How agile methods drive your business forward

What can drive business forward? Which agile methods are the best and does agile management always work? How agile methods can bring real added value to a company is interesting for everyone who uses agile techniques in their professional environment or plans to do so. On the online platform Shoutoutuk.org, the website operators are thinking about these issues. In the following, we summarise an article on the topic of agile methods for you.
Two men looking at a board with notes (Agility Board)

Waterfall to Scrum

Over the last few years, software development has changed continuously. Traditional waterfall models have gradually given way to agile development methods. To meet the requirements of demanding customers, companies are constantly improving their methods. Their ambition is always to make the product better and better. In the process, developers as well as customers are increasingly seeing the benefits of agile methods such as Scrum, Kanban or Feature Design Development. Thousands of companies around the world are putting their trust in these new techniques.
 

Understanding agile

To be able to apply agile methods in a targeted way, it is important to understand them better. So what does agile actually mean? Agile methods are a set of principles under which iterative techniques are used in software development. These principles and techniques are designed to allow individual teams to focus entirely on developing better products. Work is carried out in a cycle during which feedback from the customer is constantly requested and incorporated. In this way, errors can be quickly identified and corrected. There are no unnecessary work steps, which saves costs.

Benefits through agile methods

An enormous advantage of the agile way of working is that it promotes adaptability. Teams must always be prepared for new things. Conditions and requirements change continuously. Flexibility is the prime directive, and it ensures that nothing can disrupt the development process. Creativity is needed and teams are more likely to find good solutions in a changing environment thanks to agile methods. At the same time, agility is the key to a great customer experience. Scrum and co. involve the customer in the project throughout its entire duration. This way, the changing wishes and needs of the customer can always be considered. The fact that the customer does not see the final product first and can then raise objections eliminates many unnecessary work steps.

Transparency and early detection

Increased transparency is one of the advantages of agile methods that will be felt throughout the company. The fact that the client is informed about all work steps means that transparency between team members, between teams and between the team and other stakeholders is also significantly higher than with traditional working methods. This benefits everyone. Transparent and flexible steps mean that problems are identified more quickly. The integration of continuous testing into the work process provides additional security. Bugs can be identified earlier, and without interrupting the agile work process. It is simply part of the process.

As much as necessary, as little as possible

This sentence is also and especially true in software development. Unnecessary features make the product unnecessarily heavy and bulky. The involvement of the customer, daily team meetings, continuous tests and all other measures all serve the goal of finding only those features in the product that are really wanted and make sense. This guarantees a happy customer. Agility also ensures that the risk of failure is kept as low as possible. If the project seems to be going in the wrong direction, the client notices it immediately and can ensure that unwanted features are not developed in the first place. Even the everyday communication within the team and the regular discussions with the client are a guarantee that the focus is only on the desired features of the product.

So agile is the future

All these peculiarities of the agile way of working are the reason why so many companies are turning to agile to be prepared for the future. This trend has led to a surge in demand for experts in agile methods. Anyone with experience in agile is suddenly facing many job offers. Many who have no experience with it are looking for training and seminars in agile management.
It's not just about understanding agile methods, but also how to use them. Learning by doing. The authors of the article on Shoutoutuk.org believe that agile methods are best learned by doing. A certification makes sense to learn the basics. It creates the basis for jumping into the deep end. In the end, experience plays an enormous role, because only those who get involved and apply the methods will experience their added value first-hand. Working in a team, the ability to adapt, the quick mental switch from one goal to a changed goal... all this leads to a whole new work experience.
If you are interested in certification in agile project management, we recommend our certification as Cert. Agile Project Manager (IAPM) and Cert. Senior Agile Project Manager (IAPM).
Author: IAPM internal

Key words: Project management, Agile project management, Scrum, Guide, Tip

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