Many things in the world are changing more rapidly than ever and levels of global competition have increased dramatically. Clients do not always know what they want in a new system or product and younger workers chafe at old command and control restrictions. These pressures and many others have challenges traditional project management methods. What has emerged is an understanding that for some projects, a new approach is needed. Many people have worked hard and imaginatively developing new approaches. Many of these fall under a broad umbrella called Agile. One difficulty with Agile is that various approaches have been developed and are in use today, both in pure form as suggested by their approach and in hybrid form attempting to gain advantages of more than a single approach. Not only that, but the very language of some of the approaches describe the same things differently and sometimes describe not so similar things in a similar manner. Add to that, many successful, experienced project practitioners do not fully understand nor value Agile. We recognize that to capitalize fully on the benefits of Agile, one must first understand the concepts that underpin it. Only then will using the mechanics of Agile yield the sweeping benefits some organizations enjoy. In this book, we first identify the many concepts that various approaches advocate for Agile and group them into a simple, but not dumbed-down system. Then we identify the most common and most useful Agile methods regardless of the approach that promotes them, grouping them logically, and showing how to use them. The result is we have an agnostic Agile model that can be useful to anyone who is either using or considering Agile. Further, the concepts and tools of this book can also be useful to anyone who is in an organization that is using a hybrid project management approach (part Agile and part traditional). Many, if not most, of the mindset concepts can also be of great value for people performing projects in a traditional manner as they attempt to unleash the energy and creativity of their project team members. Both concepts for being Agile and tools for doing Agile are summarized into an easy to follow system. The global economy and free market philosophy have resulted in higher global competition and increased expectations from customers. It is obvious that new approaches are needed to satisfy demands and many of them fall under a broad umbrella called agile. To capitalize fully on the benefits of agile, one must first understand the concepts that underpin it.In this book, we first identify many concepts that various approaches advocate for agile and group them into three areas forming a simple, robust system. Then, we describe the most useful agile methods in savage summaries regardless of the approach that promotes them, grouping them logically and showing how to use them.We have an agnostic agile model that can be useful to anyone using any form of agile. Both concepts for being agile and techniques for doing agile are summarized in this book and there are several ways to use this book. To understand the concepts of agile, consult Chapters 3, 4, and 5. Chapters 7, 8, and 9 will help you learn and perform agile tools and techniques. Half-Title Page Title Page Copyright Dedication Description Contents Acknowledgments Chapter 1 Introduction Part I Being Agile Chapter 2 Understanding the Agile Mindset Chapter 3 Successful Outcomes Chapter 4 Engaging Your Team: Leadership, Teamwork, and Roles Chapter 5 Effective Communication and Collaboration Part II Doing Agile Chapter 6 Agile Methods (Doing Agile) Chapter 7 Planning Adaptively Chapter 8 Creating Useful Solutions Chapter 9 Giving and Adapting to Feedback Chapter 10 Agile in a Nutshell Bibliography Savage Summary Glossary About the Authors Index Backcover Identifies the many concepts that various approaches advocate for Agile and groups them into a simple, but not dumbed-down system. The book then identifies the most common and most useful Agile methods regardless of the approach that promotes them, grouping them logically, and showing how to use them.
