Being a flexible project management process, Agile has bolstered its root in both IT and Non-It sectors. The principles of Agile methods earned respect as they recast the process of project management.
With the acceleration of the world, several new and innovative digital solutions evolve every day. Agile enables businesses to speed up when it comes to developing new products and helps project and portfolio managers to be in the flow always.
But, even the successful approaches have some wrong interpretations about it. Let us analyze the myths that make it difficult to see the essence of the flexible approach and get more from it.
Myth 1. Agile is for IT only
The basics of Agile are about lean manufacturing and organizational learning. Therefore, it can be used outside the software development world. Many practices in agile also originated outside software, such as stand-up meetings, prioritization, and visual management.
Agile is all about pace, change, and tackling the unanticipated. It involves technology and innovation and ranges from functions up to strategy.
Myth 2. Agile – not for projects with a fixed budget
When we talk about a fixed budget, the question that arises is, what is the relationship between the performer and the customer. When Agile is used, then you need to focus on what solves the issue of the customer. Simply, if at the start the customer and the contractor together plan and highlight the main priorities of the product, then nothing will stop them from picking which part of the product is useful within the restricted budget.
Myth 3. Agile is a panacea for business: Go Agile, and something will improve
Assuming that Agile is a cure-all for every business is wrong!
Every business is different and, the requirement of the approach is also variable.
To understand this, let’s take the example of a call center.
Where for better services operators have to work over a pre-written script again and again. No scope of experiment is required there and using Agile can be harmful.
Agile will be harmful where the cost of “processing” or “reworking” a product is enormous or may even be associated with human victims.
Myth 4. Scrum, Lean and Kanban do not overlap
Methodology and tools are two different things, methodology is an algorithm for maintaining the workflow and, tools are the threads used in it.
Methodologies can be different, but the tools used in it can be the same. Often you can see, that while using Scrum, people use XP(extreme programming) or Kanban tools.
It is very normal as they all meet the parameters of Agile and make the workflow flexible.
Scrum and Kanban are the most common Agile-Approaches used for now.
Others – FDD, XP, RUP, and so on, either left the stage or are rarely used entirely, but some tools from their arsenal are involved in the implementation of Scrum or Kanban.
Myth 5. Scrum is designed only for projects that are made from scratch
Scenarios are different and it is not a hard and fast rule that Scrum is only for projects starting from scratch.
Repositioning existing projects to Scrum is not only feasible but often and advisable. It all depends on the readiness of managers and customers to restructure their work to speed up development.
If the values and principles in the Agile Manifesto are disobeyed, then the portfolio management is not going to be Agile.
The rules for agile portfolio management are uncomplicated. They help us create a more agile-friendly environment by helping us align ourselves nicely. Like all rules, they serve as a good starting point. The Agile mindset fosters continuous improvement, so adjusting them based on your experience allows for an evidence-based rationale. These rules do not encompass the entire scope for Portfolio management, such as considering flow over batch processes. Still, since they help us shape what a good portfolio is, it helps us successfully implement portfolios pragmatically.