Top 10 Benefits of Agile For Managers in 2024 [Updated]

What do you do when there is a need for swift production ?

What do you do when you don’t have a vivid idea of how the final product might turn out ?

What do you do when you have skilled people with you, who can work independently and act quickly ?

You turn ‘Agile’. Yes, you heard it right. Agile Methodology or Agile Project Management is applicable for any industry that keeps constantly growing or changing its standards.

What is Agile Project Management ?

Agile Project Management emphasizes on building products that the customers / end users can get their hands on quickly instead of spending time on discussing and finalizing the complete specifications of the product. Designing of the product is on the go and the scope or specification of the product changes with every iteration.

Solutions for the client requirement evolve through the collective effort of the product development team and the customers / end users. Agile Project Management promotes adaptive planning, continuous improvement and quick delivery along with flexibility to changes as and when required.

Advantages of Agile Project Management

• Agile project management known for its simplicity and speed is one of the best project management methodologies. 
• Incremental and frequent release of products in rapid cycles ensure customer satisfaction.
• Close communication promotes better relationships with the customer. It is easier to take the client’s input along the way when there is a better relationship.
• Small cross functional teams directly interact with the business which in turn improves the quality of the product rather than the usage of any process or tools.
• Incorporates changes at any stage which leads to better designs and in par to the changing industry standards.

To put across in simpler words, Agile Project Management is straight forward, simple, adaptive, cooperative and continually improving.

When can Managers use Agile Project Management ?

The use of agile for managers arises during situations where there is a requirement for rapid development of a product to meet tight deadlines. A collaborative environment will be created by the methodology of agile for managers to remove any risk or uncertainty due to changing industry standards. This in turn supports the constant changes received during the project.

Now, let us see what benefits Agile Project Managers get when they apply the skills from Agile methodology into their projects.

Here are the top 10 Benefits of Agile as listed below:

1. Better customer satisfaction

2. Higher coordination with business

3. Sustainable development

4. Independent and self-organized teams

5. Up-to-date with the Industry standards

6. Reduced risk

7. Lasting solutions

8. Improved product quality 

9. Improved productivity

10. Satisfied employees

Let us see these top 10 benefits of Agile in detail:

1. Better Customer Satisfaction

The first and most important benefits of Agile is customer satisfaction. This is done due to early and sustained delivery of products. Since the customer feedbacks are considered at every stage right from requirements, design, development and release phase, the customer gets a satisfied product in the end. On discovering any defects, it gets corrected in the very next phase leading to customer satisfaction. The customer gets the ideal and optimum product that they desire. Agile for managers helps in achieving customer delight.

2. Higher Coordination with Business

The next benefit of agile is close coordination within the cross-functional teams as well as business. This well built relationship with the product developers and the business promotes a better working environment. Agile for managers also means constant face-to-face interaction with all those involved in the project be it the development, quality, management or business team. 

3. Sustainable Development

Agile for managers means that requirements are welcome at any point and time during the development of the project. The sustainable development of the product is the result of maintaining a constant and important place in business. Since the involvement of the client is at every stage of the project, any doubts are clarified by the business and the defects are also resolved immediately. So the product can be delivered or released at any stage of the Agile phase rather than waiting until the end for release. Agile for managers helps the customers see the sustainable development of the product from start to finish.

4. Independent and Self-Organized Teams

Managing teams is one of the most difficult jobs. It is becoming constantly difficult for any management professional to lead a team single handedly. Agile for managers means self organized and independent individuals or teams who play their part perfectly.

Allowing every team member to participate is one of the benefits of agile. Allowing each team to lead also means better designs and technical architecture, excellent requirement analysis capabilities. This independent attitude allows the team to reflect on the area of concerns and correct them on their own leading to more effective work and flexibility.

5. Up-to-date with the Industry Standards

Frequent delivery of products is of the most important benefits of agile. This ensures staying in par with the ever changing industry standards.  Since, the client can make changes at any point of time even after initial planning, Agile methodology makes it easier to add any number of features or change the existing features to stay in line with the industry standards. Agile for managers helps in coping with the ever-changing standards in a managed and controlled manner.

6. Reduced Risk

Agile for managers means a project with minimized failure rate. Since, in Agile methodology there is no dependency on the previous phase of the project, there is very less risk of failure. Any fault in the requirement can otherwise bring in a downfall. Also, there is no detailed planning involved which over time can bring in changes in the client’s need.

The phase by phase release of the product is one of the benefits of agile. This ensures that there are no chances of testing the product towards completion of the project and clients not liking it. The incremental approach that Agile methodology follows reduces any risks involved in shelving of the project.

7. Lasting Solutions

Lasting solutions is due to the fact that individuals are involved more in the project than processes and tools are. Constant interaction between the business and development team makes the product better than written documentation only. The collaboration with customers leads to better and lasting solutions. Agile for managers means lasting solutions which respond to changes rather than elaborate plans which deliver a very limited functioning product.

8. Improved Product Quality

The end product means the base parameter for progress. Since, there is always a continual development involved, Agile for managers means improved technical caliber and better layout or composition of the product. All the defects identified at every level are fixed before the next phase, which will not lead to any defect or bug at the end. This ensures better quality of the end product.
 

#9 Improved productivity

Improved productivity does not only mean better working standards. It also means reduced defects and costs when it comes to a product. So Agile for managers means widening the scope of work not done. The amount of waste work increases the productivity of the team. This promotes simplicity and is one of the essential benefits of Agile methodology.

10. Satisfied Employees

Since, the onus lies with every individual in the project, Agile for managers means motivated, trustworthy team members. Agile for managers helps communicate frequently and effectively to their employees. The manager can delegate his work to fellow team members and can hand over the obligation of taking decisions to the employees. This will increase the involvement of employees. The workforce ends up working energized which is one of the most important benefits of agile.

97% of the companies across the globe use Agile methodology in their projects. Some of the best companies which use Agile Project Management are Microsoft, IBM, AT&T.

As demand for high-paying jobs rises, it is always a healthy practice to choose the best methodology in the industry and complete Agile Project Management certification on the same.

Hope you enjoyed reading about the benefits of Agile in this article. Want to know more about the benefits of Agile and do certification on Agile Project Management? Visit our page or contact us to know more about the course.