Agile project management: everything SMBs need to know

Agile project management divides large projects into manageable tasks that your team completes in short, iterative bursts.

This flexible, collaborative and customer-focused methodology is the opposite of rigid and traditional project management.

In this article, you’ll learn what agile project management is, why it’s helpful to small businesses and how to implement four different agile frameworks.

What is agile project management?

Agile project management takes an iterative approach to delivery, breaking projects down into smaller pieces. You can complete them continuously or in increments like sprints. Teams deliver value constantly, which means you see the results sooner.

While every project has an overarching goal, there are fewer pre-determined milestones with agile. Instead, projects evolve naturally while adapting to feedback and changing requirements in real time.

Feedback lies at the heart of the agile process. Agile leans on close-knit cross-functional teams collaborating closely while seeking and regularly applying stakeholder feedback. This flexible approach means project teams respond quickly to issues or possible hiccups.

Imagine you want to create a go-to-market strategy. Rather than fully planning the work, break down the project into its constituent parts (defining an ICP, researching competitors, developing messaging) and focus on each in turn.

Using an agile method means a sudden change in requirements – like targeting a new audience – won’t derail the project. You can course-correct and still deliver on time.

Who is agile project management for?

Agile practices are standard in the software development industry. In the 17th State of Agile Report, 70% of respondents of development and delivery teams and almost half of engineering, product development and R&D teams reported using Agile.

However, agile isn’t exclusive to these industries. Small businesses can adopt agile practices to complete projects, whether developing new apps or building a marketing campaign.

Agile isn’t the only project management framework, however. Waterfall is another standard method that uses a different approach.

Agile vs waterfall

Unlike agile, waterfall uses a linear and pre-defined sequence of tasks to manage projects. You need to gather a project’s requirements while mapping workflows and timescales.

With waterfall, projects are split into distinct phases and work can only advance once all tasks in a previous phase are complete. The project flow resembles a waterfall, like in this example from TeamGantt, hence the name.

The waterfall methodology’s timelines are more precise, and scope creep is less likely to occur when you assign every task before any work begins. However, unlike agile, which provides results constantly, waterfall only delivers outcomes at the end of the project lifecycle. Strict timelines can also be problematic since a missed deadline delays the entire project.

Here is a summary of the differences between the two approaches:

Understanding these distinctions will help you decide whether to adopt waterfall or agile. For example, you may adopt agile when a project’s requirements aren’t clear at the outset.

However, waterfall’s more rigid approach may be better for inexperienced teams or simple projects with strict deadlines and clear milestones.

The values and principles of agile project management

Agile practices emerged during the 1990s, created by software developers who wanted to overcome the issues with rigid project management approaches like waterfall. They developed a method that let them pivot and incorporate learnings during a project instead of at the end.

The Agile Manifesto, published in 2001, was written by seventeen software developers. It outlines the four values and 12 principles of Agile.

The four agile values are:

1. Individuals and interactions deliver successful projects, not processes and tools

2. Working software and solutions are more valuable than comprehensive documentation

3. Collaborate with customers rather than negotiate with them

4. Be responsive rather than follow a plan

The 12 agile principles are:

1. Meet end-user needs through early and continuous delivery

2. Stay open to changing requirements, even late into projects

3. Deliver work at regular intervals – shorter timescales are better

4. Work in collaboration with colleagues and stakeholders

5. Assemble teams of motivated individuals – give them the right environment to thrive and trust them to deliver

6. Hold regular face-to-face meetings

7. Measure progress using completed work

8. Encourage sustainable habits through a steady and constant pace of work

9. Demand continuous attention to excellence

10. Simple is better

11. Self-organized teams deliver the best work

12. Hold regular evaluations to reflect on how your approach can be more efficient and effective

Following these values and principles can help teams deliver value early and often, but there are challenges small business owners need to consider.

Benefits and challenges of the agile project management methodology

Whether you employ them in a software development project, sales initiative or marketing campaign, agile practices force teams to adopt a flexible and iterative approach that delivers work faster.

The benefits

Here are the core benefits of agile project management that small business owners can expect:

• Faster outcomes. The focus is on delivery at every project stage, so value gets delivered consistently rather than all at once. Outcomes also tend to be better because of the feedback gathered during development.
  

• Better collaboration. Collaboration is central to agile, so teams must communicate regularly. The results are better products, faster delivery and a happier working environment.
  

• More adaptability. Agile teams can respond quickly to changing requirements. They collect feedback and data during the project rather than at the end, which allows them to make decisions that lead to products customers love.
  

• Improved quality assurance. Teams using agile methodology tend to produce better outcomes because they can detect and fix issues while working. Problems are also less likely to derail projects.

The challenges

Every project management method has its challenges, and agile is no different. Here are the most common issues and how you can resolve them:

• Measuring progress. The flexible, responsive nature of agile and a lack of pre-defined milestones can make it difficult for project managers to measure progress. Tracking agile project metrics like velocity, lead time, sprint burndown and value delivered lets you measure productivity and forecast the time needed to complete the project backlog.
  

• Decision-making and sign-off. In agile, decisions need to happen frequently and quickly. Ensure you have strong sign-off and decision-making processes in place so stakeholder communication is strong.
  

• Time management. Agile's flexibility means teams can take on additional work during the project, leading to longer timelines. To prevent overwhelming workloads, project leaders must evaluate and adjust timelines at the end of every iteration and keep stakeholders abreast of changes.
  

• Scope creep. Projects risk going off track because of changing requirements. Solve this problem by holding regular sprint planning meetings at the end of each iteration to revise your project backlog. Communicate changing requirements to stakeholders and make them aware of the impact on deadlines.

Here is a summary of the key benefits and challenges of agile:

Communication, collaboration and planning can help overcome these challenges. Choose an agile approach that aligns with your business.

4 agile project management frameworks

Agile frameworks are a subset of the broader methodology, offering a set of strict rules and practices you can follow to complete projects.

Here are four of the most popular agile frameworks:

1. Scrum

The scrum methodology breaks down projects into fixed-length iterations called sprints, which last between one and four weeks. Project leaders are scrum masters. They’re in charge of the product backlog (a list of all incomplete project tasks) and assign a fixed number of tasks to the scrum team during each sprint.

Scrum also assigns a product owner responsible for maximizing a product’s value. Scrum masters add tasks to a scrum board, visually representing a sprint’s tasks. Boards consist of multiple statuses (usually “to do”, “in progress” and “done”), which help teams track progress.

Each sprint consists of four ceremonies: planning, demo, standup and retrospective. Here’s what each ceremony entails:

• Planning. A meeting to determine what you’ll complete in the sprint
  

• Demo. A one-off meeting where team members share what they’ve shipped in the previous sprint
  

• Standup. A daily scrum lasting 15 minutes that increases collaboration

• Retrospective. A post-sprint retrospective that evaluates what went well and how things can improve

2. Kanban

Kanban is a less structured version of scrum that uses a visual framework to track progress. A kanban board visualizes all project tasks on individual cards. Move cards among three categories – to do, in progress and complete – allowing everyone to see the project’s status.

Here’s an example of a Kanban board from Asana:

Kanban has less structure than Scrum since there are no sprints or backlogs. Tasks are visible constantly, and teams start working on new tasks as soon as they complete existing ones.

3. Lean software development

Lean software development (or lean project management, depending on the use case) is inspired by Japan’s lean manufacturing processes.

This project management methodology embraces uncertainty in the development process and assumes you can’t predict everything. It accounts for this by focusing on several principles to make work as efficient as possible.

Those principles are:

• A focus on quality

• Continuous improvement

• Process optimization

• Value stream mapping

Value stream mapping is a process that accounts for possible waste and suggests solutions to potential problems.

The lean approach also encourages teams to increase efficiency by eliminating redundant procedures like unnecessary meetings or software tools your team doesn’t use.

4. Extreme programming

Extreme programming is an agile software development framework that involves customers in the iterative development process. Customer feedback guides the development team in choosing the most valuable features and ordering new updates.

High-quality communication is vital. This framework demands transparent and honest discussions between developers and customers that a project leader may need to moderate.

How to become an agile organization

Becoming an agile organization is more than choosing an agile framework (although that’s certainly part of the process).

Use the following best practices to become agile today:

Choose an agile framework

Start by picking the best framework for your project and team. Consider the following when choosing which framework to follow:

• The size of your team

• The type of project you’re completing

• Your employees’ preferred work style

• Project timelines

In some cases, the decision will be easy. If you’re developing software, using a specific framework like extreme programming or lean software development makes sense.

Otherwise, if you’re still unsure, start with kanban or scrum. Both are flexible methods with plenty of online documentation to help your project run smoothly.

Build a team

Remember that the first value in the Agile Manifesto states that individuals and their interactions deliver projects, not processes and tools. In other words, who you hire matters.

• Emphasize skills, intuition, initiative and teamwork. Choose people who will think creatively to solve problems rather than people who will follow orders to the detriment of the project.

• Look for people with different skill sets. Cross-functional collaboration is another core tenant of agile, so it pays to have people from multiple departments working on the same project plan.

• Ensure clarity by giving everyone a clear role. In some cases, responsibilities will align with an employee’s skills and departments. If you’re not taking on project management responsibilities yourself, you may need to appoint framework-specific positions like a scrum master.

• Outline your expectations for everyone. You can refer to the Agile Manifesto, but also highlight any daily, weekly and monthly time commitments.

Implement project management tools

There are several agile project management software solutions geared toward agile practices. These tools can automate processes and make it easier to start using templates.

Popular software options include Trello, Asana and Jira. The latter is prevalent, with almost two-thirds of companies surveyed in the 17th State of Agile Report using it.

Incorporate communication tools like email, Slack and Microsoft Teams to encourage internal collaboration. The more channels you have, the easier it is for employees to collaborate.

Consider a tool’s usability (hint: simpler tools are better) and how much it integrates with the rest of your tech stack. The more a project management tool can share data with your existing platforms, like your CRM, the more time your team will save on administrative tasks. You can connect tools to Pipedrive using the marketplace.

Define the project scope

Define goals and scope in a project baseline. While you don’t have to plan the project in its entirety as you would with waterfall, the more meticulous your planning, the less likely you’ll encounter unexpected issues that can throw your project off course.

Break down the project into constituent parts and then those parts into individual tasks. Add them all to a project backlog and use them to guide sprints.

Estimate how long it will take to complete each task and project. It can be tricky initially, especially for new scrum masters or project leaders. Pipedrive was no exception, as you can see in the graph below, where actual deliverables didn’t match time commitments at first.

Carefully track your team’s time and note whether you under- or overestimated it. In the future, adjust estimates for new sprints or projects accordingly.

Organize regular reviews

Continuous improvement is the cornerstone of agile project management, so organize regular reviews to gather employee feedback and measure progress.

Reviews can take several forms, including:

• Daily standups. A short 15-minute meeting to discuss plans
  

• Sprint reviews. Sessions at the end of each review to gather feedback and discuss ways to improve
  

• Retrospectives. Deeper discussions that take into account previous projects

Regular reviews also reduce scope creep, allowing you to discuss new requirements, reevaluate timescales and adjust plans for the next sprint and iteration.

Final thoughts

Agile project management can help your small business complete projects faster and deliver more value to customers.

Implementing this guide’s advice and best practices is a great start, though you can also get an agile project management certification to hone your skills.

Pick the framework you feel most comfortable with, recruit your best employees and take each project step by step (or sprint by sprint). You’ll deliver continuous improvement in no time.