Firstly, how would we explain agile as a term and how is it connected to Cora Systems?
Agile is a term that has been thrown around a lot recently in the project management spectrum and has become increasingly popular in a range of different industries. Agile project management is very much connected to change management and the ability to apply change to any stage in the project when presented with a better alternative.
Applying agile methodologies allows a project manager to prioritize particular projects or aspects of projects based on information available at a particular time, increasing their ability to deliver projects effectively on time and on budget.
Mark Cafferty, Head of Product and Innovation at Cora Systems describes how agile methodologies “encourage a project management approach that promotes inspection and adaptation, a bias towards teamwork and accountability, a set of best practices to drive rapid delivery of high-quality software, and a commercial focus that aligns development with client and company goals.”
Flexible and agile management at the heart of project success by Alison ColemanIn this particular post, Alison Coleman gives an in-depth introduction into agile from a project management viewpoint, discussing what it is and why it is becoming an increasingly popular choice by project managers.Alison states that agile has become somewhat of a buzz word within the project management field and goes on to explain how this position has come about, but also a range of different viewpoints on its positioning.
A key feature of this article is the “five golden rules of project flexibility” which ultimately gives a detailed overview on best practices.
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Although this article focuses mainly on applying agile methodologies to software development, it can easily be considered in how the software is used, i.e. in an agile environment.
“Eventually, agile won’t even be a thought, it will just become the way we do things”.
Harvard Business Review is well known for informative and interesting articles with this particular piece by Rigby, Sutherland and Takeuchi being no exception.
The authors discuss the development of agile in the software industry over the past 30 years and the inevitable fact that it is currently entering every function of every other industry. A table is included showing the conditions that allow agile to become effective as well as those that can ultimately become a hindrance to its development.
“Those who learn to lead agile’s extension into a broader range of business activities will accelerate profitable growth”.
Martin addresses the age old compromise of fast, cheap and good with a particular focus on the “Project Triangle”. The paradigms of the project triangle are assessed and different options which may have less limits attached are evaluated.
The article also looks at how to become agile without placing unnecessary pressure on resources to achieve customer satisfaction. This needs to be planned correctly in order to prevent those new to agile from reverting to previous methods.
Nils Davis accurately applies agile methodologies to portfolio management, introducing the reader to agile portfolio management. The differences between agile and scrum or Kanban are explained briefly as well as a basic introduction to the principles of agile.
The benefits of using agile within portfolio management are discussed as well as the overall goal to “deliver more value faster, while being responsive to change”.
