Business
What is Agile Project Management and Its Phases?
What is Agile Project Management?
Agile project management is an adaptive method of product development. It takes into account the iterative and incremental approaches of developing and delivering products to the customer. The focus of agile project management is on value creation and customer centricity. The other important aspects of agile project management are: its responsive nature to the changing requirements, its progressive outlook toward software planning, and leadership shift from command & control to servant leadership.
The scope of some of the projects is well-defined and certain. The traditional or waterfall model of managing the projects is used in such scenarios. The scope of some of the projects is uncertain, ambiguous, volatile and complex. The very nature of agile project management makes it complimentary to execute such uncertain projects. Project Management is a vast subject and involves many new concepts, processes, and tools. This PMP Certification Training Program involves comprehensive class activities based on real-life scenarios to help you understand the concepts well so that you can answer the PMP exam questions well as well as use these in your job.
5 Phases In Agile project management
Envision
This phase can be considered equivalent to the initiating process group in traditional project management. It helps create vision for the project. The vision focuses on the customers and the stakeholders involved in the project. It covers the why, what, how, and who of the project. It defines the product vision, scope, constraints, delivery methodology, and the stakeholders.
Speculate
This phase can be considered equivalent to the planning process group in traditional project management. This phase expands the envision phase and encourages brainstorming, critical thinking, creative thinking, and collaboration to plan the execution of the project. It translates the product vision into product roadmap, to release level planning and iteration level planning. It determines the workload, product features, estimation, risks, and delivery.
Explore
This phase can be considered equivalent to the executing process group in traditional project management. It focuses on following the release/iteration plan (as prepared in the previous phase 2 called Speculate) and delivering project features; more specifically delivering potentially shippable products.
Adapt
This phase can be considered equivalent to the monitoring & controlling process group in traditional project management. This phase focuses on inspection, supervising, modifications, changes, and corrections in the project lifecycle. The phases Speculate, Explore and Adapt are regularly revisited in order to improve the product delivery and project execution in each and every iteration. This means reviewing actual results versus planned results. This phase covers the improvements needed which are integrated into the next iteration.
Close
This phase can be considered equivalent to the Closure Process Group in traditional project management. Per the definition of a project given in PMBOK, it has a definite start and a definite end. The expectations of the customers are set at the onset of the project about the endpoint of the project. Not doing so would result in the perception issues among the customers which would result in unnecessary fall-outs. Doing it right, would help celebrate the success of the project. However, before the team ends the project, ensure to analyze all the key findings, knowledge gathered, and lessons learned and pass these along to the next team so that they can benefit.
Agile Mindset & Manifesto:
The agile project management methodologies like Extreme Programming, SCRUM, DSDM, Adaptive Software Development, Crystal, Feature-Driven Development, Pragmatic Programming, were already existing before the agile movement was formalized in 2001 with the publication of the agile manifesto for agile software development.
The original seventeen authors signed a manifesto which contained 4 values and 12 principles. The manifesto stated that:
We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:
Four Values
- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
- Working software over comprehensive documentation
- Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
- Responding to change over following a plan
Twelve Principles
- The highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery
- Welcome changing requirements, even late in development
- Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months
- Stakeholders and developers must collaborate on a daily basis
- Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.
- Face-to-face meetings are deemed the most efficient and effective format for project success
- A final working product is the ultimate measure of progress
- Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
- Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility
- Simplicity, maximizing the work not done, is an essential element
- The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams
- At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behaviour accordingly
As per agile practice guide of PMI, agile is a mindset defined by values, guided by principles, and manifested through many different practices.
Characteristics of Agile Life Cycle for product development
The creation of agile manifesto started to simply product development in software industry. However, the characteristics of agile methodologies have made its impact on almost all the industries. The agile way of managing projects is not restricted to software industry only. It is critical to understand that the following characteristics are intrinsic to all kinds of projects, whether they follow predictive or agile (adaptive) life cycles. The focus here is on the attributes specific to the project characteristics managed in agile manner. These characteristics and their attributes are mentioned below.
- Requirements: The projects which are managed in an agile manner have an intrinsic characteristic of dynamism. The requirements and eventually the scope change occur often and to incorporate such kind of changes, agile and adaptive methodologies are adopted.
- Activities: One of the other most important characteristics of agile project management that the activities are repeated until near perfect solution is achieved. This can be referred to as iterative approach of creating product.
- Delivery: The delivery of products/features in agile methodology is done frequently with incremental deliveries. This delivery is potentially shippable product. This is related to incremental way of delivering product.
- Goal: The goal of agile project management is to deliver value to the customers via frequent delivery by incorporating early feedback.
In general, agile life cycle uses the project characteristics of both iterative and incremental life cycles, i.e., the project team iterate to create the product incrementally. This ensures that the team gets the visibility of the project and gain early feedback from the customer.
Agile Roles
There are three major roles defined in the agile way of managing projects.
- Cross Functional Team members: The cross functional teams are also called as the development teams and are the most critical. Agile teams comprise dedicated team members. Cross functional teams consist of team members with all the skills necessary to produce a working product. The cross functional development teams consist of professionals who deliver potentially releasable product in time-boxed frame. They deliver finished work in the shortest possible time, with higher quality, without external dependencies. The teams are mostly collocated or the team members have the ability to manage any challenges based on location. The teams consist of generalists and specialists and usually work in a stable environment. Agile teams are self-organizing and they themselves decide how to best accomplish their work for each sprint.
- Scrum Master: This role can also be associated with the role of servant leader. This can also be called a project manager, team lead, team coach, team facilitator, or process facilitator. The basic and foremost responsibility of this role is to remove impediments, blockers and barriers during the project execution. This ensures that the sprint stays on track by monitoring progress and facilitating meetings. The servant leaders become teams’ advocate and help them communicate with the stakeholders. All agile teams need servant leadership on the team. People need time to build their servant leadership skills of facilitation, coaching, and impediment removal.
- Product owner: The product owner represents the voice of customers or users. She helps define the product roadmap, backlog, release plans and goals of each iteration. She ranks the work based on the business value of the features and product. She acts like a lighthouse for guiding the direction of the product. She works with the teams daily by providing feedback and direction of future releases. Sometimes, she requests help from people with deep domain expertise, such as architects, or deep customer expertise, such as product managers. Product owners need to be trained on how to organize and manage the flow of work through the team.
Common Agile Ceremonies
The ceremonies in agile project management methodologies are events. Some of these events are planning-based and some of them are feedback-based events. The ceremonies are:
- Backlog Preparation: An ordered list of work in agile methodology is called as the backlog. This backlog is presented in story form so that the teams can understand it. The backlog preparation takes the form of progressive elaboration and in this agile way of managing project, there is no need to create all of the stories for the entire project before the work starts—only enough to understand the first release. Product owners might produce a product roadmap to show the anticipated sequence of deliverables over time. The product owner replans the roadmap based on what the team produces. The backlog preparation is one of the layers of the Agile Planning Onion; it is the third layer in the onion. In this, the strategy forms the topmost layer, followed by portfolio, product, release, iteration and daily.
- Backlog Refinement: The product owner works with the team to prepare some stories for upcoming iteration in the middle of the iteration. The reason for such meetings is to refine enough stories so the team understands these stories and compare them with other stories in the backlog. These meetings help the team understand the potential challenges or problems in the story. The teams can use spike to understand the risk. There is no consensus on how long the refinement should be.
- Daily Stand-ups: The ultimate goal of daily stand-up meetings is to ensure that all the members of the team are on the same understanding of the project and its progress. The members use this meeting to commit to each other, share problems, and ensure a smooth workflow. This meeting is timeboxed for no longer than 15 minutes. During this meeting, everyone answers the following questions:
- What did I complete since the last stand-up?
- What am I planning to complete between now and the next stand-up?
- What are my impediments (or risks or problems)?
It is the responsibility of the process owner to not let the daily stand-up meetings become status meetings. Besides this, let this meeting not become a problem solving event.
- Demonstrations/Reviews: This ceremony helps periodically demonstrate the working product to the customer. This event helps the team gain early feedback on the features (in the form of user stories) of the product. Since the product owner represents the voice of customers or uses, it is her responsibility to check the demonstration and either accept or reject the user stories. As a general guideline, demonstrations happen at least once every 2 weeks. Demonstrations help the teams to set in the right direction if they are progressing in the wrong direction. This becomes a basic component of agile projects (incremental delivery based on iteration/flow). The ceremony of demonstration/review refers to the principle # 7 of Agile Manifesto.
- Retrospectives: Principle # 12 of Agile Manifesto is: “At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behaviour accordingly.” Post demonstration/review ceremony, the iteration asks for a meeting which would help team understand the improvement areas, correction areas, and the behaviours, actions and work to keep for the next iterations. In general, the team looks back to learn, contemplate, improve and adapt to the best practices. Teams need to learn about the product and/or process. The meeting is all about looking at the qualitative (people’s feelings) data and quantitative (measurements) data to uncover the root causes, developing contingencies, mitigation strategies, and action plans.
Conclusion
The management of projects in agile manner reflects non-traditional ways of executing projects. It embodies the 4 values and 12 principles as laid down in the agile manifesto. The 5 ceremonies compliment the effective and efficient ways of delivering values to the stakeholders which in turn takes the holistic approach of 5 phases of agile project management.
About The Author
Techcanvass is an Information Technology certifications training Organization for professionals. It offers internationally recognized certifications in the fields of Project Management and Business Analysis. It is a premier Authorized training partner (ATP) of Project Management Institute (PMI), USA and a premier Endorsed Education Provider (EEP) of International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA), Canada. Founded by IT professionals, Techcanvass is committed to making learning a more structured, practical and goal-oriented exercise. We also provide consulting services in the fields of Project management and Business Analysis.
In today’s global economy, businesses in Singapore are increasingly engaging in international trade and dealing with foreign currencies. However, foreign exchange (FX) fees can be a significant financial burden, affecting profits and hindering growth. As a responsible business owner, understanding and optimizing your approach to managing FX fees is crucial. This article presents a comprehensive roadmap to help your Singapore business minimize FX fees and maximize its financial potential.
1. Evaluate FX Service Providers
- The first step to reducing FX fees is to evaluate the FX service providers you are currently using. Compare the rates, fees, and additional charges banks, online platforms, and currency specialists offer.
- Look for providers with competitive rates and transparent fee structures to ensure you get the best deal. Consider checking out specialized services that provide benefits like “business card Singapore” for seamless international transactions.
2. Opt for Bulk Transactions-
- If your business regularly deals with significant foreign currency transactions, consider bundling them into bulk transactions. Larger transactions often attract more favorable exchange rates and lower fees than frequent smaller transactions. Consolidating your FX needs can lead to substantial savings over time.
3. Implement Hedging Strategies
- Volatility in currency markets can impact your business’s bottom line. Implementing hedging strategies can help protect your business from adverse currency fluctuations. Forward contracts, currency options, and currency swaps are examples of hedging tools that can provide stability and reduce FX risks.
4. Use Virtual Accounts-
- Consider using virtual accounts for transactions in different currencies. Virtual accounts can help you receive and hold funds in various currencies without needing multiple physical bank accounts. This approach can minimize conversion fees and simplify reconciliation processes.
5. Monitor Currency Trends-
- Stay informed about currency trends and market movements that can affect your business. Being proactive and timing your FX transactions can result in improved rates and reduced fees.Consider using automated FX tools to execute transactions at opportune moments.
6. Embrace Fintech Solutions-
- Explore the growing number of fintech solutions available to businesses in Singapore. Fintech platforms can offer competitive rates and faster transaction processing, reducing conversion costs and delays. Embracing technology can streamline your FX operations and reduce associated fees.
7. Consider Multi-Currency Accounts-
- Opening a multi-currency account with your bank can give your business more flexibility in managing foreign currencies. It allows you to hold funds in different currencies and transact between these accounts with lower conversion fees. That is particularly beneficial for businesses with frequent international expenses, as it provides a convenient way to manage funds in various currencies.
8. Review Transaction Timing
Be mindful of the timing of your FX transactions. Avoid peak trading hours when markets can be more volatile, leading to less favorable exchange rates. Instead, schedule your transactions during calmer periods to secure better rates and lower fees.
1. Educate Your Team-
- Ensure that your finance and accounting teams are well-informed about FX fees and the importance of minimizing them.
- Provide guidance on efficient foreign exchange (FX) management techniques and the possible consequences for the financial well-being of the business.
- Your team can actively contribute to fee reduction efforts by fostering a cost-conscious culture.
2. Regularly Review FX Policies-
- Currency markets constantly evolve, and your business’s FX needs may change. Regularly review your FX policies and practices to identify areas for improvement.
- A periodic assessment can help you adapt to market conditions and identify additional opportunities for savings. If you run a business in Singapore, incorporate business card Singapore for seamless and cost-effective international payments.
3. Consolidate Banking Relationships-
- Consider consolidating your banking relationships to benefit from more comprehensive services and negotiate better FX terms. Having a strong relationship with one or a few banks can simplify your financial operations and improve your overall bargaining power.
4. Set Realistic Budgets-
- Creating accurate and realistic budgets that account for FX fees is essential for effective financial planning. Forecasting your FX expenses can help you allocate funds appropriately and make informed business decisions.
5. Seek Professional Advice-
- If managing FX fees becomes complex or overwhelming, seek advice from financial experts or consultants with experience in international trade and foreign exchange. Their insights can guide your business toward more efficient and cost-effective FX practices.
Navigating FX fees is crucial to managing a successful Singapore business with global aspirations. Following this roadmap and implementing strategic measures can minimize FX fees, protect your business from currency risks, and optimize financial efficiency. Remember that being proactive and informed is the key to securing the best FX rates and ultimately contributing to your business’s growth and success in the international market. Incorporating financial tools like “business card Singapore” can further streamline your transactions and enhance your overall financial performance.
In the commercial real estate sector, managing tenant relations is a key component of effective property management. Maintaining good tenant relations not only increases tenant happiness but also helps the property be successful and profitable as a whole. A positive tenant-landlord relationship promotes trust, promotes lease renewals, lowers vacancy rates, and lessens disputes. Property managers need to put in place a variety of tactics and best practices that put an emphasis on clear communication, tenant satisfaction, and dispute resolution in order to manage tenant relations efficiently.
Establishing open and transparent lines of communication, placing a high value on tenant satisfaction, and encouraging proactive conflict resolution are all essential components of effective tenant relations management. In order to meet the demands of tenants and promote long-term occupancy, property managers must work to create a friendly and encouraging environment. This entails routine property inspections, effective upkeep, and quick responses to questions and requests from tenants. Managing tenant relations also heavily relies on involving renters and creating a sense of community within the property. Property managers can build a positive environment by planning tenant events and encouraging teamwork.
Utilizing innovation and technology may also improve tenant satisfaction, expedite property management procedures, and enable efficient communication. To provide effective services and inform renters, property managers should adopt property management software, Retail location, smart building technology, and tenant portals.
In this blog, we will explore eight effective strategies and best practices for managing tenant relations in commercial real estate properties.
Establish clear communication channels:
Establishing open lines of communication is essential for maintaining tenant relations. Utilize a variety of communication channels, such as email, tenant portals, or scheduled meetings, to encourage efficient information exchange. Tenants should receive prompt attention to their concerns, inquiries, and requests in order to foster trust and openness.
Prioritise tenant satisfaction:
The priority should be tenant satisfaction. Maintain the property in good shape, provide the amenities and services that are required, and address maintenance problems as soon as they occur. To enhance happiness and convey that you care about meeting their needs, frequently get feedback from tenants.
Foster Proactive Conflict Resolution:
Interactions between tenants and landlords often get heated. Encourage open dialogue, careful listening, and the search for win-win solutions as a proactive approach to conflict resolution. When required, tenant-tenant relationships can be preserved and legal problems can be avoided by using mediation or arbitration.
Build a Tenant Community Through Engagement:
To establish a positive and peaceful environment on the property, encourage a sense of community among the renters. Plan tenant gatherings, networking opportunities, or cooperative projects to promote conversation and collaboration. Tenant satisfaction is increased, and long-term leases are encouraged by a good and inclusive environment.
Conduct regular property inspections and maintenance.
A dedication to the comfort and safety of tenants is demonstrated by routine property inspections and preventative maintenance. Regularly check communal spaces, take care of maintenance issues as soon as they arise, and verify that construction codes and regulations are being followed. Keeping high standards increases renter contentment and makes a good first impression.
Embrace technology and innovation:
In order to offer creative solutions that satisfy the needs of tenants, be abreast of technical developments and market trends. Utilise tenant portals, smart building technology, and property management software to improve the tenant experience. Make use of technology to track maintenance, manage leases, and communicate effectively.
Develop strong lease agreements:
Create detailed, transparent lease agreements that safeguard the landlord as well as the renter. Ensure that the terms and circumstances of the lease are reasonable, clear, and in accordance with all relevant laws and rules. To reduce future disputes, clearly outline each party’s roles, obligations, and rights.
Provide timely and accurate financial reporting.
To win tenants’ trust, keep your financial reporting honest and precise. Send timely and comprehensive financial accounts that include rent invoices, costs for maintaining shared spaces, and any other fees. Tenants can better understand their financial responsibilities and have more faith in property management when there is clear and open financial reporting.
By implementing these effective strategies and best practices, property managers can effectively manage tenant relations in commercial real estate properties, leading to tenant satisfaction, retention, and a positive reputation in the market.
Conclusion:
An active and tenant-centered strategy is needed to manage tenant relations in commercial real estate facilities. Property managers can develop enduring and fruitful relationships with their renters by placing a high priority on open communication, tenant satisfaction, conflict resolution, community building, regular property upkeep, and adaptability. Tenant retention, higher property values, and a thriving commercial real estate portfolio are the results of putting time and effort into tenant relations.
In the digital age, educational platforms have become a popular and effective way to deliver educational content and engage with students remotely. Managing an online educational platform comes with its own set of challenges and considerations. In this article, we will explore four valuable tips to effectively manage an educational platform online, including the use of school brochures, leveraging a tuition management system, and incorporating educational videos to enhance the learning experience.
Tips for an Online Educational Platform
1. Create Informative School Brochures:
One of the key aspects of managing an educational platform online is effectively communicating with students, parents, and other stakeholders. School brochures serve as a valuable tool to provide comprehensive information about the platform, its features, courses offered, and any additional services available. These brochures can be made available on the platform’s website or shared via email to prospective students and parents. By creating informative school brochures, you can ensure that potential users have a clear understanding of what your educational platform offers, leading to increased interest and engagement. You can also check out some free tools to learn how to make a brochure.
2. Leverage a Tuition Management System:
Managing tuition payments and financial transactions is an important aspect of running an educational platform. Implementing a tuition management system can streamline the process and ensure efficiency. These systems enable you to automate tuition fee collection, generate invoices, and track payment statuses. Additionally, they provide a secure and convenient platform for students and parents to make payments online. By leveraging a tuition management system, you can reduce administrative burden, improve financial transparency, and provide a seamless payment experience for your users.
3. Incorporate Engaging Educational Videos:
Educational videos are a powerful tool for enhancing the learning experience on an online educational platform. They can be used to deliver lectures, provide demonstrations, or offer supplementary content. Incorporating educational videos helps to cater to different learning styles and increases student engagement. These videos can be created by instructors or sourced from reputable educational content providers. By offering a variety of multimedia content, including educational videos, you can enrich the learning experience and make your educational platform more interactive and dynamic.
4. Foster Community Engagement and Collaboration:
Building a sense of community and fostering collaboration among students is crucial for the success of an online educational platform. Create discussion forums or virtual classrooms where students can interact, share ideas, and collaborate on assignments. Encourage active participation and provide opportunities for students to connect with their peers and instructors. Additionally, organize virtual events, webinars, or guest lectures to facilitate knowledge-sharing and networking. By fostering community engagement and collaboration, you can create a supportive and interactive learning environment on your educational platform.
Conclusion:
Managing an educational platform online requires careful planning, effective communication, and a focus on student engagement. By implementing these four tips – creating informative school brochures, leveraging a tuition management system, incorporating educational videos, and fostering community engagement – you can enhance the overall user experience, facilitate seamless operations, and drive the success of your online educational platform. Remember that continuous improvement and adaptation based on user feedback are essential to ensure that your platform meets the evolving needs of students and provides a high-quality educational experience.
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