When choosing a project management strategy for organizational change, it’s important to consider multiple methods to determine which is most important for the project’s success. If you’re looking for a flexible option that works well for a variety of project sizes, agile methodology could be the right fit for your organization.
What is an agile delivery model?
With a focus on creating customer-centric products and services, the agile technique uses four core values to provide a flexible approach for project management and attempts to break down work into small, manageable cycles. The Agile Delivery Model is based on the Agile Manifesto, a creed created in 2001. While the Agile Manifesto initially focused solely on software development and IT, teams in varying disciplines can benefit from using agile techniques for digital transformation, project management and more.
What are the 4 core values of agile?
- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools: While other project management methods may be defined by a rigid adherence to processes and tools, the agile methodology emphasizes effective conversation and collaboration within a team.
- Working software over comprehensive documentation: Agile deliverables are focused on creating functional software with a quick feedback turnaround, rather than spending time organizing comprehensive documentation.
- Customer collaboration over contract negotiation: When using agile methodologies, team members have the ability to provide feedback throughout the project to ensure the final product is adapted to their needs.
- Responding to change over following a plan: Agile techniques recognize the inevitability of change and value the ability to adapt as new requirements and opportunities arise.
Understanding the principles of agile methodology
As laid out in the original manifesto, there are 12 principles of the agile methodology that are meant to provide a foundational framework for project development, emphasizing the customer’s satisfaction and a collaborative environment built for growth. These guiding practices are designed to support teams as they implement and execute different phases of their plan.
What are the 12 principles of agile methodology?
- Satisfy the customer at every step
- Welcome changing requirements
- Deliver working agile deliverables frequently
- Everyone involved must collaborate
- Projects are built around motivated individuals
- Face-to-face communication is key
- Working software is the measure of progress
- Agile technique promotes sustainable development
- Continuous attention enhances agile deliverables
- Keep it simple whenever possible
- Build self-organized teams
- Reflect at regular intervals for effectiveness
How to choose the right agile method for your team
When it comes to choosing the right agile methodology for you and your team, know you have options. Recognizing that each organization has its own unique needs, we find that a “one-size-fits-all” approach never works. Having a variety of agile techniques to choose from, each aligning with the core values and principles, is the key to finding success within a project.
When selecting the right agile method for your organization, you’ll want to consider project complexity, the team that will be completing the work, leadership’s agile mindset and your organization as a whole.
The best agile frameworks
- Scrum agile
- Kanban agile
- Lean-agile
What is the Scrum agile framework?
The Scrum agile method is known for its sprint-focused workflows that last 1–4 weeks. If you take a closer look, you can get a clear understanding of the main benefits of using this agile technique.
The Scrum agile methodology might be right for your organization if:
- Best for: projects with unclear or changing requirements, as the team prioritizes frequent feedback and rapid adaptation.
- Project size: small or mid-size projects that can easily be broken into sprints to break up the multiple-year timeline and expected agile deliverables.
- Deliverables: tangible results of the work, such as a dynamic product backlog, long-term vision or sprint backlog.
- Team: for individuals who thrive in cross-functional, self-organized groups and benefit from a structured project management approach.
What is the Kanban agile framework good for?
This Kanban agile method is known for its focus on efficiency, flexibility and improved workflow. Utilizing a Kanban board, team members can visualize work items as they move through each stage.
Will the Kanban agile framework work for your organization?
- Best for: projects with fluctuating priorities and unpredictable tasks that need assistance with optimization, such as IT support or customer service.
- Project size: mid-size and large organizational projects where work arrives in a steady stream and needs efficient handling, rather than time-boxed sprints.
- Deliverables: shown by individual work items, such as a piece of code or bug fix, that are moved from the “to do” to “done” card on a Kanban board.
- Team: perfect for large teams who prefer self-management, often at multiple sites, that are in need of flexibility and autonomy.
Why choose the lean-agile framework?
The Lean Agile method is a combination of Lean principles, which focus on improving efficiency and eliminating waste, and agile techniques, which emphasize collaboration and fast delivery. This hybrid helps organizations produce high-quality, collaborative agile deliverables at a satisfying rate.
When is lean-agile the best framework?
- Best for: projects with evolving requirements where the final scope is not fully defined at the start.
- Project size: large-scale projects where multiple teams are managed within a complex system.
- Deliverables: produce functional and iterative agile deliverables, such as working software, services or a featured increment, that maximize a customer’s value and minimize waste.
- Team: any cross-functional team looking for continuous feedback and improvement, whether it be using a lean-agile framework in healthcare, IT development, marketing, finance or government.
What are the benefits of implementing agile methodology?
- Increased flexibility and adaptability within teams
- Faster time to market
- Improved customer satisfaction
- Higher-quality products and services
- Better risk management
- Enhanced morale and productivity
- Improved communication
- Reduced waste
What are agile deliverables, and what do they mean for your organization?
The key to understanding how agile methodology can benefit your organization is determining your desired agile deliverables. These tangible outputs are a result of a project being managed with agile techniques. The kind of agile deliverable you and your team produce varies from organization to organization, but as long as it is iterative, customer-centric, flexible and quantifiable, it can be used as a measure of success.
Accelerate your team’s transformation with agile services
An agile business model can greatly benefit an organization, as well as its customers, as it streamlines every step of a project and its outcomes. When implementing agile methodology within your organization, it can be beneficial to have a business consultant provide training on different agile techniques and agile deliverables to get it up and running.
That’s where CGI comes in. Our agile service experts help clients gauge their readiness and develop transformative strategies every step of the way, allowing them to implement the methodology and start enjoying the benefits. Using Lean, Scrum, and Kanban, we work tirelessly to provide our clients’ teams with strategic agile solutions, ongoing coaching and support to ensure they reach the outcomes they desire.
Whether you are looking for agile certification for your team or a consultant to guide the way on making your organization agile, CGI’s agile services can assist. With flexible services to meet the needs of your organization, we’ll find the right fit to help your organization flourish.
