How Can You Teach Yourself Agile Project Management?

The Agile methodology has come a long way since its inception to become a well-liked method among many different types of organizations. Agile project management certification, for those who are unfamiliar with the term, divides projects into epics before breaking them down into smaller, more manageable pieces through chapters and sprints. Although this approach is frequently connected to DevOps and software development, it has numerous business-wide applications which you can learn from Eduhubspot.

Project Management Principles

Organizations prefer successful projects over those that require lengthy post-mortems to analyze what went wrong or a long list of justifications for why the project fell short from all angles. Failures in projects result in catastrophic financial losses, and even their assessment and recovery present a costly business challenge.

This is the basis for project management methodologies. These methodologies demand that projects be approached in a structured, standardized manner to lower the risk of failure. The goal of project management is to shift the conversation away from the conventional worries about what might go wrong and toward planning for success.

The Origin of IT Agile Project Management

To increase the success rate of IT projects, many organizations implemented a type of project management. But because the methodologies were so rigid, they frequently fell short, leading to “paralysis by analysis.” The procedural approaches focused on defining boundaries, following step-by-step progressions, and the distinctiveness of roles and responsibilities based on hierarchies and fixed responsibility sets, which harmed the team’s capacity and the project’s overall productivity. 

To put it in perspective, compare it to an emergency room doctor having to obtain approval from the patient, the chief surgeon, and the hospital board of directors before beginning a procedure that could save their life.

In some industries, like construction, step-by-step methodologies may be appropriate, but the world of software development is not one of those industries. As new, more dynamic, and flexible software development tools entered the market in the 1990s, this became more and more obvious. It became crucial to implement a new system that would allow for controlled but highly flexible development.

Here is our seven-step guide to putting Agile project management into practice:

• A planning meeting will help you establish the vision and parameters of your project.

What is that?

You must establish a distinct business need that your project will address at the outset of any new Agile project. What is the agile project management certification end goal, and how will you accomplish it, in plainer terms?

Although it must be realistic, an Agile strategy meeting should cover big-picture concepts. You can start considering the project’s scope, but keep in mind that Agile projects need to be adaptable and responsive to feedback.

Who should be there?

You gain support for your project at the Agile planning session. Along with the product owner and important members of the product team, try to include all pertinent stakeholders.

When does it occur?

Before the project begins, a planning session should take place. Alternatively, if you’re continuously working on a project, schedule a significant strategy meeting once a year to make sure your mission is still relevant.

• Prepare your product roadmap.

What is that?

Now that you have a plan in place, it’s up to the product owner to turn your vision into a roadmap for your product. The user stories have been updated, and this is a high-level view of the requirements with a rough timetable for when everything will be finished.

Important here is the word “loose.” You simply identify, prioritize, and roughly estimate how long and how much work each step of your product will require to create a usable product rather than spending days or weeks planning out every step.

Who should be there?

The product owner is in charge of creating the product roadmap, but all project stakeholders—such as representatives from the marketing, sales, support, and development teams—should contribute ideas to it.

When does it occur?

It’s best to get started on creating the product roadmap as soon as possible after your strategy meeting because it must exist before you can begin organizing your sprints.

How long should it take?

Like everything else in agile project management certification, you want to move quickly rather than linger on early-stage planning. However, your roadmap is a literal route from your mission to your MVP and should take as much time as necessary for you to feel confident that you have addressed all pertinent objectives.

• Make a release strategy.

It is what?

Agile project management certification online is based on short-term sprints to release usable software regularly.

The product owner then develops a high-level timetable for each release after you have a high-level roadmap in place.

You should prioritize the features required to launch first because Agile projects will have multiple releases.

Who needs to attend?

A release strategy is comparable to organizing the troops. There should be the product owner, project managers, a scrum master, and every team member.

What time does it occur?

Your release plans must be written at the very least on the first day of each new release, and they must be reviewed at least once every three months.

How long would it need to last?

Understand how long a release will take, but don’t let that stop you from moving forward. A typical planning session for a release should last 4 to 8 hours.

• Sprint planning

It’s time to switch from the macro to the micro view. The development team schedules “sprints,” which are brief development cycles in which particular tasks and objectives will be accomplished, in collaboration with the product owner.

You and your team will compile a list of backlog items that you believe you can finish in a sprint cycle to produce functional software at the start of the cycle. Then, working through them using one of the Agile methodologies is as easy as pie.

Who needs to attend?

Agile sprint planning is carried out by the product team, but the product owner, project managers, and scrum master should also provide input and direction. The team will ultimately decide what can (and should) be accomplished during a sprint.

• Daily standups will help you keep your team on track.

Agile projects progress rapidly. Therefore, you must take regular breaks to check in and make sure there aren’t any obstacles in your path. These are called “stand-ups” in Agile-speak.

Although some members of your team might find this annoying, these meetings are crucial for fostering the kind of communication that underpins Agile project management. Agile relies on swift problem-solving, so airing grievances in a public forum can be a potent tool for encouraging teamwork.

• Sprint reviews

What is that?

A working software component is shipped after each sprint cycle. While this is a significant accomplishment to be honored. Also, a chance to look back on what was accomplished. To showcase it to members of your team and any important stakeholders. As an Agile show-and-tell, that is what it is.

The more practical aspects of the sprint should be covered in sprint reviews. Verify that all conditions were satisfied by your definition of done by going back and reviewing your initial plan.

Who needs to attend?

Everyone who contributed to and is impacted by the release is included in the sprint review. This means that in addition to any significant stakeholders, your entire team should be involved.

What time does it occur?

After each sprint, there is a review.

How long would it need to last?

Simply reject feature dissertations and PowerPoint presentations. It should only take an hour or two to complete the sprint review.

• Choose your next priority for your sprint retrospective.

What is that?

Agile project management’s sustainability is one of its guiding principles. Therefore, as soon as the previous sprint is completed, you should be prepared to begin the subsequent one.

You need to get serious with a sprint retrospective if you want to be sure that you’re learning from each release (instead of just moving forward blindly).

Retrospectives are opportunities to reflect on the previous sprint’s process after you’ve demonstrated the release.

Who needs to attend?

Since the retrospective is a logical extension of the review, your stakeholders may depart, but the rest of the team should participate and share their perspectives.

What time does it occur?

The best time to conduct your sprint retrospective is immediately following your sprint review.

How long would it need to last?

Again, keep it brief and to the point. You won’t need more than an hour or two to debrief and prepare for the following brief.

Conclusion

Agile is more of a set of philosophies and principles than it is a prescriptive set of rules, as we stated earlier. Because of this, you can apply Agile principles in a variety of ways depending on how your team functions.