery time.
2. Increased flexibility: The agile method is designed to be flexible and responsive to changing needs. As the project progresses, stakeholders may identify new features or changes that need to be made. Agile teams can quickly adjust their schedules and priorities to accommodate these changes, without disrupting the overall project timeline.
3. Better Collaboration: Agile methodology emphasizes collaboration and communication between team members and stakeholders. Frequent meetings and feedback sessions ensure that everyone is on track with project goals and progress, leading to better results.
4. Quality improvement: By delivering software in short time periods and continuous testing, Agile teams can identify and correct problems at an early stage. This makes products of higher quality to be produced and reduces the existence of problems in the software.
5. Customer satisfaction: due to the fact that in the agile method interactions with the customer are much higher, the needs of the project are determined carefully and in more detail. As a result, the produced product will be in accordance with the customer's needs.

Agile methodologies

Agile-based methodologies are a set of practices and principles that focus on delivering projects in a flexible way. In the following, we will get to know the most popular methodologies based on agile:

1. Scrum: Scrum is a popular framework for agile project management. In Scrum, a team in each sprint completes the product and adds to its capabilities. This team exchanges information every day in a stand-up meeting for the progress of the project. Also, at the end of each sprint, a meeting is held to review the completed sprint and look at its history. Scrum is very suitable for complex projects with a well-defined team, especially software development projects.
2. Kanban: Kanban is a visual process management system that helps teams manage their workflow. In Kanban, people's tasks are displayed as cards on a board, and each card represents a task or activity. The board is divided into columns that represent workflow steps. These stages include "To-Do", "Doing" and "Done". Kanban is best for projects that have a continuous workflow, such as software maintenance or support. It is also useful for teams that need to manage multiple priorities and work on multiple projects simultaneously.
3. Lean: Lean is a method that aims to maximize value while minimizing waste in business processes. This method includes identifying what is valuable to the customer, planning  the entire process from start to finish, and identifying any areas of waste or inefficiency. Its main goal is to continuously improve the project evolution process by eliminating waste, reducing cycle time and increasing efficiency. Lean can be applied to any industry or process, from manufacturing to software development.

The constituent components of an agile project are:

Team members: Agile project team usually includes Product Owner, Scrum Master and Development Team. The product owner is responsible for prioritizing product needs, defining requirements, and accepting or rejecting work results. The Scrum Master facilitates the Scrum process and ensures that the team follows Agile principles and practices. The development team is responsible for meeting the requirements and developing the project.

Meetings: Agile projects usually have four key meetings:

• Sprint Planning: At the beginning of each sprint, the team meets for planning. They discuss the product backlog and select items that can be completed in the sprint.
• Stand-up meeting: A daily stand-up meeting where the team talks about their progress and daily plans.
• Sprint Review: At the end of each sprint, the team presents the completed work and receives feedback from stakeholders.
• Sprint Retrospective: A meeting is held after the completion of each sprint to look at the opportunities that existed in the previous sprint or the problems that arose in the previous sprint, in order to apply these experiences in the next sprint.

Project assets: Agile projects usually use the following assets:

• Product Backlog: A prioritized list of work items that need to be done.
• Sprint Backlog: A list of selected work items for the current sprint.
• Sprint Goal: A clear and concise statement that defines the goal of the current sprint.
• Working Software: a fully functional and tested software that is delivered at the end of each sprint.

Finally, if we want to briefly describe the agile approach in project management, we can say that agile is a very effective approach to software development that emphasizes collaboration, flexibility, and continuous product improvement. Agile principles and practices can be adapted based on the needs and constraints of any organization or project. By adopting agile methodology, teams can deliver software that meets their customers' needs faster and more efficiently, while also fostering a culture of collaboration, experimentation, and continuous improvement.