1 Introduction to Agile Project Management

OVER THE PAST 10 TO 15 YEARS, there has been a rapid and dramatic adoption of agile methodologies:

  1. Project Management Institute (PMI)® studies concluded that from 2008 to 2013, the use of agile practices tripled.1
  2. According to a 2013 survey conducted by VersionOne:2
    • 88% of the respondents say that their organizations are practicing agile development, up from 84% in 2012 and 80% in 2011.
    • Over half of the respondents (52%) are using agile software to manage the majority of their projects.
    • 88% say that they are at least “knowledgeable” about agile software development techniques, up 7% from the previous year.
  3. This trend has been going on for some time. As early as 2007, a Forrester survey reported:3
    • “26% are already using agile and an additional 42% are aware.”
    • “Adoption of agile increased 56% from 17% in 2006, to 26% in 2007.”
    • “Awareness increased 45% from 29% in 2006, to 42% in 2007.”

These statistics indicate that agile is not a fad, it is having a significant impact on the way projects are managed, and it's definitely here to stay. This trend has a significant impact on the career direction of project managers who have come from a traditional, plan-driven project management background since there is no formal role for a project manager at the team level in an agile project.

THE CHASM IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHIES

In spite of this rapid and sustained proliferation of agile, there is still a fairly large chasm between the agile ...

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