Agile Project

Management Software

One of the major differences between Scrum and other frameworks is that there isn’t traditionally a project manager. One member of the scrum team is assigned as the “scrum master” and takes lead on weekly meetings and sprint planning, but the planning and management of the project is done collaboratively across the team.

• Introduction to Agile Work Management (Including Scrum and Kanban)
• Rolling out "Scrumban" with Andrea Fryrear

Kanban takes a different approach to assigning work to various team members. Instead of assigning all tasks for each sprint, team members are given their top priorities with the remainder of tasks sitting in the “planned” category until assigned work has been finished. Focusing on priority items helps the team know what to work on next, and keeps individuals from feeling overburdened.

Unlike waterfall—a traditional, more rigid framework—Agile allows teams to adjust project scope if needs change, perform reviews at every phase of work, and revisit past work as needed throughout the lifecycle of a project.

• The Manager's Guide to Mixing Agile and Waterfall
• 20 Experts Share Secrets For Balancing Agile and Waterfall
• Project Management Methodologies: A Beginner's Guide

With Agile iterations, your team can flexibly adapt to shifting priorities and make concentrated efforts toward completing work without running the risk of burnout. You can accurately plan out work and make reliable commitments.

Burndown charts and other visual tracking methods make it easy to update project status in real-time, so your team knows exactly what they need to work on and how their work aligns with strategic initiatives.

• Work Smarter, Together: The Right Tools Make Digital Transformation Possible
• Project Management 101: The 5 Ws That Should Be Asked of Every Project
• 3 Tips for Helping Your Team Work Smarter (Not Harder)

Agile project management gives you more visibility into the status of tasks your team is working on than a traditional gantt chart. You can easily plan work and set expectations, access data that supports justification for additional resources, deliver value regularly , and provide progress updates to stakeholders.

Agile methodology promotes collaboration by breaking down barriers of working across teams and departments. Agile encourages frequent communication and streamlined processes, with an emphasis on making progress immediately visible. When teams collaborate, they are able to identify issues and risks before they derail a project or require time-intensive rework.

With Agile, everyone has a clear understanding of project goals and can contribute equally to improving the quality of the final deliverable.

• Collaboration Tips: 40 to Get Your Team Communicating Like Pros
• Your Team Knows Best: How 4 Teams Gained Efficiency Via Better Collaboration