What does it actually mean to be an Agile Project Manager?
Well, you’re the person in the middle. You are the one empowered to lead project delivery and manage the day-to-day, keeping an eye on risks and handling problems as they arise. Most of all, you’re the bridge that keeps everyone communicating.
I’m extremely happy to announce that I’ve completed the Agile Project Management (AgilePM®) Certification at both Foundation and Practitioner levels! Hopefully, this is the start of a new path of learning and supporting the development of projects.
So, how does agile differ from traditional project management, I hear you ask?
The traditional approach usually defines exactly what features will be delivered, then tries to estimate the cost and time needed. But as we know, things are never that simple. Extra time and budget are often needed to handle uncertainty, and sometimes quality even takes a hit just to ensure a release goes ahead.
Agile project management turns that situation upside down. It fixes the time and cost, while allowing the features delivered to be flexible.
The contingency is built in through a prioritisation system where features are grouped into:
- Must Have (i.e. The Minimum Usable Subset)
- Should Have & Could Have
- Won’t Have This Time
The aim is to deliver as much as possible, but the “Coulds” and “Shoulds” can be dropped if issues arise. With this system, the quality is never compromised.
It’s an iterative system where you evolve the project as you go. While it isn’t right for every project, it’s common in tech, think about your favourite app that adds a new feature without breaking the rest of the experience. That’s iterative development in a nutshell.
I’m looking forward to putting it to good use in the coming years!
