What Is Agile? And When to Use It

What is Agile?

Agile is an approach to project management that centers around incremental and iterative steps to completing projects. The incremental parts of a project are carried out in short-term development cycles. The approach prioritizes quick delivery, adapting to change, and collaboration rather than top-down management and following a set plan.

In the Agile process, there is continuous feedback, allowing team members to adjust to challenges as they arise and stakeholders an opportunity to communicate consistently. Though originally created for software development, the Agile approach is now widely used in executing many different types of projects and in running organizations.

Contrast this with any traditional method of project management. Traditional project management generally progresses linearly through planning, designing, implementation, and closing stages. One stage must be completed before moving to the next one.   

So what’s Agile methodology?

Agile is technically not a methodology by itself, but rather a mindset for approaching how projects get done. It's not considered a methodology because Agile doesn't specify which tools and processes should be used.

Agile is, however, the umbrella term for many types of management methodologies. Scrum, Kanban, and Extreme Programming (XP) are each considered different Agile methodologies.

If you're considering learning Agile to advance your project management career, you might consider boosting your resume with a certificate. You can earn a career certificate from Google by completing their Agile Project Management course or complete the entire course series to earn the Google Project Management Professional Certificate.

Agile pros and cons

Although Agile is gaining in popularity and has a host of advantages, it’s not without its challenges. Below are some of the benefits and drawbacks Agile users faced, according to Digital.ai’s 2024 State of Agile Survey [1].

When should you use Agile project management?

The tenets of Agile—adaptability, iteration, continuous delivery, and short time frames, among others—make it a project management style that’s better suited for ongoing projects and projects where certain details aren’t known from the outset. That means if a project doesn’t have clear constraints, timelines, or available resources, it’s a good candidate for an Agile approach.

For example, designing and launching new products might push project teams against several unforeseen challenges. Having an Agile approach can mean projects already have the methodology to test products as often as needed, iterate quickly, and communicate changes with project stakeholders.

Traditional project management approaches like Waterfall can be easier to plan out and progress easier to measure. This can make projects with clearly demarcated constraints (like a strict budget or timeline), or projects where teams are expected to work independently of stakeholders better suited for traditional approaches.

Industries that use Agile methods

Agile grew from the minds of a group of software development project managers. Since then, it has continued to be popular in software development, but has expanded to many other industries as well. These include finance, IT, business, fashion, biotechnology, and even construction—among many others.

Using both Agile methods and Waterfall methods

Not all projects fit neatly into one category or the other. For projects that might benefit from elements of both a traditional approach and iterative approach, an Agile-Waterfall hybrid approach can make sense. This could mean, for example, that planning and design are done in Waterfall, but development is carried out in short development cycles, Agile-style.

Read more: 12 Project Management Methodologies: Your Guide

Agile methodologies and frameworks

There are several Agile methodologies and frameworks, each with its own pros and cons. Some are hybrids of multiple methodologies. Scrum is the most commonly used Agile methodology. Digital.ai found that 63 percent of Agile adopters use Scrum [1].

Popular Agile methodologies include:

• Scrum

• Kanban

• Lean

• Crystal

• Extreme Programming (XP)

• Feature-Driven Development (FDD)

• Domain-Driven Design (DDD)

• Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)

• ScrumBan

• Agile-Waterfall/Hybrid Agile

• Scrum XP Hybrid

Read more: Agile vs. Scrum: Which Should You Use, and Why?

Scaling methods

Agile scaling methods are used to implement Agile practices across multiple teams, or entire organizations. There are several scaling methods, including the following:

• Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)

• Scrum of Scrums

• Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD)

• Large Scale Scrum (LSS or LeSS)

• Enterprise Scrum

• Lean Management

• Agile Portfolio Management (APM)

• Nexus

Agile values and principles

Agile project management was established on four values and twelve principles. These values and principles are rooted in the Agile Manifesto, which was created in 2001 by seventeen managers of software development [2]. Much of the philosophy that underpins the Agile Manifesto came about in reaction to what people perceived as the bottlenecks of software development processes at the time.

Agile Values

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools: While tools and processes are important, the Agile Manifesto prioritizes the people behind them. Having the right people in place and empowering them to interact smoothly with each other can lead to successes that tools by themselves won’t be able to.

Working software over comprehensive documentation: The creators of Agile believed that it was more important to get stuff done than get bogged down in the planning and documentation stages.

Customer collaboration over contract negotiation: Instead of siloing stakeholders off from the project, Agile aims to maintain contact with them throughout the creation process.

Responding to change over following a plan: Following a plan that doesn’t make sense to follow anymore can be counterproductive. Adaptation is central to the Agile philosophy.

The twelve principles define early and frequent delivery, simplicity, constant feedback, the collaboration of interested parties, and individual support, among other principles, as the pillars of Agile project management [3].

Agile certifications

Certifications in Agile project management can verify your knowledge of Agile as a whole, or in specific Agile methodologies. Think about what skills you’ll likely use in your workplace and career before deciding on which certification to get.

Common Agile certifications include:

• PMI-Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)

• ICAgile Certified Professional (ICP)

• AgilePM Foundation - APMG

Read more: 6 Popular Agile Certifications

You can also consider a certification in a specific framework. Scrum is the most commonly used Agile method, so a Scrum certification could be a good place to start. These include:

• Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)

• Professional Scrum Master (PSM)

• Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO)

Read more: 7 In-Demand Scrum Master Certifications

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Using Agile for AI products

With IBM's AI Product Manager Professional Certificate, you can learn to apply your project management skills to the AI product management lifecycle. You'll examine real-world case studies of successful AI integration and develop or strengthen your knowledge of Agile concepts and methodologies. By the end, you'll have earned a Professional Certificate from an industry leader in technology.

Sharpen your Agile skills with Coursera

Taking online courses can be a great way to get to know Agile basics and incorporate this methodology into your workplace. Coursera has several top-rated courses to get you started:

Consider Atlassian University's free course, Agile with Atlassian Jira, to learn how to configure the Jira software and use it to practice the Agile methodology.

When you're ready to advance your career in Agile, take the University of Virginia's Agile Development Specialization. This course takes about a month to complete and covers how to lead product development teams using the Agile approach.

To explore project management more broadly and prepare for an entry-level role in project management, consider the Google Project Management Professional Certificate. This program covers project execution, stakeholder management, and strategic communication, and includes a course on Agile Project Management.