How to Manage the Agile Development Process in Projects

1. Problem Description

In Agile projects, teams need to respond quickly to changes and deliver value continuously. However, they may face issues such as frequent changes in requirement priorities,失控的 iteration节奏, and low team collaboration efficiency. Interviewers aim to use this question to assess whether you grasp the core Agile practices and can apply them flexibly in complex scenarios.

2. Core Objectives of Agile Management

• Rapid Value Delivery: Continuously produce usable product increments through short-cycle iterations (e.g., 1-4 weeks).
• Flexible Adaptation to Change: Adjust direction based on regular feedback rather than strictly adhering to the initial plan.
• Team Self-Organization and Continuous Improvement: Encourage teams to proactively solve problems and optimize processes through retrospectives.

3. Key Steps and Practical Details

Step 1: Establish Agile Framework and Role Division

• Choose a Framework: Select Scrum (fixed iterations), Kanban (flow-based), or a hybrid model based on project complexity.
  • Example: If requirements change extremely frequently, use Kanban to visualize the workflow and limit work-in-progress (WIP).
• Define Roles:
  • Product Owner (PO): Responsible for梳理 requirement priorities (Backlog) and defining acceptance criteria.
  • Scrum Master: Removes obstacles for the team and ensures process execution.
  • Development Team: Self-organizes to complete iteration tasks.

Step 2: Plan Iterations and Break Down Tasks

• Iteration Planning Meeting:
  • The PO explains high-priority requirements, and the team estimates effort (e.g., story points).
  • Key Technique: Break down large requirements into small tasks that can be completed within an iteration (e.g., user stories).
• Example:
  • Original requirement: "Users can pay via the App" → Broken down into subtasks: "Integrate payment API," "Design payment UI," "Test payment流程," etc.

Step 3: Daily Stand-ups and Progress Tracking

• 15-Minute Daily Stand-up: Each member answers three things—progress made yesterday, plan for today, and blocking issues.
• Visualization Tools: Use Kanban boards (e.g., Jira) to transparently display task status (To Do/In Progress/Done).
• Risk Identification: If a task remains stagnant for multiple days, immediate intervention is needed (e.g., reallocating resources or adjusting requirements).

Step 4: Iteration Review and Feedback Loop

• Iteration Review Meeting: The team demonstrates the product increment to the PO, collects feedback, and adjusts后续 plans.
• Retrospective Meeting: The team discusses improvement points (e.g., "Insufficient testing time can be addressed by involving testing earlier in development").
• Example: During a review, it was found that users were dissatisfied with the interface. The PO immediately added UI optimization as a high priority for the next iteration.

Step 5: Manage Requirement Changes and Priorities

• Change Handling Principles:
  • New requirements can be added to the Backlog, but the current iteration goal remains unchanged (to prevent disrupting progress).
  • The PO must reprioritize based on business value, replacing lower-priority tasks if necessary.
• Tool Support: Use burndown charts to track progress. If deviations from the plan occur frequently, replanning is required.

4. Common Challenges and Coping Strategies

• Challenge 1: Iteration Scope Creep
  • Countermeasure: Strictly adhere to "Iteration Goal Lock-in." New requirements must be evaluated by the PO and exchanged for existing tasks.
• Challenge 2: Unstable Team Velocity
  • Countermeasure: Estimate average velocity based on historical data, reserve buffer time, and avoid over-committing.
• Challenge 3: Low Collaboration Efficiency in Distributed Teams
  • Countermeasure: Use collaboration tools (e.g., Miro virtual whiteboard) and set overlapping work hours for同步 information.

5. Key Metrics for Measuring Agile Success

• Value Delivery: Number of deliverable features per iteration and user satisfaction.
• Process Health: Iteration completion rate, team velocity stability, defect rate.
• Team Morale: Assess member engagement and fatigue through regular anonymous surveys.

By following the above steps, one can maintain Agile flexibility while avoiding chaos through structured control, ensuring the project continuously moves toward its goals.