What is agile methodology and how can it help your business?

Agile is more than a buzzword. It helps businesses to deliver their projects quickly and efficiently. Adopting or improving the way you run Agile in your business can make a significant difference to your revenue. Spyrosoft uses Agile frameworks when delivering projects and finds it really helps with client satisfaction.

In this article, based on an interview with Shane Poole, our lead Agile Consultant, we talk about:

• what is project management and why it’s needed?
• traditional project methodology methods and their pros and cons,
• what is agile methodology?
• the benefits of agile methodology.

What is project management, and why do we need it?

Project management is the process of planning, organising, and controlling resources to achieve specific goals and objectives. It involves coordinating various aspects of a project, including scope, time, cost, quality, and resources. Effective project management is crucial for delivering projects on time, within budget, and to the required quality standards.

In the context of software development, project management plays a critical role in ensuring that projects are completed successfully and meet the required specifications. Agile project management, in particular, has become a popular approach due to its emphasis on flexibility, collaboration, and rapid delivery of software products. By adopting agile project management, software development teams can respond quickly to changes, deliver high-quality products, and maintain a steady pace of progress.

Can you outline more traditional project management methods?

Traditional project management, often called Waterfall, comprises of controlling gates called stages where different activities take place. These stages are analysis, design, development, test and release. The project is moved through these stages from idea to launch. The gates are important stages of any project, however, in traditional project management, the team members don’t meet, analyse their work, or provide feedback as regularly as they do in Agile run projects, so failures can go unnoticed along the way. In contrast, agile methods emphasise iterative development and adaptability to changing customer needs.

Although many elements of traditional project management are still used, most businesses can see the benefit of getting fast feedback, which is achieved with Agile project management. In waterfall, feedback is slow, so it can take a long time to pick up problems or find out that you aren’t delivering what the client wants. Agile development, on the other hand, offers faster delivery, increased adaptability to change, and improved quality and predictability, making it a preferred choice for many organisations.

What is Agile methodology?

As I already mentioned, Agile is a framework that allows fast feedback loops. Agile methodologies encompass various frameworks like Scrum and Kanban. The waterfall phases I described are used, but work is carried out typically in two-week sprints. At the end of the two-week sprint cycle, thorough feedback is given on the work. This means you can fail fast. Admittedly that sounds like a bad thing, but quickly understanding where things aren’t working out or are failing, is a huge benefit. It means businesses can make immediate decisions and change direction.

In many cases, businesses are already working in an Agile way, but by becoming fully Agile, they can make further improvements. Agile practices emphasise collaboration and iterative development. It allows them to inspect and adapt the work quickly. Working with a third party in an Agile way lets you create a proof of concept, minimum viable product (MVP) or first release by easily expanding your team to get it delivered. They can also split the teams to make the project more effective, and there are lots of ways to set up the team and the department to make Agile work.

It’s important to understand that we still need traditional project management. It’s needed for tracking finances, dependencies, and risks. Agile reduces risks by augmenting or complementing traditional methods of running your project.

Agile Manifesto and principles

The Agile Manifesto is a foundational document that outlines the values and principles of Agile software development. Created in 2001 by a group of forward-thinking software developers, the manifesto aimed to establish a more flexible and responsive approach to software development.

The Agile Manifesto values:

• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools: Emphasising the importance of people and communication.
• Working software over comprehensive documentation: Prioritising functional software over extensive documentation.
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation: Fostering a cooperative relationship with customers.
• Responding to change over following a plan: Adapting to changes rather than rigidly sticking to a plan.

The Agile principles include:

• Satisfy customers through early and continuous delivery of valuable software: Ensuring customer satisfaction by delivering functional software frequently.
• Welcome changing requirements, even late in development: Embracing change to meet evolving customer needs.
• Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months: Maintaining a regular delivery schedule.
• Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project: Promoting close collaboration between stakeholders and the development team.
• Build projects around motivated individuals, give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done: Empowering team members to take ownership of their work.
• The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation: Encouraging direct communication.
• Working software is the primary measure of progress: Focusing on delivering functional software.
• Agile processes promote sustainable development, the sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely: Ensuring a sustainable work pace.
• Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility: Striving for high-quality design and technical excellence.
• Simplicity–the art of maximizing the amount of work not done–is essential: Keeping things simple and avoiding unnecessary work.
• The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams: Trusting teams to organize themselves and produce the best results.
• At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more agile and adjusts its behavior accordingly: Continuously improving processes and practices.

How should a Managing Partner, or a COO think about Agile methodology, and how would they implement such a strategy?

They should look at it as a way to get something to market quickly. It makes it easier to release an MVP and then get customer feedback. This approach saves time and money as you can make changes to the product quickly. Feedback is key, and this allows you to get it rapidly. IT Directors, CTO’s and Heads of IT can also benefit from more focused work and efficiencies in their teams.

What is the effect on people, processes, and organisational structure?

People adopting Agile need to change their mindset. They need to understand the big picture but scale to short and more focused delivery time scales. They also have to adapt to working in a dedicated co-located team working collaboratively. Agile teams prioritise customer needs and adapt to changing requirements. The main processes do stay the same, and if you can picture it, there’s a sprint cycle layer below running in parallel. The organisational structure stays the same, and the agile processes should just slot in seamlessly.

What is SCRUM, and why do you do one?

The term scrum comes from rugby. When in a scrum, the team is working together to get a try and to score points. They are all working in the same direction with the same goal.

In our world, this means that we have a framework that can be used to help people, teams and organisations to deliver and create value. They will have a shared and common goal and will work together to meet that agreed goal. Scrum wraps around existing processes and practices or can supersede them where they are no longer necessary. This framework also allows the team to inspect and adapt regularly, meaning they can make improvements to the ways of working on an ongoing basis.

Scrum Framework

Scrum is a widely-used Agile framework that emphasises teamwork, accountability, and iterative progress toward well-defined goals. It is particularly popular in software development projects due to its structured yet flexible approach.

The Scrum framework consists of three key roles:

• Product Owner: Responsible for defining and prioritising the product backlog, ensuring that the team is working on the most valuable features.
• Scrum Master: Facilitates the Scrum process, helps remove impediments, and ensures that the team adheres to Scrum practices.
• Development Team: A cross-functional group responsible for developing the product and delivering increments of working software.

The Scrum process includes three main ceremonies:

• Sprint Planning: The team collaborates to plan the work to be done during the upcoming sprint, setting clear goals and defining tasks.
• Daily Scrum: A short, daily meeting where the team reviews progress, discusses any obstacles, and plans the work for the day.
• Sprint Review: At the end of the sprint, the team presents the completed work to stakeholders, gathers feedback, and discusses what went well and what could be improved.

By following the Scrum framework, software development teams can maintain a steady pace of progress, adapt to changes, and continuously improve their processes.

Can you talk a bit about communication, output and plans?

Communication is key to any team but is especially important in a Scrum team, especially during the Scrum Events mentioned above and should ideally include key stakeholders where relevant (e.g. Sprint Review). There is still the need for overall project plans to be in place for business level planning and review, and there would be some touch points with the Scrum Team in order to stay aligned.

Where does agile software development work best, and where does it not work?

Agile methodology tends to work very well on very complicated projects that are not well understood – fast feedback loops are very useful so that you can learn quickly as you progress. As mentioned, the fast feedback loops and fast failure is key to the success of Agile. This is just what you need in a very complex project – you can adapt whilst delivering.

It isn’t as useful for projects that you have done before that are well understood and repeatable, you already know how to do this and have data and lessons learned to work from, a blueprint if you like.

Will Agile methodology save money and deliver a project more quickly?

Agile may not save money overall but it will reduce wastage. Because you’re failing fast and changing direction on a regular basis, you can avoid costly mistakes. In terms of speed, you may not save time overall, but things of value can be delivered more rapidly, such as an alpha or beta release, or an MVP or basic webpage that will then allow feedback that feeds into future development.

How do I involve my client if needed?

Your client is the key stakeholder, so they will be involved in every aspect of the project and implementation. This is crucial to the success of the project and no different than a traditional project being run in the waterfall.

What are some classic errors, and how to avoid them?

Firstly, thinking Agile will fix everything. It’s just another tool in the toolbox, not a silver bullet. Secondly, thinking it can be implemented overnight. It takes time to embed Agile into any business. Thirdly, removing all traditional project management, reporting and documentation. As I mentioned earlier, it is used to augment or complement traditional methods. And finally, not involving the wider organisation. It’s not just about software development. Everyone should have a good understanding of how things are going to work and should be part of the journey.

Common Agile Pitfalls

While Agile is a powerful and effective approach to software development, there are some common pitfalls that teams should be aware of to ensure success:

• Lack of clear goals and objectives: Without well-defined goals, teams can lose focus and direction. It’s essential to establish clear objectives and regularly review progress.
• Insufficient communication and collaboration among team members: Agile relies heavily on communication and collaboration. Teams should prioritise open and frequent communication to ensure everyone is aligned.
• Inadequate testing and quality assurance: Skimping on testing can lead to poor-quality software. Teams should integrate testing into their development process to catch issues early.
• Unrealistic expectations and timelines: Setting unrealistic goals can lead to burnout and frustration. Teams should set achievable targets and adjust timelines as needed.
• Inadequate training and support for team members: Agile requires a shift in mindset and practices. Providing proper training and support is crucial for a smooth transition.
• Resistance to change and lack of adaptability: Agile is all about embracing change. Teams should be open to new ideas and willing to adapt their processes as needed.

By being aware of these common pitfalls and taking proactive steps to address them, software development teams can maximise the benefits of Agile and ensure successful project outcomes.

If you want to find out more about Agile and how you can implement it successfully in your business, visit our Agile Consultancy page and fill in the contact form. We’ll be in touch!