PROJECT MANAGEMENT: Is Agile Really For You?

·         You run mostly low tech or no tech projects. 

As learned in Scrum master certification - agile appears to be the ideal method for high-tech projects. Agile projects are ones that have tight deadlines, a high level of complexity, and are one-of-a-kind... That is, every customer encounter does not involve a revolving door of the same type of activity. High-tech projects are the best fit for this description, so if you're working on them, go Agile. If you've never worked on these types of projects before, you probably don't require Agile – at least not right now.

·         You or your organization resist change.

If your company is primarily "old school," with project managers and techies who are used to things the way they are and seem to be resistant to change, you have a huge decision to make. Replace everyone with people who will buy into Agile or who are already "Agile" ready, slowly (or quickly). That will be the quickest way to adopt, but it will also be the most expensive and time-consuming. So, for the time being, it may be preferable to put the Agile conversion on hold – it appears to be a lose-lose situation for the company.

·         No one in the organization or PMO is PMP certified. 

This isn't always a deal breaker. However, without a PMP-certified project management office and employees, selling a truly Agile environment and workable project approach can be challenging. PMP stands for "dedication." It denotes a tried-and-true method. It refers to processes that can be repeated. It connotes hard work, accomplishment, and a shared language. It will be difficult to get a client if you go to a client and bid on a project with an entirely uncertified staff. Although not everyone in the PMO needs to be certified, there will undoubtedly be clients who demand to hear the words "Agile" and "PMP" in the same phrase.

·         The requirements for your organization are static and well-defined. 

As learned in Scrum master certification - without a question, Agile is most effective when applied to a project that truly requires it. And it's frequently a project with a lot of ambiguous or changing needs. Alternatively, requirements that are ambiguous from the start. Or a series of phases that the customer would like to be implemented one at a time. Agile is a fantastic solution in all of these cases.

·         Never need phases rolled out early on any projects.

I've already mentioned that a little bit above. If you're in charge of relatively typical (boring?) projects that don't require early functionality to be released to the public, end users, or whoever the target audience is, you'll probably never need to make the huge switch to Agile. Depending on the company, change will not be quick or easy, and there will likely be some churn of skilled, experienced employees. So, if you don't have to, don't. Never do something only to be able to label yourself "Agile." Bring an Agile class in-house and then label yourself "Agile" even if you've never led an Agile project. It's useful to have in your hip pocket, but you don't have to convert completely if you don't want to.

Want to learn more about the same? Take on a project management institute certification training program today!