In the realm of project management, Agile is a buzzword that you will hear constantly. According to Webster's dictionary (n.d.), agile means "marked by ready ability to move with quick easy grace" or "having a quick resourceful and adaptable character".
Agile project management was originally created for the software development environment by The Agile Alliance, a conglomerate of 17 individuals from industries including extreme programming, DSDM, adaptive software development (Manifesto for Agile Software Development, 2001). The framework outlined in the manifesto was published in 2001 after a 2 day conference which was hosted in Snowbird, Utah (Drummond, n.d.). The Agile Alliance is now a global non-profit organization that boasts a membership of over 72,000 individuals (Agile Alliance, 2022c).
While it looks like Agile is more of a prescription for how to manage a project, the creators think about it as more of a mindset that is informed by the core values and basic principles. It differs from the traditional waterfall project structure (the classic top down approach that requires significant amounts of upfront planning) in that it is:
about being iterative
breaks a project into smaller development time frames and tasks
does not require the team to follow a prescribed path indefinitely
is more responsive to a clients changing needs.
The Agile movement was not created as a way to counter traditional methodologies but to enhance them by creating a balance between too much modeling and documentation and too little. The lightness of the framework was created to improve upon the complex, time intensive, and document heavy software development processes of the time (Manifesto for Agile Software Development, 2001).
According to the 15th State of Agile Report (2021), the organizational areas that are most likely to have adopted the framework include software development, it, and operations. The top two reasons for adoption are the speed and flexibility that the framework provides to unpredictable working environments that continue to be both unpredictable and volatile and the need to focus on alignment across teams to streamline the product delivery process. The report also cites the following main challenges to adoption, including process and practice inconsistencies in processes and practices, cultural clashes, and organization resistance to change.
This website takes a more detailed dive into Agile project management and will cover:
the 4 core values and 12 basic principles that are outlined in the manifesto
the key components of an Agile project
the key team roles in an Agile team, commonly used frameworks,
the future of Agile
Agile Alliance. (2022, May 24). Agile Manifesto for Software Development | Agile Alliance. https://www.agilealliance.org/agile101/the-agile-manifesto/
Agile Alliance. (2022b, May 26). 12 Principles Behind the Agile Manifesto | Agile Alliance. https://www.agilealliance.org/agile101/12-principles-behind-the-agile-manifesto/
Agile Alliance. (2022c, May 26). What is Agile? | Agile 101 | Agile Alliance. https://www.agilealliance.org/agile101/
Digital.ai. (2021). 15th State of Agile Report. https://info.digital.ai/rs/981-LQX-968/images/SOA15.pdf
Drummond, C. (n.d.). Is the Agile Manifesto Still a Thing? Atlassian. https://www.atlassian.com/agile/manifesto
Lieberum, T., Schiffels, S., & Kolisch, R. (2022). Should We All Work in Sprints? How Agile Project Management Improves Performance. Manufacturing & Service Operations Management. https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2022.1091
Manifesto for Agile Software Development. (2001). Agile Manifesto. https://agilemanifesto.org/
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Agile. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved July 27, 2022, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/agile