Agile what is it ? It is an approach to project management and product development which provides one with the ability to be customer-focused, collaborate and be flexible. It started in the information technology sector but has evolved to encompass other domains including health care and even agriculture. The essence of Agile is to help customers realize the value of a project in less time and, therefore the project is divided into small portions of work called sprints or iterations.
At the very center of Agile is the guiding document, the ‘Agile Manifesto’ which states four values.
- 1. People and interactions most importantly than processes and tools – Human beings are the most important factor of any project.
- 2. Agile development is preferred to extensive documentation – Focus on deliverables that are of value.
- 3. Facing the customer is better than arguing over the legal contract – Customers are always at the center of the business.
- 4. Strategies can change regardless of the business plan. There is more value in being able to change plans than sticking to them.
Agile enhances processes with the notion of Kaizen as it encourages teams to work for limited periods of time called ‘sprints’ whose duration is usually two to four weeks.
At the conclusion of each sprint, teams conduct retrospectives focusing on the assessment of the prior performance and the actions necessary to prepare for the upcoming cycle.
There are certain frameworks that are used within Agile such as Scrum and Kanban. It involves teamwork and team assignments, events such as daily standups and sprint retrospectives, as well as artifacts such as the product increment and the sprint backlogs. Kanban focuses more on the management of the workflow by using a board to display the processes for better productivity.
Agile presents advantages like shorter times to market, better responsiveness to changes, enhanced interaction of team members and higher customer satisfaction. However, the agile approach to project management will need both teams and stakeholders engagement and most importantly, readiness to change and improve out of necessity.
In summary, Agile is a dynamic, iterative approach to project management that focuses on delivering high-quality products while adapting to change quickly and efficiently.
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