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The fast-paced world of business never seems to slow down. In fact, it only seems to speed up year after year. With new technology that helps us increase efficiency and productivity, while boosting profits, the competitive landscape of business just becomes more so. That’s why organizations of all types and sizes are always on the lookout for ways of improving their processes while helping track and achieve key performance metrics.

The “Agile” approach to project management has quickly overtaken the outdated “waterfall” approach, which made it difficult for teams to adapt and improve throughout their process. In addition to the core technologies you need to learn to thrive in today’s tech-driven workforce, it’s important to understand the best methodologies for applying technology to day-to-day-operations to ensure operations run smoothly and remain nimble to change.

The Agile method for project management stems from an approach that was created to improve web development projects. Previously, teams would go through a linear process of: analysis, design, implementation, testing, and deployment, without giving any room for improvement and re-thinking things throughout the process. At the end, a company could be stuck with something that doesn’t work very well, and an inefficient process for correcting course.

Let’s take a look at the top 5 reasons why you need to learn the Agile methodologies to project management as a core job skill. Understanding this approach will show prospective employers that you can move right into position and help their organization execute their most important initiatives.

• Designed for long-term, complex projects. Ask any seasoned project manager or web developer how long and complicated the processes for new initiatives can become, and they’ll likely tell you that projects can be never-ending and frustratingly complex. That’s just the nature of business, and something that will never change. However, Agile project management was designed to help companies navigate multiple iterations, as well as the unexpected twists and turns that pop up on all kinds of projects.
• Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize. In real estate, it’s “location, location, location.” But in project management, the keyword is definitely “prioritize.” What’s important right now? What can be done right now? What are the next steps? Those are always the key questions project managers have to sort through. This isn’t always easy, with many moving parts and teams with ever-changing needs. That’s why the Agile approach makes it easy for project managers to change the priority of many tasks without slowing down the process.
• Feedback is integrated. There is nothing more frustrating than having projects held up because a team is awaiting feedback before proceeding. Agile keeps the communication flowing through daily scrum meetings and consistent feedback from all sides involved. With the Agile approach, you can easily track communication, implement changes, and keep going, without getting stuck in the mud, so to speak.
• Regular testing in each cycle. This was a huge pitfall of the outdated waterfall approach to executing web-based development projects. Before, companies would realize mistakes too late in the process to recalibrate before putting out a poor quality product. The previous approach was also more costly, because analysis wasn’t built in to each phase.
• Customer Satisfaction. When you get something done more quickly, in a more cost-effective way, while producing a higher quality product, you’re going to be in your customer’s good graces. Whether you are creating a B2B or B2C product or service, your business relies on customer satisfaction to succeed and continue competing in today’s world.

If you are trying to figure out the best way to learn project management and technical skills that are relevant to today’s top employers, you need to speak with us. We teach students a wide variety of IT related skills through courses that result in certifications that employers require for the positions they desperately need to fill. To be a key player in tomorrow’s workforce, you need to find the right training today. Talk to our advisors today about your career goals, or check out our current special offers, so we can help you start moving in the right direction.