AGILE PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR NON IT COMPANIES

Abstract

Project management is becoming an increasingly preferred approach in the public and business sectors due to its orientation towards results. But the project management methodology is also evolving. In recent years, its most advanced option is the Agile project management. It emerged in 2001 after a conference in Chicago of software industry professionals discussing the possibility of a new method of work, later called Agile. A Manifesto has been developed that contains 12 principles and 4 values. The document has been translated into many languages and has become leading for many IT developers.Leading in the agile approach is that instead of investing in a detailed outline of processes, procedures and tools, is better for organizations to invest in people and in their interaction. Rather than focusing on comprehensive documentation from the beginning, it is better to focus on the final result of the project. Instead of settling legal issues and signing a preliminary contract, it is better to engage with customers (target groups) and seek a live connection with the users of the service or product.Gradually, the advantages of the new approach are gaining more and more adherents. According to the 11th Annual State of AgileTM - Report, 2016, the number of companies implementing agile project management is steadily increasing globally, with the process gradually entering non-IT sectors as well. According to the authors of the report, the benefit of the method is in several directions: results are achieved in a shorter time, organizations become more productive, risk is reduced, costs are decreased, etc.In Bulgaria, agile project management is applied mainly to companies that are branches of large foreign IT companies, and activities. Many small companies, as well as public sector organizations, still apply the traditional project management approach and so they miss the added value of providing goods and services to their customers in an agile manner.In this paper the idea of implementing the agile project management in non IT departments of companies is presented. Emphasis is placed on the iterative nature of operational management, whereby projects are divided into separate parts, prioritized and “delivered” in small cycles. At the same time, the issue of terminology of this approach is discussed. The main terms are different from these in the traditional project management and require additional efforts to understand and implement it. Special attention is also paid to the agile management of research and educational projects in the universities.