Agile Project Management – APM Lifecycle and APM Framework


APM or Agile project management is a project management methodology used in software development with an iterative and collaborative approach to project completion. Agile Project Management has an incremental and flexible lifecycle backed up by a pre-set and well-designed framework. It is the framework and lifecycle of this approach that makes it effective and widely preferred in managing projects. Lifecycle and framework to two related concepts of Agile project management that refer to different things as explored further down this article.

Agile Project Management Lifecycle

The typical stages of planning, execution, monitoring, controlling, and closing within a general project are incorporated into the agile project management lifecycle, every stage is designed with its own set of activities, goals, and deliverables. The APM lifecycle is designed to be flexible and adaptable, which allows the project teams to make changes to the project plan as needed ensuring that the final product meets the needs of the customer. The lifecycle of agile project management is set in incremental stages providing the flexibility that traditional project management doesn’t provide. The lifecycle can be grouped as follow βˆ’

  • Planning βˆ’ During this stage, the scope of the project and project goals are defined and the stakeholders are also identified.

  • Iteration βˆ’ Iteration is the stage where the entirety of the project is viewed differently by breaking the project goals into smaller achievable targets or tasks which are more manageable, these tasks are known as iterations. This way, a potentially shippable product increment is created at the end of each iteration.

  • Review βˆ’ In Agile project management, the results are reviewed at the end of each iteration and any necessary changes to the project plan are made during the review.

  • Retrospective βˆ’ Retrospective is the stage within Agile project management that involves reflecting on the project as a whole and identifying any areas for improvement.

Agile Project Management Framework

The Agile project management framework is a handy structure that guides. The project management team throughout the projects. This includes a set of values, principles, and practices that organizations can use to implement Agile project management. It directs the team by encouraging iterative and incremental development, promotion of collaboration between team members and stakeholders, and quick response to change. These frameworks provide the team with a set of specific practices, guidelines, and roles that can be used to implement Agile project management, few popular examples are Scrum, Kanban, and Lean.

The Agile project management framework includes key essential components for the success of any Agile project such as the Agile Manifesto, which defines the values and principles that underpin Agile project management and a set of Agile practices and tools facilitate collaboration and communication among the project team. One of the key principles of the Agile Manifesto is the importance or preference of individuals and interactions over processes and tools. This point is encouraging Agile project teams to prioritize communication and collaboration over strict adherence to processes and procedures.

One of the other pillars of the agile project management framework includes agile practices such as daily stand-up meetings, sprint planning sessions, and retrospectives designed to facilitate communication and collaboration among project team members. Another critical component is the use of Agile tools such as user stories, backlog management tools, and Kanban boards. These tools act as a brief description of the functionality that the software product should provide, instruments for organizing and prioritizing user stories, and visual representations of the progress of the project respectively.

Importance of the Framework and Lifecycle in Agile

Both the Agile project management lifecycle and Agile project management framework are important in Agile project management as they provide the team flexibility and an iterative approach to effectively manage projects. Agile project management lifecycle and Agile project management framework are the support system of APM because of the following reasons &miuns;

  • Responding to change βˆ’ Designed to be flexible and responsive to change, The Agile project management lifecycle and framework ensure that the team is capable of adapting to changing customer needs, market conditions, and other factors that may affect the project.

  • Collaboration βˆ’ The lifecycle and framework of Agile collaboration between team members, stakeholders, and customers in order to establish better communication, improved teamwork, and ultimately, better results.

  • Continuous improvement βˆ’ The retrospective stage within the agile lifecycle helps the project team reflect on the project and identifies areas for improvement which forms a continuous improvement process that helps the organizations to learn from mistakes and make changes that improve the future of the project.

  • Customer satisfaction βˆ’ Agile project management strongly focuses on delivering value to the customer, which is a working software early and frequently in contrast with the traditional approach. This is achieved by involving the customer in the project where organizations can ensure that the customer is satisfied with the results.

  • Predictability βˆ’ Predictability is one of the biggest benefits of Agile project management frameworks like Scrum and Kanban. By using a defined set of practices and roles, organizations are able to have a clear understanding of potential outcomes from the project and are hence able to better manage risks and uncertainties

    Thus by providing a flexible, collaborative, and customer-focused approach to managing projects, organizations are able to deliver better results, improve their processes, and increase customer satisfaction.

Conclusion

The Agile project management lifecycle provides flexibility and an iterative approach to the projects while the Agile project management framework is the guiding principle that supports the project team. And together both these artefacts help organizations to respond to change, collaborate more effectively, continuously improve their processes, increase customer satisfaction, and achieve more predictable outcomes.

By adopting an Agile approach to project management, organizations can not only become more efficient, effective, and adaptable in today's fast-paced business environment but also increase their chances of delivering a successful software product that meets the needs of the customer. There is highly recommended that organizations, especially ones undertaking software development projects adopt the Agile project management lifecycle and Agile project management framework to ensure successful management of the project endeavours.

Updated on: 21-Mar-2023

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