Agile is synonymous with Software Development. In fact, it has become so synonymous that people have difficulty imagining that they can use it for anything but software development. But you can use it for other projects?
Yes, you most definitely can. Once you realize that Agile is a methodology that has certain values and principles, you’ll realize that you need not confine it to software development. You can apply those values and principles outside the IT world, too.
But what are these values and principles and how can you apply the methodology outside of IT? Let’s take a look.
Values and Principles
In short, Agile is the ability to create and respond to change. It envisages that you know what uncertainties you face and how you will adapt to them as you go along. It’s thus ideal for software development projects where there are constant development and improvement.
It achieves this with its values and principles. They formalize these in the Agile Manifesto and can be the subject of another entire article, so we’ll keep it short for now. They dictate that Agile takes an iterative approach to project management. It emphasizes “individuals and interactions over processes and tools, working software over comprehensive documentation, customer collaboration over contract negotiation and responding to change over following a plan.”
Although mostly used in software development, you can apply these values and principles to basically any project, even if it isn’t IT related. Let’s look at some examples of Agile in non-tech businesses.
Examples of Agile in Non-Tech Businesses
A variety of businesses use Agile for project management in their non-tech projects. These include:
- An emergency air transport company uses Agile to keep a prioritized backlog of their training and education for their medical crews. They use the Trello board to keep track of their backlog and monthly meetings prioritize this backlog. By using this method, all stakeholders exactly know what the team is doing and why they’re doing it.
- The lonely planet legal team uses Agile to manage their deliverables. A whiteboard shows all deliverables from team members, and the diversity and intensity of the work to be done. They use unique cards to monitor and track their progress on deliverables.
- A traditional publisher uses Agile to iteratively develop a print curriculum by using customer feedback. This allows the team to develop and change the product after launch.
Do You Want to Use the methodology in Your Project?
Do you want to use it for your project? Whether it’s a development project or not, we can provide more information on Agile or help you implement Agile properly. We have over 20 years’ experience in project management and we’ve successfully implemented over 150 projects across a range of industries.
