Everything you need to

know about agile

project management
What is agile project management, how does it work, and can it really
help your team to get more done, faster? Here’s how you can apply an
agile project management approach to your next project.

 1Why is project management important?

 2What does a project manager do?
 3How to become a project manager: the 2021 guide
 4Which project management methodologies should you use?
 5Everything you need to know about agile project management
o What is agile project management?
o The definition of agile project management
o The 4 core values of agile
o The 12 agile project management principles
o What are the benefits of agile project management?
o How to become agile
o Agile vs Scrum: what’s the difference?
o Which agile methodology is right for me?
 6The 6 project management skills you need to have
 7What is a project stakeholder?
 8What is a project charter and why do I need one?
 9How to create a project management plan that actually works
(Template included)
 10FAQ

When it comes to managing your work, there are dozens and dozens
of project management methodologies to choose from.
But as you begin your research into which methodology is right for
you, you’re probably going to see one particular word show up over
and over again:

Agile.

It seems to shimmer in your peripheral vision like some sort of project

management mirage. Is it real? Can all the avowed benefits of agile
project management really be true? Or is it just a trendy buzzword that
promises more than it delivers?

It’s safe to say that there’s a lot of noise around the benefits of agile
project management. But what exactly is it? And how do you know if
it’s a good fit for your team?

What is agile project management?

Agile project management is an iterative approach to software
development projects and ensures feedback can be acted on quickly
and that responsive changes can be made at each stage of a sprint or
product cycle. 
This allows project teams to adopt agile project management
methodologies to work quickly and collaboratively within the timeframe
and budget of a project.

Simple to use, powerful when you need it

Trusted by 20,000 businesses and 6,000 agencies, Teamwork lets
you easily manage, track, and customize multiple complex projects.
Get started with a free 30-day trial.
Try Teamwork for free
Agile project management covers lots of different agile project
management methodologies, all of which draw on some shared agile
principles and core values.

But, there is no single universal “agile methodology.” So where did

they all come from?

A brief history of agile

Most current agile project management methods have their roots
in software development. Back in the 1990s, software teams were
finding that the highly-structured “heavyweight” traditional project
management methodologies (for example, Waterfall) just weren’t
cutting it when it came to the way they needed to work.

They were finding that the pitfalls of these heavyweight methods —

such as a lack of flexibility, adaptability, and even autonomy — made
it more difficult for them to respond to change or incorporate their
learnings as they worked. As the project plans were outlined at the
outset, there was no room for surprise, and deviations could be costly.

But as opposed to industries where the process was fixed and the
outcome was reliable and stable (think: a manufacturing process that
creates the same product on an assembly line), change is a
fundamental component of software projects.

Maybe stakeholder requirements pivot, or maybe testing reveals that

something isn’t working the way it should once an end-user gets their
hands on it.

Instead of being held captive by the project management plan they

outlined at the start, agile project management methods meant that
teams could take those changes into consideration to make the best
possible product. To do this, they needed shorter development cycles
(called sprints), a more iterative process, and continuous feedback
and testing.

Then in 2001, a bunch of software developers got together to discuss

the core tenets of agile and really drill down into the philosophy behind
it. They came up with The Manifesto for Agile Software Development,
a collection of values and principles that would be a North Star for
teams wondering how to become agile.
The definition of agile project
management
If this all sounds very software development focused, don’t worry.
Many agile project management methodologies were developed with
software in mind, but the core agile values and agile project
management principles are useful to many different types of team,
from product teams to marketing teams.

Knowing the history of agile project management (or at least the

summary of it outlined above) can help to give context some of the
terminology and processes that still characterize agile project
management, and which we’ll be looking at in more detail shortly
when we break down the Agile Manifesto in more detail.

But if you’re just looking for a definition of agile project management

now, rather than the backstory of what it used to be, here’s a useful
agile project management definition.

Agile project management is a collaborative, iterative project

management approach that incorporates continuous testing and
responsiveness to change.

Sound good? Let’s circle back to the Agile Manifesto to learn more
about the core values and principles you can use to guide any agile
project.