A frequently asked question is about the difference between AgilePM and Scrum. What works best, however, completely depends on the situation within your organisation. We outlined the biggest differences below.
The History of Scrum
Scrum was created and developed by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland in the ‘90s. It is an iterative and incremental approach firstly thought to manage software delivery. Scrum is a team-based approach where the development process is divided into several sprints in order to enhance collaboration with the final user. “Scrum” was named after a Rugby practice, where it is a synonym of “melee”: it leads to imagining how the development team works; all the involved actors pushing towards the same direction, as to say towards a successful product delivery.
Scrum was created to give an efficient management answer to Software Development projects but its guidance and its flexibility are easily applicable to all those projects that require to give a fast answer to change.
The Scrum team exists of a Scrum Master, Scrum Product Owner and Scrum developer (future links to blog articles). The team works closely together and each member is recognized and needed to achieve successful projects.
The Start of AgilePM
AgilePM (Agile Project Management) is the only Agile methodology for Agile Project Management. It is the result of the collaboration between APMG International and Agile Business Consortium. AgilePM is a balance between the standard structured approach of Project Management and the flexible agile approach of all Agile methods.
AgilePM is a method that can be used when all the features of the final product are not perfectly defined and, as a result, different and repeated requests for change materialise or if the end user wants to receive some of the project benefits before the conclusion of the project itself.
AgilePM was developed to harmonize all the aspects of traditional Project Management methodologies with Agile to adapt the framework to the high-paced continually changing working environments.
Scrum a framework, AgilePM a methodology
Scrum is a useful tool when handling complex projects because it allows for dynamic adaptation to situations and enables you to juggle products that fit the needs of the end-user effectively and creatively.
AgilePM could be the right solution for organisations requiring to adopt a Project Management framework in a fast-paced environment where change can be efficiently and effectively addressed by Agile. It is particularly addressed to all those organisations that due to complex governance reasons need to define the project guidelines since the first phases. Before an organisation starts their Agile transformation (link to future blog article), the ‘what’ and ‘why’ have to be clearly defined.
If you or your organisation are looking for an Agile method to manage projects or non- software products in a lighter way than “traditional waterfall Project Management”, AgilePM could be the right methodology for you.
AgilePM or Scrum?
Often people ask us: “AgilePM or Scrum?” Apparently there is a trend towards learning and applying a single methodology or framework for all the projects and into all the environments.
Actually, it would be tremendously useful to know both methodologies in order to choose the one to adopt case-by-case. The working environment and the kind of project should indicate what method to use and not vice-versa. Adapting the project or product to the chosen methodology is always the wrong approach.
Contrary to common belief, the two methods in real life are a perfect pair and can be applied together in the same organisation. In Scrum we will not find the concept of a “project”, that is why complex organisations using Scrum should apply an Agile approach also at the organisational level. For example, an organisation that already has applied Scrum could also be interested in adopting AgilePM: Scrum is focused on the product delivery, so it can be used to develop products while managing the overall project by applying a Project Management framework such as AgilePM.
Scrum, as also declared by its authors, is a framework simple to understand but difficult to apply. Organisations can utilise Scrum to let the customers feel close to the project and to quickly meet their needs during the whole length of process development, but they should not forget the importance of Project Management.
If you would like to find out more about the difference between traditional waterfall Project Management and more Agile Project Management methods, you can download our infographic Waterfall vs. Agile.
Also read:
What is Scrum?
What is AgilePM?
