Summary

Agile methodology is a project management framework that breaks projects

down into several dynamic phases, commonly known as sprints. In this
article, get a high-level overview of Agile project management, plus a few
common frameworks to choose the right one for your team.

Scrum, Kanban, waterfall, Agile.

There's a wide array of project management frameworks you can use. Some
methods though, like waterfall, aren't as effective for software teams. With
priorities and customer needs constantly changing, the Agile methodology
breaks projects up into several phases to drive continuous improvement. Create an Agile project plan template

Agile project management isn’t just useful for software project management—all
types of teams have been successful with this dynamic methodology. If you’re
What is the Agile Manifesto?
looking to get started with Agile, you’ve come to the right place.
The Agile Manifesto is a document that focuses on four values and 12 principles
What is the Agile methodology? for Agile software development. It was published in February 2001 by 17 software
developers who needed an alternative to the more linear product development
Agile methodology is a project management framework that breaks projects
process.
down into several dynamic phases, commonly known as sprints.

The Agile framework is an iterative methodology. After every sprint, teams reflect
and look back to see if there was anything that could be improved so they can What are the 4 pillars of Agile?
adjust their strategy for the next sprint.
As outlined in the Agile Manifesto, there are four main values of Agile project
management:

• Individuals over processes and tools: Agile teams value team collaboration and
teamwork over working independently and doing things "by the book.”

• Working software over comprehensive documentation: The software that

Agile teams develop should work. Additional work, like documentation, is not
as important as developing good software.
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation: Customers are extremely committed and actively working to achieve a goal.

important within the Agile methodology. Agile teams allow customers to guide 6. The most effective way to communicate is face-to-face. If you’re working on a
where the software should go. Therefore, customer collaboration is more distributed team, spend time communicating in ways that involve face-to-face
important than the finer details of contract negotiation. communication like Zoom calls.

• Responding to change over following a plan: One of the major benefits of 7. Working software is the primary measure of progress. The most important
Agile project management is that it allows teams to be flexible. This framework thing that teams should strive for with the Agile framework is the product. The
allows for teams to quickly shift strategies and workflows without derailing an goal here is to prioritize functional software over everything else.
entire project. 8. Maintain a sustainable working pace. Some aspects of Agile can be fast-
paced, but it shouldn't be so fast that team members burn out. The goal is to
maintain sustainability throughout the project.
What are the 12 Agile principles? 9. Continuous excellence enhances agility. If the team develops excellent code in
one sprint, they can continue to build off of it the next. Continually creating
The four values of Agile are the pillars of Agile methodology. From those values,
great work allows teams to move faster in the future.
the team developed 12 principles.
10. Simplicity is essential. Sometimes the simplest solution is the best solution.
If the four values of Agile are the weight-bearing pillars of a house, then these 12
Agile aims to not overcomplicate things and find simple answers to complex
principles are the rooms you can build within that house. These principles can be
problems.
easily adapted to fit the needs of your team.
11. Self-organizing teams generate the most value. Similar to principle #5,
The 12 principles used in Agile methodology are: proactive teams become valuable assets to the company as they strive to
deliver value.
1. Satisfy customers through early, continuous improvement and delivery.When
customers receive new updates regularly, they're more likely to see the 12. Regularly reflect and adjust your way of work to boost effectiveness.
changes they want within the product. This leads to happier, more satisfied Retrospective meetings are a common Agile practice. It's a dedicated time for

customers—and more recurring revenue. teams to look back and reflect on their performance and adapt their behaviors
for the future.
2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in the project. The Agile
framework is all about adaptability. In iterative processes like Agile, being
Create an Agile project plan template
inflexible causes more harm than good.

3. Deliver value frequently. Similar to principle #1, delivering value to your

customers or stakeholders frequently makes it less likely for them to churn.

4. Break the silos of your projects. Collaboration is key in the Agile framework. What are the benefits of the Agile
The goal is for people to break out of their own individual projects and
collaborate together more frequently.
development methodology?
5. Build projects around motivated individuals. Agile works best when teams are You commonly find Agile project management used in application development
committed and actively working to achieve a goal. or other types of software development. This is because software is constantly
or other types of software development. This is because software is constantly based software, teams can get feedback from their actual customers quickly.
changing, and the needs of the product have to change with it.
Since customer satisfaction is a key driver for software development, it’s easy to
Because of this, linear project management methods like the waterfall model are see why it was included in the Agile process. By collaborating with customers,
less effective. Here are a few other reasons why teams use Agile: Agile teams can prioritize features that focus on customer needs. When those
needs change, teams can take an Agile approach and shift to a different project.

Agile methods are adaptable

There's a reason why they call it the Agile methodology. One of the main benefits Agile methodologies
of using Agile processes in software development is the ability to shift strategies
The Agile framework is an umbrella for several different variations. Here are a few
quickly, without disrupting the flow of a project.
of the most common Agile methodologies.
Because phases in the traditional waterfall method flow into one another, shifting
strategies is challenging and can disrupt the rest of the project roadmap. Since
software development is a much more adaptable field, project managing rapid
Kanban
changes in the traditional sense can be challenging. This is part of the reason why Kanban is a visual approach to Agile. Teams use online Kanban board tools to
Agile project management is favored in software development. represent where certain tasks are in the development process. Tasks are
represented by cards on a board, and stages are represented in columns. As team
members work on tasks, they move cards from the backlog column to the
Agile fosters collaborative teamwork
column that represents the stage the task is in.
One of the Agile principles states that the most effective way to communicate
This method is a good way for teams to identify roadblocks and to visualize the
with your team is face-to-face. Combine this with the principle that encourages
amount of work that’s getting done.
teams to break project silos and you have a recipe for collaborative teamwork.

While technology has changed since Agile’s inception and work has shifted to Read: A beginner's guide to Kanban boards
welcome more remote-friendly policies, the idea of working face-to-face still
hasn't changed.

Scrum
Read: 10 easy steps to boost team collaboration
Scrum is a common Agile methodology for small teams and also involves sprints.
The team is led by a Scrum master whose main job is to clear all obstacles for
others executing the day-to-day work.
Agile methods focus on customer needs
Scrum teams meet daily to discuss active tasks, roadblocks, and anything else
One of the unique aspects of software development is that teams can focus on
that may affect the development team.
customer needs much more closely than other industries. With the rise of cloud-
based software, teams can get feedback from their actual customers quickly.
• Sprint planning: This event kicks off the sprint. Sprint planning outlines what resources that a project has, as opposed to the resources a project needs.
can be delivered in a sprint (and how).

• Sprint retrospective: This recurring meeting acts as a sprint review—to iterate

Extreme Project Management (XPM)
on learnings from a previous sprint that will improve and streamline the next
one. This type of project management is often used for very complex projects with a
high level of uncertainty. This approach involves constantly adapting processes
until they lead to the desired result. This type of project involves many
Extreme Programming (XP) spontaneous changes and it’s normal for teams to switch strategies from one

Typically used in software development, Extreme Programming (XP) is an Agile week to the next.

framework that outlines values that will allow your team to work together more XPM requires a lot of flexibility. This is one of the reasons why each sprint is short
effectively.
—only a few weeks maximum. This methodology allows for frequent changes,

The five values of XP include: trial-and-error approaches to problems, and many iterations of self-correction.

• Communication Read: Understanding the iterative process, with examples

• Simplicity

• Feedback

• Courage
Adaptive Software Development (ASD)
• Respect This Agile methodology enables teams to quickly adapt to changing
requirements. The main focus of this process is continuous adaptation. The
Similar to daily Scrum standups, there are regular releases and iterations, yet XP is
phases of this project type—speculate, collaborate, and learn—allow for
much more technical in its approach. If your dev team needs to quickly release
continuous learning as the project progresses.
and respond to customer requests, XP focuses on the “how” it will get done.
It’s not uncommon for teams running ASD to be in all three phases of ASD at
once. Because of its non-linear structure, it’s common for the phases to overlap.
Adaptive Project Framework (APF) Because of the fluidity of this type of management, there’s a higher likelihood
that the constant repetition of the three phases helps team members identify and
The Adaptive Project Framework, also known as Adaptive Project Management
(APM) grew from the idea that unknown factors can show up at any time during a solve problems much quicker than standard project management methods.

project. This technique is mainly used for IT projects where more traditional
project management techniques don’t apply.
Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)
This framework is based on the idea that project resources can change at any
The Dynamic Systems Development Method is an Agile method that focuses on
time. For example, budgets can change, timelines can shift, or team members
a full project lifecycle. Because of this, DSDM has a more rigorous structure and
working on the project may transition to different teams. APF focuses on the
foundation, unlike other Agile methods.
foundation, unlike other Agile methods.

There are four main phases of DSDM:

• Feasibility and business study

• Functional mode or prototype iteration

• Design and build iteration

• Implementation

Feature Driven Development (FDD)

Feature Driven Development blends different Agile best practices. While still an
iterative method of project management, this model focuses more on the exact
features of a software that the team is working to develop. Feature-driven
development relies heavily on customer input, as the features the team prioritizes
are the features that the customers need.

This model also allows teams to update projects frequently. If there is an error, it's
quick to cycle through and implement a fix as the phases of this framework are
constantly moving.

Read: Waterfall vs. Agile vs. Kanban vs. Scrum: What's the difference?

Organize Agile processes with Asana

You’ll often hear software development teams refer to the Agile process—but any
team can run Agile. If you’re looking for a more flexible project management
framework, try Agile.

Create an Agile project plan template