Does agile work? - A quantitative analysis of agile project success
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This article looks at the benefits, or not, of applying an agile (i.e. flexible) method of project management, as opposed to more traditional methods. The article concludes that agile methods have a positive impact on a project’s success. More research is needed to look at what impact continuous planning and the structure of that planning has on the success of a project.
Read more agile material in the agile project management section
What does the paper cover?
Methods of project management often fail to take into account changes outside the project that can be beneficial or harmful to its success.
Projects that achieve the goals set at the beginning can still fail if, for example, it has ignored new technology that has been developed during its course. By remaining open to new ideas and changes throughout the course of a project, agile methods of project management appear to contribute to a more successful end product.
The focus of agile methods:
- People (rather than processes or tools);
- Technology that works well (rather than lots of documentation);
- Working with customers (rather than for them);
- Adapting to change (rather than always sticking to the initial plan).
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This article encourages the use of return on marketing-specific investment (ROMI), paired with client lifetime value (CLV) and programme data sets, as a tool to facilitate dialogue between finance and marketing departments.
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This article encourages the use of return on marketing-specific investment (ROMI), paired with client lifetime value (CLV) and programme data sets, as a tool to facilitate dialogue between finance and marketing departments.
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This article looks at the spread of knowledge about benefits management and its adoption by organisations; the global development of benefits management; and translation processes at the organisation level.
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This article provides insight into how change is managed in three organisations delivering complex projects – Airbus, CERN and Crossrail – and how those methods are evolving in the era of ‘big data’.
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What practitioners consider to be the skills and behaviours of an effective people project manager
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Project managers need to show open and honest concern for and genuine interests in the people they work with, understanding their feelings and emotions. This understanding will help them to predict future behaviours of their team members so they can plan to avoid, for example, people conflicts.
Showing respect for others and what they stand for is a behaviour that carries a lot of weight in effective people management – in any culture. People value being respected for what they are and stand for. It makes them feel good about themselves but also about the person showing the respect.
