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What is Agile Methodology in Project Management?

 

Agile methodology or agile project management methodology is a popular practice around the world. It aims to improve the continuous iteration of development and testing throughout the lifecycle of software development in a project. In Agile, both the development and the testing activities are concurrent, just like in the Waterfall Model.

What are the core values of Agile project management?

The Agile methodology emphasises on four core values;

  • Individual and team interactions over processes and tools
  • Working software over comprehensive documentation
  • Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
  • Responding to change over following a plan

 

(Source:Luis Gonçalves –  Agile Methodology)

So what is Agile methodology’s role in project management?

Agile is a procedure through which a team is able to manage a project easily. It allows them to break the main task into several stages and also allows for constant collaboration with stakeholders. It helps foster a continuous improvement setting and also provides iteration at each stage.

The methodology begins with the clients describing how the end product will be utilised and the problem that it will solve, or the void that it will fill. This will clarify the expectations that must be met to the team handling the project. Once the work starts, the team will cycle through a process of planning, executing and assessing, which could change the final deliverables to suit the business requirements of the customer better. You must remember though, that the key here is continuous collaboration among both, the team members, and among the project team and the project stakeholders in order to arrive at any fully-informed and prudent decisions.

 

Agile is not a one size fits all method

Every organisation is different and unique in its own way. Therefore, they have different internal and external factors that lay out for them. Internal factors could be the size of the business and the stakeholders. External factors could be regulations and customers, for example. In order to meet the many diverse needs of organisations, there are many methodologies of Agile in project management as well as several different types of testing that you can do while you are working on any one of the methods. The combination that is correct for your team will be largely dependent upon the internal and external factors as well as your requirements and goals.

 

(Source:TechTarget – Agile Software Development)

What are the most popular methods under Agile?

There are several really popular methodologies that come under Agile;

  • Scrum
  • Kanban

Testing methods;

  • Behavior Driven Development (BDD)
  • Acceptance Test Driven Development (ATDD)
  • Exploratory Testing
  • Session Based Testing

 

(Source:University of Missouri–St. Louis – Agile Methodology and System Analysis)

Project management is such a dynamic field right now that you have amazing opportunities of building an equally dynamic and lucrative career in this field. However, the competition is also rather high which means, that you must stand out. How can you stand out? With the right skill set and qualifications coupled with the right attitude and personality. Our Agile programmes are ideal for you to get into project management with, or to even brush up your existing skills. Join our growing family of learners and learn Agile. You can contact us on [email protected]

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