Agile project management – Neither faster, nor cheaper, only better!

Brands, retailers, and manufacturers need innovative solutions to meet the fast pace of the digitised economy. It requires short communication channels, fast feedback loops, and rapid decision-making, in short: a flexible work organisation. Away from pyramid-shaped hierarchical structures to cross-team network structures. Agility is a buzzword that has already been heavily used and often debated in this context. The questions posed (most of the time from management) and the honest answers will be found here today.

Agility as a success factor

The first question to be answered before anything else: Does agile project management actually get you there faster? The honest answer is no. But in a modern work world, is that really still a decisive factor for the definition of a project’s success? The answer here is also no.

Why does the agile project approach still have so many advocates? In the face of constant change, it doesn’t make sense to rely on a project plan that gives the appearance of costing accuracy but doesn’t allow any deviation, let alone spontaneous reactions to new trends and changing user behaviour.

For this reason alone, an optimal solution can’t be developed using a rigid waterfall model. If one dissociates oneself from the idea of an end goal defined at the beginning of the project, one opens the way for a genuine innovation process. Although this does not lead to a finished product on the shortest route, it does allow continuous optimisation and a quick reaction to changing market conditions and customer expectations.

Minimum for maximum

In essence, this process consists of three stages: the discovery of the actual pain points, the invention of a prototype, and the testing of a first solution that is reduced to the essential basic functions according to the principle of MVP (Minimum Viable Product).

If the result doesn’t have the desired goal, the team can always have the opportunity to go back one step, that is, revise the prototype or redefine the pain points. The most important thing is the work on the solution doesn’t stagnate.

Rather than sticking to a well-crafted platform for years to come, which will certainly not be state of the art by the time the release arrives, companies should be better able to launch innovative services at short intervals. These may not be perfect, but they can be refined quickly based on real user feedback in an iterative process.

True to the motto »Fail fast to succeed sooner«, such an agile project approach does not necessarily promise the lower costs, but certainly the more sustainable corporate success.

Request the free download now!

Like what you heard? You can found out even more about agility, new work, and even more trends in our current trend book Handelskraft 2019 »Digital DNA«. The trend book is now available exclusively for retailers, manufacturers, and publishers here as a free download.