Thinking

Agile adoption for project performance during COVID

Written by Hannah Tomlinson | December 15 2020

Now more than ever, an agile approach allows teams to reconcile project expectations with changing budgets and resources.

Projects always start up with good intentions for finishing on time and under budget, but along the lifecycle of the project, issues arise, leading to increased costs, time and sometimes, unhappy stakeholders. This has only been exacerbated by the on-going global pandemic, which has caused a new reality of delivering projects remotely. An agile approach offers increased flexibility in these uncertain times, offering teams regular opportunities to reconcile project expectations with fluctuating budgets and resources. 

Agile delivery methodology isn’t new; most businesses are familiar with this and are now investing in resources and technology to move to agile ways of working. But what if you’re using agile and still facing these problems? It could be that your agile practices are actually waterfall in disguise, or it could simply be that your type of project can’t be efficiently completed using the agile methodologies that currently exist. In 2020 many businesses are being pushed towards the agile method by necessity, as a solution to unforeseen challenges, yet they haven’t necessarily had the time to get to grips with its nuances, 

We believe that real world projects don’t conform to theoretical constructs. Every project is a unique beast. Its DNA is drawn from the business case as well as your organisation’s culture, market and resources – all factors that are in a state of flux during COVID. Over nine years of conducting numerous projects in the everyday business environment we’ve created an approach to project delivery that makes agile even more agile. We have spent the last eight months testing it in the new COVID world and it remains adaptable and scalable to any type of project, from the day to day to enterprise wide change, in the now common remote working world.

Time for the introduction – meet CAM, the Clarasys Agile Method.

The overarching concept is straightforward. By assessing your capabilities to undertake agile delivery and how it fits into the rest of your business strategy, we are able to identify and prioritise any potential barriers. There is no silver bullet, you won’t become agile overnight. What this process is designed to do is ensure that the methodology is understood and embraced throughout the business so that each individual begins to naturally work in this way because they understand the benefits it brings to their projects, especially in times of increased unknowns.

We are all currently experiencing constant uncertainty and change. Adopting CAM throughout the business is a way of identifying and dealing with the uncertainties and changes in your operating environment in a more efficient and effective way.  It’s more than a project delivery method – it’s a way of thinking and acting. Reacting to not just project changes but any change, in an agile way, will lead to benefits like reduced risk, improved cash flow, reduced costs and increased profits.