What Is Agile Project Management?

October 12, 2022 - 10 min read

Kelechi Udoagwu

Agile project management is an iterative, feedback-driven approach to completing and delivering successful projects. It is one of the most popular project management methodologies that works in phases, prioritizes feedback, and implements incremental changes to finish projects fast and improve customer satisfaction.

Agile management fosters a collaborative work environment where teams can tackle projects in a fast-paced yet informed manner. Projects are broken down into quick sprints – two to four-week cycles that allow sufficient time for teams to make tangible progress and review the work done before advancing with the rest of the project.

This is different from traditional, sequential project management approaches, like Waterfall and Critical Path Method (CPM), where projects are planned and executed from start to finish before seeking feedback and moving to the next project.

This difference in approaches makes Agile an excellent fit for projects where flexibility and speed are crucial. Projects in which scope, constraints, and requirements are not yet well defined or understood are best implemented using Agile project management.

This article discusses all you need to know to implement Agile in your organization. We'll cover the following:

Who can benefit from Agile project management
Values to prioritize when implementing Agile
Key components in Agile project management
Principles guiding the Agile project management methodology
Most popular Agile project management methods today
How Wrike can help you start using Agile project management

Let's get started!

Who can benefit from Agile project management?

The Agile project management methodology was initially created by software developers for development teams. The goal was to create a system that allowed them to deliver the best output in the shortest possible time.

Since software clients are often unclear about the ideal version of the expected product, development teams need a management system with the flexibility to work with the client's needs to adjust requirements, improve deliverables, and create the best possible outcome.

Over the years, other fast-paced teams and industries creating consistently novel and differentiated products (like in software development) have adopted the Agile project management method to launch and execute their projects faster. Marketing teams, professional service providers, and enterprises dealing with uncertainty, novelty, constraints, and other complexities benefit significantly from using the Agile project management framework.

Think of it this way: If your team's deliverables are usually hard to define and envision to the end, Agile project management is the right fit for you. It creates room for you to begin a project and clarify the ambiguities as you progress.

What are the four values of Agile?

Agile project management follows a set of four values and twelve principles outlined in the Agile Manifesto, which was put together by a group of software developers in 2001 to guide other teams looking to become Agile.

The four values are:

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools: One core tenet of Agile project management is choosing regular communication and interactions over strict procedures and "ways of doing things." Agile project management encourages constant and timely communication with your clients and team members rather than working in silos for extended periods.
Working software over comprehensive documentation: Agile teams use software to manage, update, and synchronize data to improve project execution and delivery. Rather than relying solely on paperwork and traditional documentation, Agile encourages giving your team what they need to complete their work without micromanagement.
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation: Agile project management advocates for customer collaboration – involving them throughout the development and production process to ensure the final product meets their needs and expectations. This requires regularly speaking with and updating clients to get feedback on deliverables and milestones.
Responding to change over following a plan: Technically the foundation of the Agile methodology, this value promotes continuous receptiveness to feedback and adaptability over following a project plan that's set in stone. This encourages Agile teams to adjust quickly to new requirements and tackle project challenges.

What are the key components of Agile project management?

Agile project management has five main components that hold the entire process together and make it work. These are:

1. User stories

User stories are the smallest unit of work in an Agile project. Altogether, they convey the overall goal and output of the project or product. Individually, they describe tasks to be done to complete the project.

User stories are compiled and sorted in the product backlog, another key component of Agile project management. Each story outlines the desired outcome of a task in a way the team understands. They contain details about the expected outcome so the development team can estimate the effort required to accomplish it.

It's important to note that user stories are typically written from the user's perspective, hence the name. User stories outline who the client is, what they want, and why they need it.

2. Sprints

Sprints are one-to-four-week cycles during which Agile teams work on the tasks in the current sprint, review the work done at the end, and plan the next one right afterward.

Different teams have different sprint lengths. It's best to work with a cycle short enough to keep your team focused but long enough to allow enough time to create something of value.

Consistent sprints are how Agile teams collaborate and iterate continuously to achieve their goals. Only tasks allotted to a specific sprint are worked on during that sprint.

3. Regular meetings

As seen from the four Agile values, regular communication and cross-functional collaboration are foundations of the Agile methodology. There are four regular meetings Agile teams need to perform optimally. These are:

Daily stand-up meetings: Daily stand-ups are brief group check-ins where team members update each other on progress in a sprint. They focus on what they did yesterday, what they plan to do today, and what they'll do tomorrow. This keeps everyone updated and aware of the most important things to be done to conclude the sprint successfully.
Sprint planning meetings: Sprint planning meetings take place before a new sprint commences. This is when active team members come together to map out the next sprint's scope, goals, tasks, and deliverables.
Sprint review: The sprint review is one of two post-sprint meetings. The sprint review is where sprint outcomes are demoed, and feedback is gathered from clients, managers, and stakeholders. The development team demonstrates the complete functionality of the sprint deliverable and gathers feedback on what's good and what to improve.
Sprint retrospective: After the sprint review, the final Agile meeting per sprint is the sprint retrospective. In this meeting, the team reviews how the previous sprint went. They note what went well with the assignments and processes and areas to improve. They also determine what tasks need to be carried over into the next sprint or prioritized in the backlog.

4. Kanban board

A Kanban board is a visual representation of the tasks to be done to complete a project. It helps Agile teams easily keep track of project progress and manage the workload for each sprint. A Kanban board may be physical or virtual. In-office teams may work with a whiteboard or wall and sticky notes.

Most teams use digital Kanban boards they can access and update from anywhere. Project management software like Wrike provides easy-to-use Kanban boards for Agile teams to organize their projects and update and collaborate seamlessly with internal and external stakeholders.

5. Product backlog

The product backlog is where all tasks to be done to deliver a project are compiled. Not all tasks in the product backlog will be done, so task prioritization is crucial at this stage. User stories are added through your request intake system, and the team estimates user story points for each to prioritize what must be done in the current sprint and what can be delayed.

During the sprint planning meeting, stories in the backlog are moved into the next sprint to be completed. Backlog grooming is crucial to managing this process and ensuring your team works on the most critical tasks that move the entire project forward.

What Is Agile Project Management? 2 — Photo by Eden Constantino on Unsplash

What are the 12 principles of Agile?

Now let's take a quick look at the principles that make Agile such a solid approach for project management. The twelve principles are:

Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software. Agile project management places the customers' satisfaction first and prioritizes delivering results incrementally throughout the project rather than only at the end.
Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer's competitive advantage. Agile project management isn't resistant to change at any time in the development cycle. Since customer satisfaction is the priority, Agile teams welcome feedback and changing requirements to deliver the best results.
Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale. This principle emphasizes the need for constant iteration and incremental improvement in Agile projects. Rather than waiting long periods with no reviews and feedback, Agile institutes regularly scheduled updates, typically after sprints.
Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project. Agile project management encourages teams to work together throughout a project. Having checks to ensure all involved teams are working in tandem help accelerate project progress.
Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done. Agile project management comprises self-starting team members who take responsibility and have a sense of ownership of their tasks. Once you have these people on your team, provide the resources they need to work with autonomy.
The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation. Face-to-face conversations are the most reliable way to ensure the correct information is communicated. Whether in the office or via video conferencing, communicating in person helps team members stay aligned and contribute their quota as expected.
Working software is the primary measure of progress. As Agile was developed for software developers, "working software" is its primary deliverable. Non-software teams can translate this principle as "creating the most functional version of the expected deliverable is the primary measure of progress."
Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely. Agile project management should be perceived as a marathon, not a "sprint," ironically. Maintaining momentum and pace to ensure projects move steadily toward completion is essential.
Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility. Agile project management requires attention to detail and excellence. Teams must always improve with every sprint and project. Every new sprint and project offers the opportunity to do things better.
Simplicity — the art of maximizing the amount of work not done — is essential. The goals and work that are deprioritized are just as important as those accepted into the backlog. Agile project management demands a focus on the essentials. Unnecessary intricacies must be eliminated to meet customer requirements on time.
The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams. Agile project management teams are motivated and self-organizing. Team members are encouraged to "manage up" and take ownership of projects. Agile approaches like Scrum have specified team roles to help set priorities and support the project manager.
At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly. Agile uses regular communication and meetings, e.g., sprint reviews or sprint retrospectives, to gather feedback and implement changes before a project is delivered successfully.

What are the most used Agile project management methods?

Agile project management is all about flexibility and adapting to changes in your projects. Therefore, not all Agile teams follow the exact methods. Three common ways teams implement Agile are:

Kanban boards

Using Kanban boards provides a simple, visual, collaborative means of managing projects so team members can easily view and assess project progress and know what needs to be done next. It helps teams visualize their project workflows and know what stages different tasks are in.

Kanban boards are generally segmented into three columns: "To Do," "Doing," and "Done." These columns help to visualize the project status towards completion. Kanban boards make it easy to identify any bottlenecks in a project or sprint.

While Kanban boards help Agile teams stay on the same page and map project progress, it doesn't focus on the time it takes to complete tasks. Kanban, as an Agile framework, focuses less on conducting sprints and more on visualizing and allocating tasks across the team. Instead of restricting the work by time-based sprints (like in Scrum), it limits work by workloads. In other words, team members can switch the tasks they have to complete at any time as long as they don't increase the number of assigned tasks.

Scrum

Most project managers would agree that Scrum is likely the most popular Agile methodology. Scrum is an Agile framework that completes work in one- to four-week sprints. Its teams are self-organizing and collaborate closely to deliver successful outcomes.

Scrum teams compile a list of project requirements in a backlog. From this, they determine the tasks to be accomplished in the next sprint. Once tasks for a sprint are determined, the sprint is locked, and new tasks continue to be compiled in the backlog.

Each sprint ends with completing a functional version of the final deliverable. To close the sprint, the Scrum team comes together to review processes and outcomes and plan for the next sprint. Scrum teams use a Scrum board, similar to a Kanban board, to group tasks into columns illustrating progress. Unlike Kanban, Scrum works by breaking a project into sprints and only planning and executing one sprint at a time.

Scrumban

Scrumban is a blend of the two popular Agile project management methodologies, Scrum and Kanban. It was created for teams who find Kanban too flexible and Scrum too rigid.

Scrumban blends the Scrum backlog approach of planning, organizing, and allocating work with Kanban boards to help visualize ongoing projects so teams can see how projects progress and identify any issues in time. Some Scrumban teams may choose to maintain time-based sprints, while others work with a workload limit.

You can find a list of other popular Agile project management methodologies here.

How Wrike can help you start using Agile management

Wrike provides powerful and easy-to-use Agile project management software for teams of any size.

Whether you're experienced in using the framework or transitioning your team, Wrike makes it easy to adopt and scale Agile project management techniques across your entire organization. The Wrike Agile teamwork template sets you on a path to success by helping you gather submitted requests, organize your product backlog, and run efficient sprints to ensure your customers are always satisfied.

You can easily track the time it takes team members to complete specific tasks to improve future sprint planning and communicate regularly and easily with your stakeholders in Wrike by inviting them into your workspace.

Think you're ready to transform the way you work and implement Agile in your company? Start with a free trial of Wrike today and begin your journey with Agile project management.

Kelechi Udoagwu

Kelechi is a freelance writer and founder of Week of Saturdays, a platform for digital freelancers and remote workers living in Africa.

#Agile #Scrum #Kanban #Project Management Methodologies #Project Management Concepts

Leadership 10 min read

Teamwork Works: Benefits and Strategies for Maximizing Your Team's Collaboration

Chances are, you've worked as part of an incredible team at some point in your life. The team members trusted and respected each other, people met (or even exceeded) expectations, and you all generally enjoyed getting your work done together. Unfortunately, you've also probably had the opposite experience: working on a team where teamwork was a struggle. Frustration ran rampant, resentment brewed, and it felt like you couldn't get anything done without a crisis or three-alarm emergency. Those are two vastly different experiences, right? But what's the difference-maker between them? What caused one team to move forward seemingly effortlessly, while the other repeatedly ran off the rails? There's no simple answer. Teamwork is common (you'll find it everywhere, from sports to workplaces), but it's also complex. Understanding the ins and outs of teambuilding and how to improve teamwork requires some flexibility and commitment — but it's well worth the effort. What does teamwork actually mean? Let's start by getting a solid grasp of the definition of teamwork. Speaking quite literally, teamwork is a collaborative effort of a group of people working toward a shared goal. However, the term "teamwork" usually isn't used to describe any team that's working toward a common objective. More often than not, teamwork describes a team doing that in a positive and productive way. Essentially, "teamwork" means a group is working toward a shared finish line in a way that's effective, efficient, and respectful. What are the benefits of good teamwork? It's a pretty widely-accepted fact that solid teamwork is important. But why does good teamwork matter in the workplace? When a team can collaborate well together, it leads to many advantages for individual employees, the whole team, and even the entire organization. Here are a few of the most notable benefits of teamwork: Better productivity: Fewer crossed wires, fewer dropped balls, no missed deadlines. When your team is running like a well-oiled machine, it makes sense that they'll be able to get more done (with less stress, to boot). Less burnout: Speaking of less stress, solid teamwork can also reduce burnout. In one study that looked specifically at healthcare workers, teamwork was proven to reduce the emotional exhaustion of the team members. It makes sense — people can rely on more hands to carry the load, as well as trusted confidantes they can turn to when they need advice or encouragement. Higher employee happiness and satisfaction: Research has proven that our relationships and connections at work greatly impact our overall wellbeing and even our sense of purpose. In order for teams to work well together, team members need to trust and respect each other. Those positive bonds can improve happiness, satisfaction, and well-being. Improved employee retention: Less burnout? Happier employees? That all leads to better employee retention. When recent data from Pew Research Center found that 35% of employees who quit their jobs cited "feeling disrespected at work" as their major reason for quitting, fostering a team environment where people feel valued and supported can encourage people to stick around. Increased autonomy: When a team is working together cohesively, effectively, and efficiently, managers inherently have more trust. That means they're far more willing to step back and give the team more ownership over their work and decisions. More innovation and creativity: Have you heard the old saying that two (or many) brains are better than one? Research backs it up, proving that high-quality teamwork can improve creativity and innovation. So, working together can help your team develop their biggest, boldest, and most meaningful ideas. In short, there really aren't any drawbacks or disadvantages to high-quality teamwork. This level of top-notch team collaboration leads to less frustration, more support, and, ultimately, the delivery of more winning projects. What are the qualities of good teamwork? Those benefits are compelling, but simply having a team doesn't mean you'll reap the rewards. Teamwork is a skill — it's something that can be taught, learned, and practiced. So, what types of qualities does it take to be able to work well with other people? Here are some of the most crucial skills and characteristics required for being a good team player: Accountability: Taking responsibility for completing your tasks and meeting your expectations Collaboration: Being willing to work with others rather than completely independently Communication: Clearly sharing information with others, as well as actively listening to understand their point of view Emotional intelligence: Recognizing and managing your own emotions, as well as the emotions of other people on the team Flexibility: Being able to adjust your plans, consider different viewpoints, and roll with the punches Respect: Showing consideration for all other team members, whether you agree with them or not Time management: Successfully prioritizing your tasks and allocating your hours to ensure you're able to meet your assigned deadlines It's not an exhaustive list, and plenty of other soft skills and competencies — from problem-solving to decision-making — will also play an important role depending on your unique position, team, and industry. But the above are some of the most basic building blocks of successful team-building. Making teamwork work: Eight strategies for next-level teamwork Once you've confirmed that you and your team have the right skills for teamwork, what actionable steps can you take to improve how you work together? Remember that there's no quick fix — improving teamwork takes diligence and, perhaps even more importantly, patience. As you commit to the process, here are eight impactful tactics that you and your team can put into practice together. 1. Provide clarity about shared goals The definition of teamwork itself says that people need to work toward a shared goal. In order to do so, they need to know what that goal is. After all, your team won't get much accomplished if they all have their sights set on different finish lines. It’s up to you to set expectations and make sure your team knows how to reach them. Whenever you and your team kick off a new quarter, project, or initiative, have a team meeting to discuss the goal you're working toward. Document it and store it somewhere that's easily accessible for everyone. Get as nitty gritty as you can with your goals. Using the SMART goal framework will help you set objectives that are: Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Time-bound For example, if you and your marketing team are kicking off a new webinar series, your team's SMART goal might look like this: Create and host three webinars by the end of Q2 to advance our expertise and build trust with our customers. That statement alone provides a lot of clarity. Now everybody on your team has insight into what you're doing, why you're doing it, and when it needs to be done by. But as you outline your team's common goals, it's important to take things a step further by: Connecting your team's goals to individual goals: People don't just need to understand the shared effort — they need to clearly see how their individual role and work play a part in that bigger objective. It boosts accountability and gives them a greater sense of purpose. Connecting your team's goals to company-wide goals: Your team members should also understand how your team's objectives feed the broader organizational goals. Will that webinar series help you build more authority in your industry? Draw that parallel so that team members have visibility into how their work is not only pushing your team forward, but the entire company. Finally, it's also helpful to set some metrics that will help you and your team understand how you're progressing. Objectives and key results (OKRs) are helpful indicators as you work toward bigger goals. Plus, they're easy to set and track in Wrike. 2. Understand team members' strengths and weaknesses Teamwork feels the most effortless when team members are able to handle tasks that play to their unique strengths — and skip the ones that are daunting and disheartening. To do that, you need to have a solid understanding of what each of your team members brings to the table, as well as what areas they struggle in. You can do this through a more formal assessment. Here are some of the most common and popular ones that leaders use to get a deeper understanding of team members: CliftonStrengths Assessment DiSC Assessment SDI 2.0 SWOT Analysis Those types of assessments will help you dive deep. But you can also learn a lot by having some candid conversations — both with individual team members and your team as a whole. Questions to ask team members: What type of work makes you feel excited and energized? What type of work drains or frustrates you? What's one previous project that you really enjoyed contributing to? What's one skill or area you would like to work on improving? Questions to ask the entire team: What do we do well as a team? Where do we struggle as a team? What's one past project we're really proud of? What's one past project we found particularly challenging? Are there any skills we think we're missing on our current team? Are there any processes or workflows that need to be improved? These types of conversations will help you spot skill gaps and other areas of improvement. They'll be especially helpful as you break up projects and assign out tasks (more on that in a minute). In short, the more you can leverage strengths and address weaknesses, the better off you and your entire team will be. 3. Assign clear roles and responsibilities It's hard for your team to work well together if nobody knows what they're supposed to do. Work gets duplicated, tasks get skipped entirely, and people become increasingly frustrated by the lack of clarity. On your team, there should be no doubt about who does what. On a broad level, a lot of that is implied based on their role. Your graphic designer is obviously the one that people will approach with design needs, while your SEO specialist is the go-to person for any keyword questions. But when it comes to specific projects, you need to get even clearer by breaking projects down into individual tasks and then clearly outlining not only who is handling certain tasks, but also when those tasks are due. It can also be helpful to note any task dependencies so that people have visibility into how their individual piece connects to the entire project. Want to make this easier? Look for a work management platform or project management software (like Wrike!) that allows you to create tasks and then assign team members and due dates to them. Whether you're managing remote teams, in-person teams, or hybrid teams, that level of transparency will ensure that everybody understands not only what they need to do, but what everybody else is doing too. 4. Prioritize knowledge sharing Effective knowledge management — which is a fancy term for effectively sharing information and resources with each other — is a major struggle for teams. In fact, Deloitte says it's one of the top three issues affecting company success. It can be challenging to keep everybody in the loop, especially as your team grows. But there are things you can do to boost transparency across your team including: Hosting frequent team meetings where everybody can provide updates and hear about current happenings. This can be a daily check or weekly, depending on how quickly your team moves. Pairing up newer team members with more experienced team members Pulling everything — tasks, goals, status updates, documents, resources, and more — into a single work management platform like Wrike so everybody sees what's happening across the team, and teamwork online becomes easier Reducing competition so team members don't feel like they need to hoard information as currency Leading by example by openly sharing information yourself Your team will always struggle to work well together if they feel like they need to hide information and resources in order to get ahead or simply don't think to openly share with others. By prioritizing knowledge sharing, you give everybody the visibility they need to get their own work done — and support others in the process. 5. Refine processes and workflows Does your team do similar work and projects over and over again? There's no need to start from scratch each time. Coming up with standardized processes and workflows removes the guesswork, improves consistency, and supports better teamwork. Let's say that your team is responsible for creating the same report every single quarter. To simplify that process, you could: Understand what is and isn't working so you can make improvements Break down the steps involved and create a custom workflow that you can copy and use each time Create templates for necessary documents and resources When that report is on your team's plate next time, they'll feel extra confident in their ability to pick it up and get started because they have an existing framework to lean on. They aren't starting from square one. This is especially helpful for a virtual team working from home. The shift to remote work has meant that many employees working from home may struggle with communicating processes to one another and getting caught up in silos. Ensure that your refined processes are communicated to all team members in real time, and remote employees are trained in how to engage in them. 6. Cultivate psychological safety Psychological safety means that team members feel secure enough to take risks, make mistakes, and be vulnerable with each other — without the fear of judgment or reprimands. This level of comfort and support is crucial for high-performing teams, but figuring out how to cultivate it can be challenging. Here are a few ways to ensure your team has a high degree of psychological safety: Host brainstorming sessions where there's no such thing as a "bad idea" and team members are only there to generate ideas — not critique other ones Candidly talk about your own personal successes and mistakes to model that there's no shame in failure or missteps Encourage your team to remove personal language during collaborative discussions (for example, "that idea" instead of "your idea") Even seemingly small steps can make a big difference in the level of confidence team members have in voicing their opinions and sharing their big ideas. 7. Foster trust and social bonding You might guess that team members work better together when they know each other. Teamwork really gets kicked up a notch when they don't just know each other, but when they like each other — when they've found some common ground and interests. That won't happen if they never have an opportunity to connect with each other outside of meetings and daily to-dos. You don't want team bonding to feel like a burden or something that eats into the time they need to get their work done. However, coming up with some different social interactions will help them forge deeper relationships with each other. Here are a few ideas you can use, whether your team is sharing an office or you're looking for some virtual team-building activities: Save time at the beginning or end of your team meetings for icebreaker questions or personal catch ups Start dedicated Slack channels for people to connect on non-work-related topics, like sharing recipes or setting up book clubs Create a collaborative playlist where all team members can add their favorite music Host game nights, trivia contests, happy hours, coffee chats, or other informal opportunities (virtual or in-person) for team members to get to know each other socially Start a photo challenge for your team where they share photos in a different theme — from their pets or home office spaces to their yearbook photos or favorite vacations Set up a Zoom room that remote workers can pop into if they want to enjoy a beverage and a chat with a coworker There's no shortage of ways that you can encourage stronger connections between team members. Make sure to regularly collect their feedback on these types of building exercises so that you can continue to offer things that they find enjoyable. You don't want these to feel like an obnoxious obligation. 8. Regularly solicit feedback You don't just need to gather your team's feedback on their social opportunities — you need to collect it about, well, everything. As the leader, it's your job to keep your finger on the pulse of how things are going so that you can make changes and nip problems in the bud. Feedback shouldn't be something that happens once or twice a year during performance reviews or formalized surveys. Hearing from your team members needs to be continuous and ongoing. Not sure how to regularly tap into how they're thinking and feeling? Here are a few ideas to gather valuable and helpful feedback: Reserve a portion of your team meeting to talk about roadblocks, frustrations, and successes Host project retrospectives to discuss what went well and what needs to be improved next time Regularly use employee surveys (anonymous or not) to collect feedback Come prepared with feedback questions to ask employees during their one-on-ones Not only does this give you insight that you can use to take action, but it also shows your employees that you value their thoughts and opinions — which can go a long way in boosting their engagement. How will you know if you're getting teamwork right? How will you know if your efforts to improve teamwork are actually working? Effective teamwork can be difficult to quantify — in many ways, it's one of those "you'll know it when you see it" types of things. However, here are a few telltale signs that your team is meshing well together: Work is being completed on time and with fewer errors Team members seem enthusiastic, energized, and motivated Scores from employee surveys or feedback are improving Miscommunications are becoming less frequent Team members are stepping in to support and help each other Conflicts and disagreements are decreasing Those signs will help point you in the right direction, but rest assured that you'll also get a gut feeling when teamwork is improving. The whole morale and culture of your team will likely shift in a more positive direction. How Wrike can help make teamwork work for you There's a lot that goes into effective teamwork. Fortunately, a collaborative work management platform like Wrike can help make teamwork less stressful and more successful. Here's how Wrike can help you reap the rewards of teamwork (while steering around all of the potential pitfalls): Setting goals and OKRs to keep your team focused on their shared objective Assigning task owners, due dates, and dependencies so everybody understands their role Providing visibility into the whole picture so everybody sees how they fit in Centralizing communication so nobody has to dig through folders, email threads, or instant messages Improving knowledge sharing by keeping all of your team’s tasks, plans, calendars, updates, and resources in one place Increasing consistency with custom workflows Saving time with a huge variety of templates that you can copy and customize And that's only the start! Teamwork shouldn't be guesswork — and Wrike is the resource you need to keep your entire team on the same page. Teamwork doesn't mean perfection So, what's the difference between a team that works together effortlessly and one that's ripe with chaos and confusion? As it turns out, quite a bit. Teamwork isn't simple. And even when you get it right, that doesn't mean that things will always be smooth sailing. Conflict is inevitable in a team environment and it doesn't mean that something is wrong. In fact, it's an important and healthy part of teamwork, provided that you and your team are equipped to work through it in a respectful and productive way. That becomes a lot easier when you already have the foundation of solid teamwork in place — and the above strategies can help you get there. Put them into play on your team and stay committed as you all transform from frazzled and frustrated to streamlined and supportive. Ready to take your teamwork to the next level? Get started with Wrike for free today.

Project Management 10 min read

The Future of PMOs: Understanding the Challenges

The Project Management Office, or PMO, remains an increasingly essential part of a successful organization. And as new technology emerges and companies seek greater innovation, PMOs must evolve to remain relevant and valuable. So what is a PMO, and how do they add value to your organization?

Project Management 10 min read

The Ultimate Project Management Software Guide for Startups

Every day in the startup world is characterized by various tasks, from finances to client-facing work, building new products to administrative items, and more. There’s a lot of work to be done and a lot of hands in the pot trying to tackle each action item that pops up. Startups have a team-first mentality, where every team member is willing to jump in and play a part to get the job done. That horizontal leadership structure can lead to a lot of camaraderie, but the day-to-day roles and responsibilities related to project ownership and completion can get messy and chaotic. That wasted time can be costly when every minute and dollar spent in the early startup days are precious, especially when nine out of 10 startups fail. But don’t let that statistic make you panic quite yet. Having the right tools in place, such as project management software that keeps the whole team organized and on task, is a critical driver in reducing the risk of failure and achieving that seemingly elusive startup success. Curious? We’ve rounded up some of the fundamental reasons project management should matter to your startup, what to look for in project management software tools, and how to identify and implement the right project management software tool while keeping your (often tight) budget in mind. Why should project management matter to startups? Effective project management is imperative to any business, no matter the size of the organization. According to the latest Pulse of the Profession report by the Project Management Institute (PMI), 57% of respondents saw significant business changes in their operational efficiencies over the past year and another 49% experienced changes in the maturity of their project management. That means that even if project management and efficiencies aren’t top of mind for you as your startup gets off the ground, they should make their way to the top of the list as your company grows. These aspects of a business are important to the success of project completion and business strategy. Sure, a formalized project management tool and processes can seem unnecessary, rigid, and overly burdensome for the flexible, entrepreneurial startup culture. But the reality is that defining project management methodologies and implementing a software tool at the beginning will help your business thrive as it scales. Rest assured that flexibility can coexist alongside process and organization, and a project management software tool can help with the latter. Project management for startups is more than planning, organizing, and executing projects from start to finish. There are several benefits of defined project management practices, specifically when it comes to running a startup. 1. Prioritize limited resources Startups have small teams and a spirit for collaboration, which breeds fluid job roles and responsibilities. A limited number of employees in flexible positions can make it challenging to figure out which tasks and projects rank higher than others — and who exactly is responsible for what. Introducing project management processes and software in the early stages of a startup can help the team better prioritize their work. You have to make the most of your limited resources while executing on your vision and big goals, and project management for startups can help you do just that — without frustration and confusion. 2. Stay on top of deadlines No two days at a startup are the same. Priorities shift, the overall company vision may change, and innovation can lead to new products and services that weren’t even on your radar a couple of months ago. With so many moving parts, staying organized and sticking to a schedule (especially one that clients or customers are counting on) can fall by the wayside. Project management practices help you monitor progress and ensure important deadlines aren’t missed. That structure provides some level of accountability and commitment within your teams — even if your overall culture is still relaxed and flexible. 3. Scale efficiently Startup environments bring about a level of high-growth and constant change. Investing in project management early on will pay dividends when your startup begins to scale. Growth can be remarkable for the business but more challenging for employees if the proper processes and systems aren’t in place to support that evolution and expansion. As you grow, you’ll likely have more goals to meet and projects to deliver, so it’s crucial to build a project management foundation that will allow you to meet these goals. Likewise, standardized processes make it significantly easier for new team members to get onboarded and acclimated as your team grows in size. What features should you look for in startup project management software? There are hundreds of project management software tools out there to choose from. Some are more robust than others and focused on the demands of enterprise companies. Others are more simplistic and better suited for a nimble startup or small business. Not sure what you should keep an eye out for? These are some of the key features you should look for in startup project management software, even if you start out on a plan that doesn’t offer all of these features right away: Team collaboration. As a startup, your team is your most valuable asset, and it’s crucial to foster a collaborative and team-focused environment. The ability to work on projects together simultaneously, break down project tasks, store associated project documents, and share team calendars are project management software components to keep an eye out for. Any functionality that allows your team to collaborate quickly and efficiently is a plus in choosing project management software. After all, that’s the whole point. Organized and streamlined processes. Real-time file sharing and collaboration make it easier and quicker to handle assigning tasks and see them through to completion. With streamlined processes and workflows, you can track project performance, quickly assign tasks and get an instant understanding of project and performance, rather than wasting time requesting frequent status updates. Document storing and sharing. As you build your startup and document processes, projects, and other aspects of the business along the way, you’ll want to ensure you can quickly locate and access documents and files. Using a project management software tool with document storing and sharing capabilities can help prevent you from losing critical information, especially if employees leave. All of your important documentation will be centralized and accessible rather than siloed. Resource management. Since you have limited resources (and you don’t want to burn your team out), you’ll need to make sure you’re balancing workloads as effectively as possible. Project management software tools with simple resource management capabilities can help you better understand the workload and available bandwidth across team members. When you identify a plate that’s too full (it happens!), you can simply reassign tasks to other available team members and keep your project moving forward. Time-tracking capabilities. Hassle-free time-tracking and the ability to distinguish between billable and nonbillable work can help you better understand where your team is spending their time. With this information readily available, you’ll have visibility that will allow you to plan better, boost revenue, and more accurately forecast — so you avoid over-promising and under-delivering. Real-time reporting. Agility and flexibility are common traits of nearly all startups, and making quick decisions is necessary when you’re working in an ever-changing landscape. Project management software tools with real-time reporting empower you to make more informed decisions at the drop of a hat. Maybe you’re pivoting the business’ direction or need to quickly gauge the current status of a project. No matter your need, a tool with real-time reporting can help you get the information you need so you can make decisions and act fast. Budget management. Every dollar counts, right? Managing projects always carries the risk of running over budget. Spend less time worrying about the bottom line by managing budgets directly within project management software. By keeping an eye on total spending, you can spot when your spending starts to creep up and adjust accordingly. The level of complexity and customization you’ll need in a project management software tool depends on your business needs. The features listed above should help you dive in and get started, and grow your tool capabilities and usage as you go. How can project management software for startups help save money? Isn’t project management software going to end up costing your startup more money? Well, technically, yes, depending on the software you choose. But if we put the cost of the tool aside for a moment, the right project management software can actually help your startup save money too — making it more than worth the cost. Here’s how: Organization inevitably leads to time savings, and time is money. Project management software will streamline processes and add another layer of organization to your business. To put it simply, this helps you and your team members save time. And with more time on your hands, you’ll be able to get more work done. Instead of hiring more people or scrambling for more resources because plates are too full, you can use project management software to help your current team better manage their time. Faster, smoother workflows equal more time saved and less money spent due to wasted hours and energy. Project management software can reduce training costs. As your business grows and you add more members to the team, you’ll need them to move quickly to ensure projects stay on track. Having all of your projects and information centralized within one system can reduce the learning curve for your new employees, allowing them to dive in and get their hands dirty right away. Time tracking can save your business money. If you really want to be money-conscious, opt for software with time-tracking capabilities. How does time tracking save money? You’ll save your startup a few bucks by increasing productivity, eliminating inefficiencies, and will be able to manage billable hours more seamlessly. If your startup depends on any amount of billable work, accurate time-tracking is non-negotiable. Improved communication is a huge cost-savings. When hiccups in communication occur, you’re at risk of projects falling out of scope, missing deadlines, and wasting time and effort on work that doesn’t matter. Even further, communication issues could end with you owing money, discounts, or free products and services to your customers. One way to reduce communication issues is to build a solid internal communication channel to boost transparency and ensure your team is always on the same page. Consolidated interactions through a project management software tool can help you save money and keep your clients happy too. How much is project management software for startups? The price of project management software can run the gamut. There are a number of free options out there that may offer limited functionality. There are also a number of robust systems for enterprise corporations that may fall outside of your budget and current needs. With so many different software options and feature capabilities, there are a few key considerations to keep in mind in terms of pricing. These include: Desired features Fee structure Additional costs Let’s talk about each of these in a bit more detail. Desired features For starters, it’s helpful to know what types of features you’re looking for in your project management tool, so you have an idea of what types of plans to consider. Many project management software companies offer free versions of their tools with reduced functionality or a set number of users. These types of solutions may work when getting started, but if you choose a free option, you may want to explore upgraded feature capability in the future. Fee structure Another important aspect of the pricing model is whether you’ll be paying per user or a flat fee. You’ll also want to understand if you’re paying monthly or annual subscription fees. These pricing models play a key role in determining the overall budget available for your project management software and whether or not a tool fits within those restrictions. Additional costs Don’t forget to add in additional costs. Ask about implementation, training, and support fees and how each of those components is factored into pricing. Especially if the tool is new to you and your entire team, you’ll want to make sure you can offer some training led by the experts to help your team members get up and running successfully. While some basic support might be included in the price, determine whether you’ll need advanced support (and what that costs) — even if it’s only for a short period of time during the initial stages of implementation. With these considerations in mind, there’s a large pricing range for project management software for startups. As we mentioned, many service providers offer free plans with limited functionality or for a set number of users. Certain software programs may cost anywhere from hundreds to thousands per month depending on per-user or flat fee costs. Wrike offers a mix of free and premium paid plans to help you meet your project management needs. With the free plan, you can invite unlimited users and all core elements of project management are included: file sharing, task management, real-time activity, and different views. You get 2 GB of storage space, basic integrations, and Cloud storage integrations. This is a great plan option if your startup team is just starting to dive into project management with the potential to upgrade later. Additionally, Wrike offers plan paid options, with increased functionality for larger teams and enterprises. What is the best project management tool for startups? The best project management tool for startups will vary depending on your specific needs, but Wrike is a great option for any startup who wants to lay an effective project management foundation — and then grow from there. Wrike offers many plans to choose from, which gives you the option to choose something more budget-friendly at the beginning and move on to a plan with more functionality and capabilities as your startup grows and needs more project management support. We think Wrike is the best project management software for startups and offers the following features (and more) to help your startup succeed: Company-wide communication that eliminates silos and suits your business’ needs Better collaboration through file sharing, task management, and instant reporting capabilities Increased visibility through customizable dashboards Resource management functionality that promotes better-balanced workloads across the team Flexibility to grow alongside your startup as it grows Templates to allow you to communicate and collaborate with ease 400+ app integrations so you can keep working with the tools you already know and love Remember that project management within your startup doesn’t have to be overly complex and burdensome. The right tool will allow you to make the smartest use of your limited resources, help you stay on top of deadlines to keep your customers and team happy, and give you the tools and processes needed to see projects through to success. Ready to take project management within your startup to the next level? Sign up for a free trial of Wrike and set your projects, team, and startup up for success.

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