Agile Project Management Phases and the Delivery Life Cycle

By: Hajime Estanislao, PMP, CSM; Editor: Dr. Michael J. Shick, MSPM, PMP, CSM

Are you experiencing challenges adjusting to the fast-paced demands of business and project environment? Do the traditional project lifecycle and management methods leave you feeling rigid and unresponsive to change? The Agile Project Management Phases and the Delivery Life Cycle could be the game-changers you need to transform and drive a successful project.

Imagine an agile project management framework that adapts to evolving requirements, cultivates collaboration, enhances productivity and delivers tangible value. Agile methodologies, particularly the Disciplined Agile framework, offer a flexible, iterative approach that empowers teams to respond swiftly to feedback, ensure continuous improvement, and effectively meet customer needs.

Think about the benefits: streamlined processes, improved communication, faster delivery times, and higher quality outcomes. By honing your skills in the Agile Delivery Life Cycle, you can elevate your project management skills, lead your team to new heights of efficiency, and achieve sustained success in a competitive market.

Ready to transform your project management approach? Dive into the article about the Agile Project Management Phases and the Delivery Life Cycle. Learn the essential steps, explore practical examples, and discover how to implement these principles in your organization.

What is the Agile Delivery Life Cycle?

The Agile Delivery Life Cycle is a systematic, iterative approach to managing and executing projects emphasizing flexibility, collaboration, and continuous improvement. It breaks down projects into smaller, manageable increments or iterations, allowing teams to deliver work in short timelines, gather feedback, and adapt to changes efficiently.

Unlike traditional project management methodologies, the Agile Delivery Life Cycle focuses on delivering value early and frequently, emphasizing the environment of constant learning and adjustment to meet evolving customer needs and market demands. This approach is not confined to software development but can be applied across various industries to enhance project success and customer satisfaction.

What about the Traditional Project Management?

The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) 6th Edition outlines traditional project management in 5 process groups, providing a clear structure for managing projects from start to finish. Here are the five groups explained:

Initiating is the first step of the project.

Create a Project Charter: A document that formally starts the project.
Identify Stakeholders: List everyone who has an interest in the project.

Planning how to complete the project.

Develop a Project Plan: A detailed guide on how to carry out the project.
Define the Scope: Clearly state what the project will deliver and break it down into smaller parts. The project scope governs your deliverables.
Plan the Schedule and Budget: Create a timeline and estimate costs.

Executing means performing the actual work planned in the project.

Direct and Manage Work: Perform the tasks outlined in the project plan.
Manage the Team: Recruit, train, and lead the project team.
Communicate: Share important information with everyone involved.

Monitoring and Controlling include tracking the project’s progress and making necessary adjustments.

Monitor Progress: Regularly check how the project is going.
Manage Changes: Review and approve any changes to the project plan.
Control Scope, Schedule, and Costs: Keep the project on track and within budget.

Closing is finishing the project and closing it properly.

Close the Project or Phase: Complete all project work and get final approval.
Finalize Everything: Ensure all documents are completed and stored, and release project resources.

The Story Between the Two

Agile project management and the waterfall approach differ fundamentally in their approach and execution. Agile project management is characterized by its iterative and incremental nature, emphasizing flexibility, adaptability, and collaboration. In the agile life cycle, projects are divided into small, manageable increments called iterations or sprints, allowing teams to deliver work in short cycles, gather continuous feedback, and adapt to changes swiftly.

This method prioritizes delivering value early and frequently, ensuring customer needs are met. Agile promotes a high level of stakeholder involvement, with regular reviews and feedback sessions guiding the direction, and relies on cross-functional, self-organizing teams that collaborate closely and make collective decisions.

In contrast, traditional (a.k.a. predictive) project management, as outlined in the PMBOK 6th Edition, follows a more structured, sequential approach. This approach highlights the five process groups of the project: Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing. It relies on detailed upfront planning, fixed scope, and comprehensive documentation, with changes managed through formal change control processes.

It focuses on completing predefined deliverables as outlined in the project plan, with success measured by adherence to the plan and achieving specified outputs. Stakeholder engagement is typically limited to key milestones and decision points, with the project manager playing a central role in directing the team and managing project activities. This approach is suited to projects with well-defined requirements and lower levels of uncertainty, where predictability and control are paramount.

What are common Agile Delivery Life Cycles Today?

Several agile delivery life cycles today, each tailored to different project environments and team dynamics. Here are three examples, including a focus on Disciplined Agile:

Scrum

Scrum is one of the most widely adopted agile frameworks. It is known for its structured approach to delivering projects in iterative cycles called sprints, which typically last two to four weeks.

Sprint Planning defines the goals and tasks for the upcoming sprint.
Daily Stand-Ups are short daily meetings to synchronize team activities and address obstacles.
Sprint Review demonstrates the completed work to stakeholders and gathering feedback.
Sprint Retrospective includes reflecting on the sprint process to identify improvements.

Scrum emphasizes cross-functional teams and promotes transparency, inspection, and adaptation, making it suitable for dynamic and complex projects.

Kanban

Kanban is a flexible and visual approach to managing work that emphasizes continuous delivery without overburdening the team.

Visual Workflow – Using Kanban boards to visualize tasks and their status.
Work In Progress (WIP) Limits – Restricting the number of tasks in progress to maintain focus and efficiency.
Continuous Delivery – Delivering work incrementally and frequently based on team capacity.

Kanban is particularly effective for teams that require a steady flow of work and need to manage varying priorities and workloads without fixed iterations.

Disciplined Agile (DA)

Disciplined Agile (DA) is a process decision framework that integrates practices from various agile and lean methodologies to provide a more comprehensive and flexible approach to successful projects.

Goal-Driven Approach – Tailoring processes and practices to meet specific goals and contexts.
Lifecycle Options – Offering multiple lifecycles (e.g., Agile, Lean, Continuous Delivery) to suit different project needs.
Guided Continuous Improvement – Emphasizing ongoing optimization and learning through feedback loops and retrospectives.

DA stands out by providing a toolkit that helps organizations choose the best practices and strategies based on their unique circumstances. It supports different lifecycles, making it adaptable for various projects and industries.

Disciplined Agile is designed to address the limitations of single-framework approaches by offering a more holistic and adaptable solution. It encourages teams to choose the best practices from a wide array of agile and lean methodologies, ensuring that the approach is customized to the project’s specific needs.

This flexibility makes DA particularly valuable for organizations looking to scale agile practices or those operating in complex environments where a one-size-fits-all methodology might not be effective. By promoting a goal-driven and context-sensitive approach, DA helps teams deliver high-quality outcomes more efficiently and sustainably.

Reasons You Need to Know Agile Delivery Life Cycle

Understanding the Agile Delivery Life Cycle is important for anyone involved in project management, as it provides a structured yet flexible approach to delivering projects that meet customer needs and adapt to changing requirements. This knowledge enables teams to deliver high-quality products more efficiently, respond swiftly to customer feedback, and continuously improve processes. Here are reasons why the Agile Delivery Life Cycle is relevant:

Improved Flexibility and Adaptability – Agile allows teams to pivot and adjust priorities based on real-time feedback and changing market conditions.
Enhanced Collaboration and Communication – Regular interactions among team members and stakeholders foster a collaborative environment, ensuring everyone is aligned and working towards common goals.
Increased Customer Satisfaction – Frequent deliveries of functional increments allow for continuous feedback and adjustments, ensuring the final product meets customer expectations.
Higher Quality Products – Iterative development and continuous testing help identify and resolve issues early, creating a more polished and reliable product.
Efficient Use of Resources – Agile methodologies focus on delivering value with each iteration, optimizing resource allocation, and reducing waste.
Faster Time to Market – Shorter development cycles and regular releases enable quicker delivery of features and products, keeping pace with market demands.
Continuous Improvement – Agile promotes a culture of ongoing learning and process optimization, leading to sustained growth and efficiency improvements over time.

Understanding the Agile Delivery Life Cycle

The Agile Delivery Life Cycle in the Disciplined Agile (DA) process provides a comprehensive and adaptable framework for managing projects. It integrates best practices from various agile and lean methodologies, offering a flexible approach tailored to meet specific project needs. By understanding these instructions, you will gain an understanding of how to implement and optimize the Agile Delivery Life Cycle within your organization.

Initiation/Envisioning
Planning
Execution/Construction
Review/Iteration Review
Release/Deployment
Closure
Continuous Improvement

Here is an in-depth look at each step:

Initiation/Envisioning

Define the project vision, goals, and high-level requirements.

Engage stakeholders to gather initial requirements and identify key objectives. Create a project charter to document the project’s vision and scope. Conduct a feasibility analysis to assess project viability.

Planning

Develop a detailed plan for the first iteration or release.

Conduct sprint planning sessions to break down the project into manageable tasks. Prioritize the backlog based on business value and dependencies. Allocate resources and set timelines, ensuring alignment with overall project goals.

Execution/Construction

Build the product incrementally through iterative cycles.

Utilize more agile development practices such as daily stand-ups, pair programming, and continuous integration. Focus on delivering potentially shippable increments at the end of each iteration. Continuously gather feedback from stakeholders to refine and improve the product.

Review/Iteration Review

Assess the completed work and gather feedback.

Conduct sprint review meetings to demonstrate completed features to stakeholders. Gather feedback and discuss any changes or improvements needed. Hold retrospective meetings to reflect on the iteration process and identify areas for improvement.

Release/Deployment

Deploy the working increments to production.

Plan and execute the release process, ensuring completion of all necessary testing and quality checks. Provide user training and update documentation as needed. Deploy the product increment to the production environment, coordinating with relevant teams to ensure a smooth transition.

Closure

Conclude the project and meet all the project deliverables.

Conduct a final project review to confirm all objectives are done.

Complete and archive project documentation. Organize a debrief with the project team to capture lessons learned and best practices for future projects.

Continuous Improvement

Implement feedback and continuously adapt phase to enhance the process and product.

Establish regular feedback loops to gather ongoing input from users and stakeholders. Use agile retrospectives to identify and implement process improvements. Focus on incremental enhancements and adopting best practices to drive sustained growth and efficiency.

Key Considerations Related to Agile Delivery Life Cycle

When implementing the Agile Delivery Life Cycle, it’s essential to recognize that flexibility and adaptability are at the core of agile methodologies. While the steps provide a structured approach, the ability to respond to changing requirements and unforeseen challenges sets Agile apart. Teams must remain open to evolving their processes and practices based on continuous feedback and retrospective insights. This iterative nature ensures that agile projects align with customer needs and market demands.

Another consideration is the importance of a collaborative and communicative environment. Agile thrives on the collective effort of cross-functional teams working closely with stakeholders. Effective communication channels and regular interactions, such as daily stand-ups and review meetings, are vital for alignment, transparency, customer collaboration, and swift issue resolution. Encouraging a culture of openness and trust can significantly enhance team performance and project outcomes.

It’s important to focus on continuous improvement and learning. Agile is not just about delivering projects efficiently but also about building a resilient and adaptive organization. Investing in training, agile coaching, agile project management courses, and adopting best practices from frameworks like Disciplined Agile can drive long-term success.

Taking it to the Next Level: Scaling Beyond Agile Software Development Projects

To elevate your agile delivery practices beyond individual projects, consider implementing strategies for scaling agile across multiple teams and departments. Frameworks like the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), Large-Scale Scrum (LeSS), and Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD) provide structured approaches to coordinating and managing larger, complex initiatives. These frameworks offer principles and practices for aligning multiple teams towards common objectives, ensuring consistency, and maintaining agility at scale.

Investing in advanced tools and technologies can further enhance your agile delivery capabilities. Tools for continuous integration, automated testing, and deployment pipelines streamline workflows and reduce manual effort. These technologies accelerate delivery and improve quality and reliability. Leveraging project management and collaboration platforms tailored for agile environments can facilitate better communication, visibility, and coordination across distributed teams.

A culture of continuous learning and improvement is a pillar for long-term success. Encourage teams to experiment with new practices, share insights, and learn from each other’s experiences. Providing ongoing training, mentorship, and access to agile communities can help teams stay updated with the latest trends and best practices.

An Alternative: Scrum of Scrums

For organizations wanting to scale agile practices across teams, the Scrum of Scrums framework offers an effective alternative to traditional scaling methods. Scrum of Scrums facilitates communication and coordination between multiple Scrum teams working on a large project. This approach ensures that each team remains agile and self-organizing while aligning with the broader project goals.

In a Scrum of Scrums setup, representatives from each Scrum team meet regularly to discuss their progress, dependencies, and impediments emerging forward. These meetings provide a platform for cross-team collaboration and problem-solving. This structure helps identify and address issues that could impact multiple teams, ensuring the project progresses smoothly and cohesively.

The primary advantage of Scrum of Scrums is its simplicity and flexibility. It retains the core principles of Scrum while enabling scaling without extensive modifications to existing processes. It makes it a highly adaptable and accessible option for organizations looking to expand their agile practices. By promoting transparency and collaboration across teams, Scrum of Scrums can enhance overall project efficiency and effectiveness, making it a valuable alternative for scaling agile delivery.

My Experience with the Agile Delivery Life Cycle

The Agile Delivery Life Cycle offers a robust and flexible framework for managing projects across various industries. By understanding and implementing its phases: initiation, detailed planning, execution, review, release, closure, and continuous improvement, teams can enhance collaboration, adapt to changing requirements, and deliver high-quality results efficiently. Disciplined Agile, in particular, provides a toolkit that integrates best practices from multiple agile and lean methodologies, making it adaptable to different project contexts and needs.

By advocating continuous improvement, collaboration, and flexibility, teams are better equipped to navigate the complexities of modern project management. Whether you are just beginning your agile journey or looking to scale agile practices across your organization, understanding and leveraging the Agile Delivery Life Cycle can lead to sustained success and growth.

As you explore and implement these practices, remember that the journey is continuous. Keep learning, adapting, and refining your approach to ensure your projects meet expectations and are celebrated at completion. The agile mindset is not just a set of processes; Agile is a commitment to ongoing improvement and delivering exceptional value.