The term “Agile” is heard almost by every project manager out in the industry. Organizations employing the Agile methodology and project management have been increasing exponentially as every year goes by. Software professionals such as developers and project managers are expected to stay up to date and know as much about Agile project management to have safer and broader career opportunities. But what exactly is this Agile Methodology, and why has it gained so much popularity in the past decade?

Agile methodology is adopted by most of the fast-paced organizations due to continuous evolution and development. In traditional construction methods, product development took several months, and until it was released in the market, it was outdated. 

An Agile methodology is an iterative approach for developing products that build the project incrementally from the start of the project, instead of delivering it all at once like the traditional method of construction. Agile project management is a highly collaborative methodology where there are short development cycles called Sprints. 
 

How Does Agile Project Management work?
 

Agile mainly works by focusing on breaking down the functionality of the products into smaller bits of user functionality, prioritizing them, and continuously working on them in 2-4 weeks of Sprints or iterations. An excellent feature of Agile Project Management is that the teams work only on the projects needed by the users in short development cycles so that they can satisfy the customer needs with a shorter time for product delivery. By working in shorter periods, the team aims for continuous improvement in the product for better user experience. 

The work goals for a Sprint is decided before the start of the Sprint, and all the objectives and goals are determined. The team has a dedicated person called the Product Owner, who directly interacts with the customer to understand their needs and plans. After analyzing all the customer’s needs, the Product Owner arranges the Sprint requirement according to the customer’s priorities and sets up the objective and goal for the Sprint. In the Sprint meeting, the team decides how much time will take in an iteration and how they will complete the job. The team also has many other meetings called Scrum Events that account for the work remaining, reviewing, and retrospecting the Sprint. These events give direction to the developers to build the best possible Sprint that would increase ROI and customer satisfaction. It also helps the ScrumMaster to know more about their team and their progress and helps the product owner to know the current status of the product.
 

Why use Agile Methodology?
 

In Agile methodology, a new product is developed as soon as possible, considering the customer’s present need. The same product is continuously reviewed and updated based on customer feedback, user satisfaction, ideas of Stakeholders, and Product Owners. This gives the developed product to stay relevant to the market and generate a higher investment return for the company. Today, companies are rapidly growing and fast-paced and do not have time to spend on developing a single product for an extended period. They expect continuous evolution and collaboration and targets rapid to-market deadlines, shifting priorities, higher stakeholderengagement, and a higher need for flexibility. Hence, fewer companies use the traditional method of software development and more companies using the Agile Methodology. 

Apart from these features, Agile methodologies also help organizations to increase team performance and increase project versatility. Companies are also able to respond to market dynamics and complete more projects successfully. Agile training is a crucial step to level-set the organizations and project teams on the foundations of Agile. Training in Agile will clear up many misunderstandings and misconceptions about Agile operations. It also helps to discover the underlying Agile concepts and clarify the differences between various implementation methods. 
 

Benefits of Agile Methodology
 

In Agile methodology, user involvement is encouraged during the development of a product. This provides visibility and transparency for both the customers and the project teams. Continuous planning and feedback are encouraged throughout the project management, which delivers value to the business from the beginning of the project. Companies have embraced Agile Methodology, as this method gives a lower risk associated with project development. 
 

Some of the main benefits of using Agile Project Management:
 

Higher Product Quality
 

The products developed using the Agile Methodology have higher product quality as it is produced by adding continuous updates to the products. The companies also test the products to fulfill all the criteria and perform all the functions expected from them. It is also seen that features relevant to the market are added to enhance such that the user gets a better experience. Few main features are:
 

• The product is tested regularly so that the product works during development.
   
• In time defining and elaboration of the product requirements.
   
• Daily testing and incorporation of continuous integration into the development process.
   
• Sprint Retrospectives improve the process and work continuously.
   
• The software is developed in rapid and incremental cycles.
   

Higher Customer Satisfaction
 

Since project teams are directly in contact with the customers, their expectations, and outcomes from the products are clearly defined to the side. This ensures that the customer gets their desired product, and sometimes Product Owners may add additional features that would be beneficial for the customer. Agile involves customer feedback and ensures that there is a constant engagement of customers from the beginning of the product development and throughout the development process. The products are also demonstrated to the customers to give a review of the working functionalities. The Agile Project Management team also ensures to deliver products quicker so that it is in the market rapidly, and the users experience better updates. All these factors have enhanced customer satisfaction from the organization and the Project Development Team.
 

Increased Project Control
 

The Agile teams have various hierarchies where everyone performs a specific role, and their collaboration ensures the success of the project. Daily stand up meetings are held so that everyone is evident with their goal for that day and also gives a picture for other team members about everyone’s work. Other sessions, such as Sprint Planning, Review, and Retrospective, also help the project managers have an idea of the work being done in the team and control the group’s work process.
 

Reduced Risks
 

Agile Project Management gives lesser market risks as there it provides a brief time for feature development. It also provides freedom when changes need to be implemented. The team can also adapt to the client’s needs during the development process. This ensures that the product developed meets all the client’s expectations and builds with the market’s current scenario.
 

Faster Return Of Investment
 

Agile develops a functional ready to the market product after a few iterations, which gives a quicker return of investment for the business and also maximizes the business value. It also has the ability to gauge the customer’s reaction and allows the client to decide the priority of the features that need to be developed.
 

Simpliaxis is one of the leading professional certification training providers in the world offering multiple courses related to Agile methodologies. We offer numerous Agile related courses such as Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)® Certification Training, Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO)® Certification Training, Certified Scrum Developer (CSD) Certification Training, Agile and Scrum Training, PMI-ACP® Certification Training, Professional Scrum with Kanban™ (PSK) Training, Certified Scrum Professional® - Product Owner (CSP®-PO) Certification Training, Agile Sales Management Training, Behaviour Driven Development (BDD) Training and much more. Simpliaxis delivers training to both individuals and corporate groups through instructor-led classroom and online virtual sessions.

Conclusion
 

Agile Project Management is growing exponentially, and it is time for companies to implement the Agile methodology to stay relevant to the market and increase their business value with Agile. Organizations need to employ trained individuals in using the Agile to face lesser impediments during the transition to an Agile organization. Experts specific in certain Agile roles such as ScrumMaster and Product Owner have excellent knowledge in implementing Scrum to the organization. Also, the software professionals are required to stay updated with the Agile methodology by taking specific Agile training such that they grow in the Agile sector and get a better salary and job opportunities and become respected individually not only in their company but also be recognized globally.