Project management and agile approach

Agile methodology became popular in project management due to the introduction of the agile manifesto (Core principles in agile approach) in 2001. Agile is a project management approach developed by 17 software developers in the 1990s to overcome the limitation of traditional project management approaches (Jack R. Meredith, Scott M. Shafer, Samuel J. Mantel, 2017). For efficient project implementation, so many companies worldwide are adopting different agile methodologies (E.g. Facebook, Instagram, Google and space X). Companies apply the agile method for their project implementation due to speed delivery of the product, an adaption of any change after the planning process, enhanced software quality and better risk management (Vision One, 2014). Based on the study conducted by the H.P in 2014 among 600 software developers showed, the main reason for adopting an agile methodology is that they believe this approach will increase customer satisfaction Because this method provides an opportunity to express their feedback after completion of each sprint (Jeremiah, 2017). Agile methods allow rapid development of the program in an uncertain or fast-changing requirement situation (Martin, 2003). The popular methodologies under agile include SCRUM, Extreme project management and KANBAN (Frank Cervone, H .2010). Now there are more than 20 different agile methodologies. The application of other methods is based on the project type, nature of the industry in which the company belongs and team members' abilities (Arturs Rasnacisa, Solvita Berzisa, 2016).

The four core principles specified under the agile manifesto for agile software development include (Beck, 2001):

1. Focus on the need of team members and their interaction with other members in the organization rather than focusing on the process and tools employed in the project development process.
2. Give more importance to the working of software over documentation of the process.
3. Keep a healthy relationship with the customer by considering their requirement and feedback rather than contract negotiation.
4. Responding to any change in the environment rather than following a fixed plan.

Under this approach, the activities are broken down into small independent and manageable parts, each of these parts is called a sprint. That should be completed within a small period of time (3 to 15 days). Each sprint will have to take the following steps to get the final output.

• Design: This is the first step in each sprint, where a specific plan will be prepared (based on the main plan) to achieve the expected result from each sprint
• Build: At this stage project management team will undertake the activities specified according to the plan.
• Test: where the project manager tests the product or software developed in the previous stage to ensure the product or software meets the criteria specified by the customer; for this purpose project manager uses various techniques.
• And review: it is the last stage in a sprint where the project manager reviews all the activities undertaken by the team and also receives feedback from the customer regarding each sprint.

Like other project management methods, agile also needs to follow some common steps to implement a project. Following are the steps you need to follow while implementing a project under agile (Agile development process).

1. Requirements: Under this stage project manager has to understand what the actual customer expects from a project. For this purpose, the project manager has to consider all the specific requirements mentioned by the client. The project manager prepares the main plan based on this.
2. Plan the activities: After considering the requirement specified by the client project manager has to prepare a plan considering activities to be undertaken, funds needed, cost and risk expected from the project. The main plan act as the benchmark for controlling function.
3. Design: Where the project manager breaks down the activities into small independent and manageable tasks. And also specify the time limit to complete each task. This manageable subpart is called a sprint.
4. Develop (implement the plan): This stage is action-oriented. Under this stage, project management has to implement the task based on the main plan. If there is any change in the requirement due to a change in consumer specification or situation demand project manager has to consider adjusting the implementation process based on the changed requirement at this stage.
5. Release and testing: Where the project manager needs to test the product already developed to ensure the developed product is meeting the significant requirement specified by the client. In the case of the agile method, testing of software will happen after the completion of each sprint.
6. Track and monitor: In this stage, the project manager needs to track and monitor each activity are performing by the team in accordance with the plan. And the controlling function is also performed at this stage.
7. Deployment: This is the last step in the project management, where the final product is delivered to the client after the completion of all other activities.

By comparing with other methodologies, agile has some specific features like:

• The communication structure under agile is informal, and decisions are made after considering the entire team.
• Respond to any change in the environment
• The success of a project depends on collaboration with the customer and customer feedback.
• Focus on quick development of a project in changed requirements situation also.

Agile has a broad scope; currently, most companies employ agile methodologies and techniques.

• It is suitable for a project that can be divided into small independent, and manageable parts.
• Where the problem is very complex and at the initial stage, we can't understand what will be the fund required, the cost and risks associated with the project.
• The industry's external environment is ever-changing, like technology-oriented industries (Software development and smartphone industries).

Now we have an idea about the scope of agile methods; next, we will discuss the benefits of using agile methodology for projects compared with other approaches. For selecting a method, we need to consider the gift too. Following are the advantage of the agile process.

1. Flexibility: The plan under traditional approaches is rigid; we can't make any project adjustments after the product's initiation. Due to this limitation, the final product may not satisfy the current market need due to technological changes, preferences, and fashion. But in the case of the agile approach, it can respond to any external environment changes by making some initial plan adjustments.
2. Change in customer requirement: The client may demand any change in the need after the initial planning; due to the flexibility of this approach, we can consider the changed customer requirement. Under this method, the project's requirements are collected from the client at the planning stage, and they can revise during each iteration after the consultation with the client (Schwaber & Sutherland, 2016).
3. Feedback from the client: In other approaches, customer feedback on a project can collect after the project. So it will not provide any opportunity to the project management team to correct any actions taken by them according to the feedback received from the client. But in the case of agile: customer can express their feedback about the work after the completion of each sprint. Thereby the project team can improve their performance and quality of work.
4. Testing: In the case of agile, there will be testing after the completion of each sprint. It will provide an opportunity to find any errors or faults in the activities in each sprint. It will improve the quality of the product. But in the case of other methods, testing is conducted after completing the whole project. If any error is found in testing, it won't be easy to fix and will take more time. It will increase the time required to complete a project and project failure.
5. Increase the quality of the product: Frequent testing, reviews, risk management, and customer feedback will increase the quality of the output.
6. Risk management: Under the agile method, the activities are divided into small manageable and independent parts, which will help identify various risks related to each sprint. We can manage the risks by adopting multiple risk management techniques through this process.
7. Speedy delivery: frequent testing, reviews and customer feedback at the end of each sprint, and efficient communication help identify and fix the problems or errors at the right time. It will help the project team complete the project on the time specified by the client.
8. Efficient communication: Under the traditional project management approach having a formal communication structure, the team has less autonomy. It will reduce communication efficiency between team members, team leaders and project managers. It also affects the speed of the decision-making process of the team manager. But in the case of agile, following an informal form of communication by providing more autonomy to team members will help the project manager decide on the right time.

Like all other approaches, agile methodology has some limitations; it can't be applicable in all situations. The primary restraints or challenges while applying the agile methodology to a project are as follows.

• Dynamic methodology: Agile is a dynamic methodology, so it isn't easy to apply a project involving a complex decision-making process like construction projects and manufacturing projects.
• Difference between the expected outcome and actual outcome: There may be a big difference between the outcome scheduled at the planning time and the actual outcome after the project's completion. It may be due to the dynamic nature of the approach.
• This method is suitable to project where activities can be divided into small independent projects.
• The project's success depends on cooperation and communication with the client: If the customer is busy with other activities or the client does not know about the project, it will affect the project's outcome.
• Delay in decision making: all the decisions are taken after considering each team member and customer. It will cause a delay in the decision-making process.
• It will affect controlling function: In the case of agile, at the initial stage, there may not have a clear plan, budget and working schedule, which will affect the controlling function of the team leader because the controlling process depends on the planning.