Whatever business you are in, keeping up with the fast-paced changes in your industry is essential for business growth. You must be proactive in recognizing emergent changes in business processes, consumer needs, and other aspects of the business. Moreover, you must be capable of implementing the necessary actions to address these changes.
With most industries constantly evolving, many business organizations have begun to take the Agile approach to project management. If you haven’t adopted this approach yet, here’s a quick guide to help you understand the agile workflow model and how to adopt it in your organization.
Agile workflow refers to managing and completing projects emphasizing flexibility, collaboration, and continuous improvement. It is based on the Agile software development methodology and is characterized by iterative and incremental delivery, adaptive planning, and delivery of working software.
At each sprint, customers and stakeholders provide their feedback, which is incorporated at the end of each sprint. This method enables developers to spot problems early on and fix them in a timely manner. It also improves the project’s efficiency and ensures that the final output meets the demands of the customers and stakeholders.
Here are the 6 types of agile workflows.
1. Feature-driven development - Feature-driven development model is a progressive iterative process that focuses on developing core features in shorter, more frequent cycles.
2. Crystal - This model follows a fluid method of development centered around humans and the requisites of the project.
3. Agile unified process - An agile unified process is a simplified approach to product development that is easy to understand but stays loyal to the rational unified process that uses adaptable frameworks that tailor fit the needs of the development and project teams.
4. Extreme programming - This is a process of agile product development that is completely dependent on reception and feedback from customers.
5. Scrum - This is a popular subset of agile methodology that uses cross-functional teams to deliver specific pieces of functionality through repeatable approach.
6. Kanban - Unlike other methods, Kanban is a non-iterative lean process that aims at delivering quality though keeping the backlog in check and effective team collaboration.
A software development workflow is a sequence of steps that developers and engineers undertake to build, customize, deploy, and maintain software solutions and products.
The agile workflow lifecycle generally remains the same regardless of the project involved.
Here are the typical agile workflow steps:
The first stage is the conceptualization of the project. This is when you plan and envision your project. Here, you define the business scope for each idea, develop your product backlog, and delineate your sprints.
Once you have determined that a project is viable, you create sprint teams and assign their respective tasks. Each team is given a set of goals and a timeframe to complete them. It is also at this stage when funding and resources are allocated.
With the project requirements set and working environments prepared, the sprint teams can now get down to business. The team starts working on the first iteration and tackles the product backlog items.
After an iteration, the product is released to the customers and stakeholders for feedback. These are incorporated into the development then tested again before the next sprint. A QA team tests the functionality of the product so it can be corrected before the final release.
Once all testing and documentation are done, the product is passed into the production phase. At this stage, the team ensures the successful launch of the product and provides support for its release. They may also be required to guide the users of the final product.
The agile workflow process ends with the successful development of the product. It includes notifying the customers about the new product or the migration of the new software.
Both agile and the traditional waterfall workflow have their own advantages and disadvantages. However, most organizations prefer the agile methodology workflow today for its time efficiency and higher success rate.
To help you differentiate agile workflows vs traditional, here’s a quick peek at what their main differences are:
| Agile | Traditional |
| adaptive (flexible; responsive to changes during iterations) | predictive (follows a specific plan; not responsive to changes until the project is completed) |
| cyclic (work flows through a loop; enables going back to certain phases to make adjustments where necessary) | linear (work follows a sequential path where each phase must be completed before proceeding to the next phase) |
| customer-centric (enhances customer satisfaction by creating a product that meets their needs) | project-centered (the objective is to complete the project based on the plan formulated at the onset) |
| collaborative (customer is involved in every step of the project and can give feedback and request changes in each iteration) | contractual (a contract is negotiated and customers finalize requirements before development begins) |
To create your own agile workflow, you can follow these simple steps:
The Agile approach isn’t just about following a process. It involves a shift in mindset and an understanding of Agile principles. Help your team understand the rationale behind it so they can easily adapt to the new workflow.
There are several types of agile workflow software you can utilize, including Scrum and Kanban. Determine which framework is most suitable for your organization.
Create a strategy that can guide your sprint teams in achieving the project goals. Plan the process, develop product backlogs, and prepare agile workflow tools. Prioritize tasks and define timelines.
Form sprint teams and define the roles of each member. Assign specific tasks and responsibilities. Ensure that each team has the expertise to complete their sprint.
With product requirements and sprint teams in place, you can start implementing your agile development workflow. Aim for continuous improvement and quick delivery time.
Prepare your organization for the future. Be more equipped to adapt to any changes in the business landscape. Implementing an agile workflow process for your project management gives you more flexibility and scalability for future growth. Kissflow Workflow offers agile and robust software that enables you to create seamless and efficient workflows.