Blog 7



Agile project management has become essential in our tech-driven world. The traditional “waterfall” methods make the assumption that all conditions are in place form the get go and any changes are rare, this is not the case in reality as customers don’t always what they need, the markets shift quickly and products have rapid and constant evolution. Agile project management is built for this rapid environment it is more accepting of change as a normal occurrence, promotes rapid feedback and focuses on giving small usable pieces of value instead of  one large final piece.

Scrum is one of the most popular used Agile frameworks. The work is organised divvied up into short parts called sprints, they can usually last around two to four weeks, in the beginning of each sprints teams will pick the priority tasks to complete, and at the end will present a updates to stakeholders, after each sprint the team reviews what worked and what did not then plans are adjusted for the next round. It should be noted that scrum isn’t perfect it needs a stable team to be implemented correctly, in some cases scrums can become bloated and lose their impact.

Three important Scrum tools (artifacts and practices) illustrate how the framework supports Agile PM.

  1. Product Backlog
    The product backlog is a prioritised list of all desired features, enhancements and fixes, expressed usually as user stories. It provides a single, transparent source of work for the team and allows the Product Owner to reorder items as business priorities change.  If not updated regularly it can become messy and confusing
  2. Sprint Backlog

For the sprints, teams will select the items from the product backlog and then break them down into smaller more manageable tasks, this helps to see the work in progress, spot possible bottlenecks, if team members don’t keep these updates, it can quickly lose its value.

  1. Burndown Chart

This chart lists the remaining work in the sprint over time; it offers a quick visual way to see progression and if the team is on course to complete what they planned. This promotes team communication on the project progress, scope and challenges. When used appropriately, they are a lightweight way to support realistic control of the project. On the other hand, if used wrongly it can create pressure and discourage the team.

Overall, Agile PM is necessary because it matches the realities of modern, changeable projects. Scrum, supported by tools such as the product backlog, sprint backlog and burndown chart, provides a practical framework for delivering value iteratively while continually learning and adapting.


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