Career / Management

Why You Should Learn Agile

by Steve Caseley
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Published on June 12, 2014

Editor's Note: We asked Steve Caseley, our project management pro, to share his top reasons to learn the Agile project management method.

While Agile is not new, as it has been used since early 2000s, many organizations are just starting to use this delivery approach for critical projects. No longer is Agile considered to be "an interesting new approach to be tested and tried out on non-important projects."

So, what's in it for you? LOTS. This is an excellent opportunity to embrace a "new" delivery approach, and show everyone that you're progressive and current when it comes to project management techniques. How do you hop on this bandwagon? Start reading and studying! Here, at CBT Nuggets we have several training courses that can help you move along the Agile path.

Here's my top five reasons you should be embracing Agile:

1. Agile is fun. Let's face it, we all like to have fun, especially at work while still doing our job and keeping the boss happy. Agile allows for this, as it removes some of the seemingly administrative aspects of project delivery, and focuses on just the activities that "gets the code written." It's far more fun writing code than status reports.

2. Agile/Scrum looks good on a resume. Whether you are looking for advancement within your company or looking for a new job, nothing today provides the "wow" factor that Agile experience does. Most IT job postings today have a requirement for Agile experience.

3. Agile allows you to keep your feet firmly in the trenches, while still allowing you to progress into a management role. I've had many conversations with developers who don't want to put down their coding pencil, yet, are also looking toward their next career step. Since Agile stresses teams of self-managed peers, it lets you stay in your developer-comfort zone, while developing new Agile management skills.

4. Agile techniques entrenches solid work/personal life boundaries. Agile is based on a repeatable velocity with an expectation that there should be no, or very little, overtime. So you can be an Agile star at work, without having guilty feelings about your workload.

5. Agile encourages experimentation, adaptation, and flexibility. If you like to work in an environment where you are encouraged to stretch the limits and look for better ways of doing something, then look no further. Agile breaks down traditional project management boundaries, and allows you to try to do things better.

Ready to become Agile? Great! It's an exciting and rewarding journey that I am sure you will enjoy thoroughly.

Not a CBT Nuggets subscriber? Sign up for our 7-day free trial today to access all of our project management training.


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