What is Agile Project Management? | Coursera

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Agile is a popular approach to project management that grew out of unique software development needs of the early aughts.
Agile project management emphasizes iteration, short-term development cycles, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
The Agile approach typically involves preplanning, planning, release planning, iteration planning, and product backlog management.
Agile teams typically experience increased collaboration and project visibility, better alignment to business needs, reduced risk, and faster delivery and response to threats.
You can use the Agile framework to implement various types of management methodologies, including Scrum, Kanban, and Lean.
Learn more about Agile, including the methodologies that use it. Afterward, strengthen your Agile skills with the Google Project Management Professional Certificate, a seven-course series in which you can learn the foundations of Agile project management and Scrum events, discover how to create effective project documentation and artifacts throughout the various phases of a project, and practice strategic communication, problem-solving, and stakeholder management through real-world scenarios
Agile is an approach to project management that was originally created for software development but is now widely used as a framework for popular project management methodologies in other industries. It has sometimes been called a methodology, and it does serve as the foundation for popular project management methodologies such as Scrum and Kanban, but think of it more as a guiding framework for how best to complete a project.
Agile prioritizes quick delivery, nimble responsiveness, and collaboration. It uses short cycles, often called sprints or iterations, to develop a product or service and primarily focuses on collaboration and continuous improvement. In and of itself, it can even be applied to a company's overall way of doing work. Agile organizations tend to be responsive rather than rigid, which means they can better respond to change.
Traditional project management generally progresses linearly through the lifecycle. One stage must be completed before moving on to the next one. The Agile process encourages continuous feedback, allowing team members to adjust to challenges as they arise.
Learn more about some of the benefits of Agile from a technical program manager at Google:
In 2001, a group of software development managers created the Agile Manifesto, which emerged from perceived bottlenecks in the software development process at the time [1]. From that initial philosophy, Agile project management grew to encompass four values and 12 principles.
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools: While tools and processes are important, the Agile Manifesto prioritizes the people behind them. Having the right people in place and empowering them to interact smoothly with each other can lead to successes that tools by themselves won’t be able to.
Working software over comprehensive documentation: The creators of Agile believed that it was more important to get stuff done than get bogged down in the planning and documentation stages.
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation: Instead of siloing stakeholders off from the project, Agile aims to maintain contact with them throughout the creation process.
Responding to change over following a plan: Following a plan that no longer makes sense can be counterproductive. Adaptation is central to the Agile philosophy.
The 12 principles of Agile define early and frequent delivery, simplicity, constant feedback, the collaboration of interested parties, and individual support, among others [2].
Learn more: 9 Major Project Management Trends
Agile project management typically involves five key phases, often referred to as the Agile lifecycle. These phases are designed to ensure continuous improvement, flexibility, and collaboration throughout the project. The type of Agile methodology used will dictate the details of each phase, but in general, the lifecycle involves:
1. Preplanning: Define project vision, objective, high-level requirements, stakeholders, and project feasibility.
2. Planning: Plan the first iteration (sprint) in detail, as well as the release of subsequent iterations, creating a backlog, user stories, tasks, and iteration goals.
3. Release planning: Once the first iteration is completed or the product backlog is created, review the results to gain insights for continuous improvement via subsequent iterations.
4. Iteration planning: After each iteration completion, plan the next iteration by adding or removing features necessary for optimal product functionality.
5. Product backlog management: Reassess the project timeline after each iteration based on the product backlog and customer feedback. The cycle can continue until a satisfactory product is produced.
Agile isn't considered a methodology because it doesn't specify the tools and processes that should be used. However, it is the umbrella term for many types of management methodologies, each with its own pros and cons. Some are hybrids of multiple methodologies. Scrum is the most commonly used, with Digital.ai finding that 63 percent of Agile adopters use Scrum [3].
Agile teams benefit from using one workflow. Some Agile teams use Scrum, while others prefer Kanban, Lean, or other methods. Some teams combine Agile with the Waterfall approach, which means they may use a traditional workflow for stakeholders, but the team uses a Scrum approach for its work.
Waterfall is a traditional project management methodology best suited for projects with well-defined requirements and a stable environment. Tasks are planned out linearly and sequentially, and a team must complete one before moving on to the next one.
Agile is well-suited for projects with uncertain requirements or a need for rapid adaptation. The team creates a high-level roadmap of tasks but then creates detailed plans f