Key Points

• Agile project management works well outside of software development.
• Not all elements of Agile can apply to every business.
• Picking and choosing the right elements for your business can have a transformative effect.

How does Agile project management fare beyond the world of software development? Software development has adopted Agile as an industry standard, but the same principles can be applied across the band to a wide variety of industries. Furthermore, many industries would benefit from implementing the Agile methodology in their current project management workflow.

Agile has close ties to the likes of Six Sigma, Design Thinking, and other methodologies intended to provide consistent, continuous quality deliverables. However, how it accomplishes this is markedly different, focusing on consistent iteration. Today, we’ll take a closer look at how to best implement Agile project management at your organization.

What Is Agile?

Agile is an iterative approach to project management that benefits from constant small changes. This allows for a fair amount of latitude when it comes to navigating something like obstacles or pitfalls. Agile software development teams can quickly adapt, even when a setback might cost precious manhours.

Further, Agile project management is an approach that fosters a culture of communication. There are daily meetings, planning, and far more that go into the management of an Agile project. Essentially, workers are set free to accomplish their goals, but they report daily.

Agile has been championed primarily as a means of revolutionizing software development. Since its introduction 20 years or so back, Agile has become the de facto standard for developing any piece of software. However, we’re seeing the principles, methods, and far more being adopted by businesses outside of the tech industry.

Why Agile Has Become an Industry Standard

So, why is Agile project management such a dominant force in software development? Well, we’ve already outlined the likes of open communication. However, it is an iterative approach, meaning that you have a continuous pipeline of prototyping, revising, and delivery until the project goals are met. Further, it keeps the customer in the loop.

What makes this such a revolutionary approach to software development is the clear and transparent communication happening not just within the team, but to the customer. As such, it allows for a closer alignment to customer goals, and meeting their demands on a given project. Since it is an iterative approach, customers can give valuable feedback.

Additionally, Agile project management doesn’t excel because of singular roles within a team. Instead, it builds robust teams, with wide-spanning expertise. This results in a more cohesive and adaptable workforce that can accomplish goals promptly. Despite its rather tech-heavy applications, the Agile Manifesto lays out principles that apply to just about any industry you can think of.

Agile Project Management for Other Business Sectors

So, how does Agile project management fare across other business sectors? Let’s take a closer look at some of the hallmarks of the Agile methodology and how they apply across the board. Not every industry is going to be suited for the likes of Agile. However, organizations that focus on iterative product releases, like medical tech, manufacturing of computers and automobiles, and so much more take some of the core tenets of Agile.

Further, the wider topics covered by the Agile Manifesto are readily used by many industries. However, rather than discuss the minutia, let’s single out a few of the more prominent aspects of Agile and see how they apply to different industries.

Agile Project Management isn’t just about deliverables, but rather about fostering a culture that can adapt to changes as they arise. Successful implementation of the concepts laid out in the Agile methodology can transform an organization’s very core. However, it might be just what you need to succeed in the modern business landscape.

Sprints

We often think of milestones or key performance indicators as being indicative of a project’s current success. It makes sense, that setting tangible and achievable goals is a great motivator. However, one area where Agile project management approaches things a little differently is through the use of sprints. Sprints are essentially smaller projects, lasting maybe a few days in duration from start to completion.

However, on the whole, these act as a milestone of their own. The successful completion of a sprint indicates that your team is firing on all cylinders and sailing through the project. Sprints are starting to make their way into the automotive sector, and other manufacturing-oriented businesses.

Setting singular achievable goals that can be accomplished in a short amount of time improves employee morale and ultimately gives you something to share with stakeholders. Further, sprints and other smaller goals are far easier to manage. A large project can be a complex undertaking, but breaking it into sprints makes it achievable.

Cross-Functional Teams

The concept of siloing, or having teams work only in their stated departments, isn’t anything new in the world of business. However, one area where Agile project management shines is in encouraging the use of cross-functional teams. Drawing from a wealth of experience across your entire organization gives you quite a stable working base when it comes time to approach a sprint.

Further, cross-functional teams are a core part of the Agile process because it allows different perspectives and greater cohesion across teams. This is one area where the manufacturing of electronics is showing the power of Agile outside of the domain of software development.

Cross-functional teams in this scenario allow electrical engineers and product designers to collaborate throughout the entire process. Additionally, this also leads to teams being able to operate independently, depending on the task at hand. Independence is something championed with the Harada method but is a core part of the functionality of any Agile project.

Continuous Integration

When looking at Agile project management, the core word to consider is continuous. There is a pipeline between all teams that sees any software project going back to the drawing board when things don’t work as intended. Further, this continuous integration allows teams to freely communicate between leadership, stakeholders, and customers.

Continuous integration does away with the division of departments, instead seeing Agile project management take on a larger team environment. This is being seen more readily in likes of retail spaces, where constant communication between tech teams, sales, and logistics coalesce to create a cohesive whole.

Your departments don’t need to be monolithic entities, only interacting at specific points in time. You don’t want to silo your teams at the end of the day. Focusing on continuous integration is a great way to make an equal and flourishing workforce.

Iterative Development

Iteration isn’t something suitable for all industries. However, consider for a moment sectors where constant product releases with revisions are the norm. The automotive industry has long held the ameliorated product release cycle, thanks in part to the constant shift and addition of regulations. This is something where Agile project management comes in handy as well.

If you’re looking to launch a new SUV at the end of the year, you’ll likely build upon the successes of the previous year’s release. Agile project management would enter the picture when taking a look at customer complaints, new standards and regulations, and so forth.

As such, this iterative approach to product design and development isn’t well-suited just for software. Instead, if you’re looking at industries like education, automotive, or consumer electronics, iteration is the lifeblood of your current workflow. Adopting some of the principles of the Agile Manifesto might be just what you need to unlock your team’s potential.

Backlogs

Backlogs and sprints are natural bedfellows when it comes to Agile project management. However, where you’ll see them come into play outside of software development is when planning a sprint. A backlog is nothing more than a collection of the various components of your project’s scope that are intended to make it to the completed deliverable.

Often, these are specified by customers, a concept those in the Six Sigma pipeline likely understand as the voice of the customer. However, the allocation of resources and manpower to these components is where things get a little murkier. In Agile project management, this isn’t a problem, as you’ll assign items from the backlog as sprints.

If you’re looking to integrate features that directly correspond with customer demands, then creating and maintaining backlogs is well worth the price of entry.

Scrum Meetings

Scrum is one of those terms I see bandied about on social media without any real rhyme or reason behind it. However, to demystify this core aspect of Agile project management, scrum is just a means of facilitating communication between cross-functional teams. Meetings are conducted by a Scrum Master and take the form of something akin to a standup meeting.

Progress on sprints and other aspects of the project are discussed. These meetings are brief and somewhat swift in delivering pertinent information regarding the project at hand. A Scrum Master acts as a mediator, a neutral third party to coordinate and guide the meetings.

When properly conducted, Scrum meetings are beneficial to any organization. There is always going to be some sort of project going around. Taking part in a positive, rapid-fire meeting can have an energizing effect on any team.

Risk Management

How do you manage risk in a project? You might take an approach like DFSS or design thinking to heart. However, risk management is built into the core of Agile project management. Risk can take many forms, whether it’s through the use of ill-suited materials or a feature that seems great but doesn’t deliver.

The Agile mindset being an iterative one allows you to quickly determine what works. Additionally, the iterative take on constant prototyping, feedback, and revision gives you exactly what is needed to avoid risk.

Client and Organizational Goal Alignment

An organization’s goal is to turn a profit. A customer is going to have different goals with each new one you take on. However, where Agile project management truly shines is allowing the communication pipeline to facilitate both. Transparency and honesty are core concepts to adhere to within any organization.

Agile project management allows any industry to communicate with its customers. You can keep them in the loop with a project’s development. Further, it allows goals to align and coalesce. Learning to listen to the voice of the customer and the voice of the business is vital, especially in the modern era.

Other Useful Tools and Concepts

Looking for some other tips and tricks to get you going? You might want to take a closer look at how to measure success when undertaking change management initiatives. Change is a tricky subject for any organization to tackle, and learning how to navigate it will do you well.

Additionally, you might want to take a closer look at the top automation tools used in businesses today. Automation is the way of the future and something we’ll be seeing more of in the coming years.

Conclusion

Agile project management is a powerful means of delivering quality goods to your customers. You don’t have to be a tech wizard to make the most of it. Start integrating Agile strategies into your business, and you’ll see major transformations start to take place.

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