3 Surprising Ways Agile is Affecting Project Managers

The adoption of Agile methodologies by software development first, then by many other industries, has to be one of the most important changes in project management in the last hundred years. It’s had a direct impact on the professionals who work in the project management field, and in some cases completely changed their way of life along with their way of working. Here are just a few examples of how Agile is affecting project managers:

1. Agile project managers are better looking.

Project managers who are working in non-Agile environments deal with a lot of pressure. They are expected to get everyone unified on a project and push through unpopular projects with impossible budgets and time constraints, often with team members who are not 100% behind the initiatives. The constant strain this lifestyle causes has been known to affect their appearance along with other adverse effects.

Agile project managers, on the other hand, have the benefit of working with self-managed autonomous teams who are fully in control of each Sprint, and are therefore fully vested in a successful project completion. The very nature of the Agile environment spreads the pressure around the team evenly rather than leaving it all on the project manager. The result of going Agile is easy to see.

2. Agile project managers are less stressed.

As noted above, the life of a traditional project manager can be difficult, and stress is a large part of that. Traditional project managers are generally expected to make far-reaching, split-second decisions that could impact huge budgets and directly affect the success or failure of a mission-critical project. Often, those projects can be so huge and span such a length of time that the project manager doesn’t even realize the full impact of these decisions for months.

On the other hand, Agile project managers have the luxury of spreading the planning and decision-making responsibilities across entire teams. They only need to be immediately concerned with the current Sprint (usually about two weeks long) since Agile methodologies are based around short iterations and continual improvement. This combination of factors makes for a far less stressful environment.

3. Agile project managers are healthier and spend less money.

We all know that stress can cause us to make unhealthy choices, like binge eating and being just too tired to hit the gym. Project managers who work in an Agile environment tend to make it through the week without going through an entire pack of Rolaids. They also spend less money on their wardrobe because updates are only required to maintain their personal sense of fashion and not needed for a variety of waste sizes.

*Please note: The statements above have not been evaluated by the International Association for Exaggerated Claims Regarding Agile Project Management. However, proponents of Agile do agree that it offers unparalleled benefits in development efficiency, quality, and customer support. So, being in love with Agile </ as we are, we stand behind the research.

If you’ve noted any other surprising ways Agile is affecting project managers, please let us know in the comments.