Since its inception, the Agile methodology has come a long way to become a popular approach among a wide variety of organizations. For those unfamiliar with the term, Agile is a method of project management where projects are organized into epics then broken down into small manageable sections via chapters and sprints. While this method is most often associated with software development and DevOps, it has a wide range of applications throughout the business. It’s a set of principles aligned with business goals that adequately handles the lack of predictability when it comes to project management.
Organizations want projects to be successful – and not have to examine what when wrong during extensive post-mortems or a series of excuses and reasons why the project failed from all perspectives. Projects that fail are a catastrophic waste of money and even their assessment and recovery are a financially taxing business challenge.
It’s for this reason why project management methodologies exist. These methodologies demand a disciplined, standardized approach to projects reducing the risks of failure. Project management seeks to change the dialogue surrounding projects moving it away from traditional fears about what’s likely to go wrong, towards preparing for success instead.
Historically, large IT projects achieved a reputation for “going off the rails.”
Going back as far as the 1970s, numerous post-failure analyses highlighted that there were two consistent fault areas:
The origins of Agile stem from this second category. Many organizations implemented a form of project management in an attempt to improve the success rate of IT projects. However, due to the rigidity of the methodologies, they often failed, causing “paralysis by analysis”. The procedural approaches placed emphasis on demarcation lines, sequential step-based progressions, and the uniqueness of role and responsibilities based upon hierarchies and fixed responsibility sets which limited the capacity of the team and the overall productivity of the project. To put it in perspective, it’s like an ER surgeon having to ask permission of the patient, chief surgeon, and the hospital board of directors before they start a life-saving surgery.
Step-by-step methodologies may apply in industries such as construction, but they are less suited to the world of software development. This became increasingly clear as the 1990s introduced new more dynamic and flexible software development tools. The need for a new system to conduct development in a controlled but highly flexible fashion became paramount.
These pressures led to the development of Agile. Delivering a managed approach to software development without conventional procedural emphasis and compartmentalization, Agile focuses on iterating through product requirements, encouraging continuous improvement, and responding quickly to changing requirements from the aspect of a team mentality rather than on an individual level.
Scrum, a subset of the Agile approach, is a set of governing principles, along with the tools, that enables fast and responsive decision-making. It derives its name from a player positioning move within the game of Rugby and is sometimes referred to as “lightweight Agile.”
Scrum focuses on generating and managing fast conclusions to short-term activities, typically called “sprints.” An important concept is the daily meeting of the key players associated with a successful outcome to the Sprint. This is typical of a short 15-minute duration and is the “Scrum” itself. This process is facilitated by the “Scrum Master.” It’s important to note that this is a functional role and not a hierarchical post. The Scrum Master’s job is not to exclusively lead but rather to encourage and particularly to act as a clearer of roadblocks (e.g., procedural or other obstacles) that are getting between the Scrum and their overall objectives.
There is a wide range of software that has been designed explicitly for an Agile environment or is commonly used within it. Selections usually depend on the opinions of the granularity of the control mechanisms required.
The five most popular choices include:
Agile is a mindset rather than a rule-book of procedures. Exactly how an Agile software development project might work in a given context is, therefore, open to considerable flexibility.
Essentially, Agile does the following:
Agile principles are relatively revolutionary when examined against other forms of IT software development. For example, some other methodologies emphasize the need for rigid change control procedures to be applied to software development and have clear boundary lines defined for things such as specifications and frozen target design sign-off. For that reason, Agile has occasionally been portrayed as being “anti-methodology.” However, that is a common misconception. Agile seeks to achieve a more sensible balance between risk management, individual initiative, and flexibility, as opposed to other approaches that may be more constraining and rule-based.
Organizations following Agile methodologies develop products quickly while ensuring customer satisfaction at the same time. This is largely driven by the realization that the nature of business today cannot be encapsulated in the current market and when it comes to software development Agile project teams offer flat organizational structures.
Increasing numbers of organizations are looking for more flexible, iterative, and interactive software development paradigms. Agile delivers on that requirement. And here’s why:
The growing popularity of Agile increased the demand from employers for Agile Certified Project Managers and Scrum Masters. An Agile Project Manager in the U.S. can expect to make an average of $91,000 with more experienced professionals earning upwards of $125,000. Certified Scrum Masters are commanding an average salary of around $103,000 with earnings up to $165,000 plus package benefits.
If you are currently operating as a Software Developer, Team Leader, or Non-Agile Project Manager and are seeking career diversification with advancement, obtaining your Agile and Scrum Master certification might be an important step on the road to transforming your future prospects.
Gain deep insights into the Agile Scrum project methodology with the Agile Scrum Master Certification Training. Enroll today.
The training and certification program you follow will depend upon your existing experience and future career development plan interests. For example, experienced Project Leaders/Managers might benefit from one training program, whereas a senior software developer with a relatively limited background in leadership may follow another.
Here are a few key study programs that may be beneficial to you:
It should be noted that the Agile and Scrum advanced courses above will result in the student being positioned ready for the formal certification exam presented and managed by EXIN.
There you go, above mentioned is everything that you need to know about Agile project management. If this article has started resonating with your career goals, then why wait? Find an Agile certification that caters to your needs, and opt for a good Agile training course that will boost up your career prospects as a project manager and get ready for an exciting career ahead.
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