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Increasing productivity
Increased productivity is often the key priority for project managers and there are a few ways in which team productivity can be improved:
- Adopting new technologies
- New approaches
- Improving current methods and skills.
A key focus is the Agile methodology. This can help achieve productivity through increased collaboration and responsiveness to customer/client enquiries and requests.
Previously created for software development, the agile methodology is now applied across all industries. This focuses on speed, flexibility and increased customer value. For many organisations, agile is the most effective way to create a well-connected team, capable of delivering products and services to customers and clients on time and within budget.
Key principles
The Agile Manifesto developed in 2001, includes key principles.
- Focus on people over process
- Embed customers and their feedback in order to continuously improve
- Deconstruct work into small segments and organize effort into short chunks in order to get quick feedback and make agile course corrections
- Dedicate people to teams and focus on one project at a time
- Experiment and learn continuously
- Ensure transparency of the work and continuity of the team.
Why Agile works
So, how can Agile improve productivity? The reasons agile works are perhaps as interesting as the results they drive. When agile teams work effectively, they tend to share a lot of information. This contributes to shared mental models and helping behaviours.
Essentially, fast information flow contributes to people who have shared thinking and common ways of understanding. This shared experience contributes toward team members who stay aware of each other’s needs and provide support, assistance and guidance on tasks, making for better outcomes overall.
Curious about Agile Ways of Working? We answer your most frequently asked questions here.