Always faster companies must react to customer needs or changing conditions against the background of rapidly developing technologies and exchangeable products and services. Is this still achievable with conventional project management methods or does it require new ways of thinking and approaches?
In software development, agile project management has been used successfully for decades – but what exactly does this mean and can it also be applied to other company departments or projects?
At Interlink Innovation we have defined four main pillars for agile project management and, based on our experience, recommend the following:
Structure
Agility also needs structure – this means that first of all the framework conditions must be defined, how future projects are to be handled by the teams. Define their structures such as teams, project cycles, processes, tools, rituals, etc.
Feedback
An essential point in agile project management is continuous improvement. For this purpose, a feedback culture adapted to the company and that of giving as well as taking is important. Define your feedback culture for yourself and your team.
Knowledge
Based on the feedback you reflect what went well. Check whether this can be further strengthened and define measures for the points where you have identified potential for improvement. Concentrate on the points on which you have direct influence.
Customer Needs
What does my customer want and need? Finding this out is not always easy! Start a conversation with your customer, break down their requirements into small, comprehensible sub-requirements that can be prioritized and continuously developed. Speak your customer’s language, avoid abbreviations and technical terms, they must understand you.
Look around in other companies and also in other industries and learn or transfer this process and knowledge to your company. For example, we have used the processes from a restaurant kitchen to make the processes of agile project management tangible for the participants in a cooking event.
If you want to learn more about this topic, please have a look at our expert talks on the topic „Project management agile – how your company benefits“ or feel free to contact us.