Welcome to the exciting and ever-changing world of Agile! As a project manager, you play a crucial role in guiding teams towards success in this fast-paced environment.
Agile is all about flexibility, adaptability, and continuous improvement, and as a project manager, it’s your job to keep everything running smoothly while making sure that the end goal is met.
The Agile Framework
The Agile framework was developed in the 1990s as an alternative to the traditional, inflexible approach to project management.
It was officially codified in 2001 with the release of the Manifesto for Agile Software Development.
Since then, Agile has gained widespread popularity, and it is now used in various industries worldwide.
The Agile approach focuses on flexibility, adaptability, and continuous improvement, promoting cross-functional and self-organizing teams that work closely with customers or end-users. It welcomes changes and is iterative in nature.
Despite its relaxed and flexible philosophy, Agile still requires a degree of management and structure.
This is where the Agile Project Manager comes in, playing a critical role in overseeing and leading Agile projects.
This article will take a closer look at the role of an Agile Project Manager, including their responsibilities, skills, and the requirements to become one.
The Agile Project Manager Overview
Every Agile project team needs guidance and management to ensure successful delivery of the project.
While the “certified Agile project manager” position exists, it’s not always a requirement and it’s possible for a Scrum Master or product owner to lead the Agile project team.
In some cases, the responsibilities of the traditional non-Agile project manager may be divided among the Scrum Master, product owner, and individual team members.
Agile Values
The Agile Manifesto highlights four fundamental values that guide Agile project management:
- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools. People drive the project forward, and Agile values human interaction and adaptability over reliance on technology and processes.
- Working software over comprehensive documentation. Agile places a higher value on delivering functional software over extensive documentation.
- Customer collaboration over contract negotiation. Agile emphasizes collaboration and understanding the customer’s needs over formal contract negotiation.
- Responding to change over following a plan. Agile understands that change is inevitable and embraces it as an opportunity rather than an obstacle.
APM Role and Responsibilities
As a Project Manager in an Agile environment, also known as an Agile Project Manager (APM), you play a crucial role in leading, organizing, and motivating Agile project teams to achieve a high level of performance and quality.
Your responsibilities include:
- Helping the team remove obstacles, hold team members accountable for their work, and mentor less experienced team members to reach their full potential.
- Defining the project schedule and scope while balancing this with timely value deliveries and leading regular project status meetings.
- Delivering Agile projects that offer outstanding business value to users, and supporting the product owner in managing communications with stakeholders and managing customer expectations for deliverables.
- Promoting team empowerment through team-building techniques and ensuring that each team member is fully engaged and making a meaningful contribution to the project.
- Collaborating with management teams to define and execute on project epics, which are large pieces of work that have a single shared objective, such as business requirements, customer requests or desired features.
The Differences Between Agile Project Manager and Project Manager
The main difference between an Agile Project Manager and a traditional Project Manager is the approach to project management.
A traditional Project Manager follows a more rigid and structured approach, typically using a Waterfall method, which is a linear and sequential approach to project management.
In contrast, an Agile Project Manager follows the Agile framework, which emphasizes flexibility, adaptability, and continuous improvement.
1. Scope Management
Traditional Project Managers focus on managing and controlling the project’s scope. While, Agile Project Managers focus on facilitating and enabling the team to define and deliver on the scope.
2. Planning and Scheduling
Traditional Project Managers typically create detailed project plans and schedules, while Agile Project Managers use a more incremental and adaptive approach, planning in shorter iterations or sprints.
3. Communication
Traditional Project Managers tend to have more formal and hierarchical communication styles, while Agile Project Managers focus on facilitating team collaboration and open communication.
4. Problem-Solving
Traditional Project Managers may rely on predefined processes and procedures to solve problems, while Agile Project Managers empower the team to find their own solutions through self-organization and continuous improvement.
Skills APM Require
The Agile Project Manager (APM) plays a crucial role in leading, organizing, and motivating Agile project teams.
The Agile approach focuses on flexibility, adaptability, and continuous improvement, promoting cross-functional and self-organizing teams that work closely with customers or end-users. It welcomes changes and is iterative in nature.
However, even with its relaxed and flexible philosophy, Agile still requires a degree of management and structure.
Soft Skills
The skills required for an APM include strong leadership, communication, problem-solving, and facilitation skills, as well as an understanding of Agile principles and methodologies, project management best practices, and the ability to adapt to change.
It’s worth noting that not all Agile project teams have a dedicated APM, some teams have a Scrum Master, Product Owner or team members to divide the responsibilities of traditional project manager, it depends on the organization, team size and complexity of the project.
However, having a designated Agile Project Manager can help ensure successful delivery of the project and provide guidance and structure for the team.
Agile Project Manager Certification
There are several popular Agile Project Manager certifications that professionals can obtain to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of Agile principles and methodologies.
Some of the most well-known Agile Project Manager certifications include:
- Scrum Alliance Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)
- Scrum.org Professional ScrumMaster (PSM)
- Project Management Institute (PMI) Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP)
- International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) Agile Analysis Certification (AAC)
- SAI Global AgilePM Practitioner
Each certification program has its own prerequisites and requirements, and they may differ in terms of the coursework, exam format, and validity period.
For example, CSM requires a 2-day class and a multiple-choice exam, and PSM requires an online assessment, While PMI-ACP require 21 contact hours of training, and professional experience in Agile project management.
The certification that is best for you will depend on your current role, experience, and career goals. Researching each certification and its requirements can help you determine which is the best fit for you.