How to know if agile is right for your project

The agile method was created almost twenty years ago, but in recent years it has become increasingly popular. Flexible, focused on the relationship with the customer and offering great visibility, the agile approach offers many advantages, which is why it is often presented as THE best way to manage projects.

However, every project and every business is different, and there's no magic bullet that can work for everyone.

Are you wondering if the agile methodology is suitable for your project? Before you get started, here are four questions to ask yourself to find out if this method is right for you.

Reminder: what is the agile method?

In 2001, software development experts met and decided to share their best practices to create a method that would improve the success of IT projects whose failure rate was very high, mainly because of the gap between customer expectations and the solutions delivered. La agile method was born.

It is a flexible and adaptable approach that promotes collaboration and dialogue with the client, and that takes into account the possibility that the client's needs may change. It works with short development cycles called “sprints” that allow rapid adjustments to customer requirements as well as continuous improvement in the implementation of the project. At the end of each sprint, the team reassesses the priorities of the project, performs tests, identifies errors and potential problems, and integrates customer feedback. The process is repeated until a product that fully meets the customer's requirements is delivered.

Is Agile the best method for your project?

To find out if the agile method is the most suitable for your project, you must take into account several elements such as the size of your project team, the culture of the company or the type of project.

To help you out, here are four questions to ask yourself to determine if you should use agile or not.

What is the size of your project team?

First of all, be aware that the agile method is more suitable for small teams, made up of experienced employees who work together in the same premises to achieve a common goal. Working together physically makes it easier to collaborate.

For projects requiring large teams that are sometimes geographically dispersed, the agile method will not work because it requires responsiveness and speed of action that is more difficult to implement when employees are not in the same time zones. In this case, prefer a more traditional method, such as Waterfall.

What types of projects are you working on?

The agile method is not suitable for all types of projects.

Because of its flexibility and responsiveness, the agile method is perfectly suited to:

• projects that are urgent or have very tight deadlines, those whose speed is a criterion for success;
• The complex projects such as creating software computer science;
• new projects that have never been completed before by the team;
• high-risk projects;
• flexible projects whose requirements may change at any time;
• projects whose outlines are not clearly defined and which require frequent exchanges with the client and stakeholders;
• projects belonging to a rapidly changing market.

Si your team is used to working on projects fluctuating, and regularly makes changes to match customer expectations or market developments, then the agile method is made for you.

On the other hand, if you work on projects whose objective remains the same from start to finish, whose requirements are clearly defined, and which require the execution of a series of tasks in a specific order, the agile method will not be suitable. It will then be preferable to opt for a more traditional methodology.

Does your business promote collaboration?

La Collaboration is the key to the success of the agile method, especially collaboration between the project team and the customer. For this, the sharing of information between all the actors involved in the project is essential, as is the sharing of the skills, know-how and experience of team members in order to achieve a common objective. A collaborative environment builds trust and empowers team members. Finally, communication is essential to promote collaboration.

Highly hierarchical organizations that operate in silos often have a culture that does not encourage collaboration and communication. Indeed, in this type of organization, there are barriers between different departments and different hierarchical levels that slow down communication and hinder collaboration, preventing rapid decisions from being made.

The agile approach is not suitable for this type of organization. Is your business one of them? If yes, find out how to break down silos in your business.

Is the customer ready to be fully involved in the project?

The success of the agile method depends on collaboration between the client and the project team. To do this, it is essential that the customer or a representative be available at any time to communicate with the team, transmit their feedback and validate the iterations as they go. The constant commitment of the customer will allow the project team to develop a product that will fully meet their expectations.

Does your client have the time and the will to fully invest in the project? If that's not the case, agile is not the right option.

To conclude

Thanks to these four questions, you will be able to determine if the agile method is suitable for effectively managing your project.

Note that you do not have to use the agile method throughout the course of your project. For example, it is entirely possible to combine the agile approach with the waterfall methodology, and to create your own hybrid method according to the context.