The 12 Agile Principles of Adaptive Project Management

A lot of teams are already using Agile principles, even if they don’t know all the specific ins and outs of the methodology. The Agile Manifesto lays out 12 principles that help teams stay flexible when dealing with changes — whether it’s shifting resources, evolving customer needs, or new business priorities. Let’s dive into how these 12 principles can enhance adaptive project management (APM), making it easier for teams to collaborate, learn, and keep improving.

What is adaptive project management?

Adaptive project management (APM) is all about flexibility: It’s an approach that learns from past project results to make future plans better. One of its standout features is that it allows for adjustments to things like timelines, project scope, or resources as things change (which, of course, they inevitably do).

This approach is a big shift from traditional project management methods. Traditional project management tends to follow strict, step-by-step processes, where each stage needs to be completed before the next can begin. APM, on the other hand, is much more dynamic. Teams using APM focus on things like frequent testing, gathering feedback from users as they go, and staying open to change — even if it means shifting gears mid-project.

Because of these agile, adaptable practices, people often use “Agile principles” and “adaptive project management” almost interchangeably.

Are Agile principles and adaptive project management the same?

Agile methodology is grounded in the Agile Manifesto, which emphasizes flexibility, close collaboration with customers, and regular updates (or iterations) to improve development. Agile’s adaptability has led to a variety of methodologies tailored for different teams and projects. For example, in one popular Agile method, Scrum, teams hold daily stand-up meetings to map out their work for the day and discuss any potential roadblocks.

APM takes Agile a step further, structuring projects to make them not just flexible, but aligned with big-picture business goals. APM incorporates customer feedback, iterative development, and adaptability as core components, ensuring that projects remain responsive to both team dynamics and company objectives.

At its core, APM starts with four essential values:

• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools: Prioritize real collaboration within the team.
• Working software over comprehensive documentation: Focus on delivering functional results rather than spending time on exhaustive documentation.
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation: Engage directly with customers to meet their needs effectively.
• Responding to change over following a plan: Stay open to adjustments instead of rigidly following an initial plan.

Beyond these values, APM adds a foundational set of 12 principles that guide how teams can stay flexible, deliver value, and continually improve.

The 12 Agile Manifesto principles

To shape the Agile philosophy, the writers created the Agile Manifesto, which outlines the 12 principles for flexible workflows:

• The highest priority is satisfying the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
• Welcome changing requirements, even late in development.
• Frequently deliver working software.
• Business people and developers must collaborate daily during the project.
• Build projects around motivated individuals.
• Face-to-face conversation is efficient and effective for conveying information within a development team.
• Measure progress with working software.
• Agile processes promote sustainable development.
• Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design.
• Simplicity is essential.
• Self-organizing teams create the best architectures, requirements, and designs.
• Teams must regularly reflect on how to become more effective and adjust.

Adaptive Project Management is all about using these Agile principles to deliver the best customer experience and products as fast as possible.

What is the highest priority of the 12 Agile principles?

Of the 12 Agile principles, the highest priority is satisfying the customer. Teams can always circle back to this principle when developing products and ask themselves whether or not their work truly serves the customer. When using principle one as their north star, teams can use the rest of the 11 principles to deliver quality products.

Why are Agile Principles important?

Agile principles matter because they shape how we approach our work, promoting a culture of continuous learning, improvement, and teamwork. By keeping the customer at the center, teams can adapt quickly to changes, which ultimately leads to better results.

Agile vs. Scrum and other methodologies

Agile is more of a broad philosophy for how to develop and deliver software to customers, while Scrum is one specific Agile methodology that helps teams manage projects. Since Scrum is more structured, it works well for teams that are experimenting or using creative strategies to get products out quickly.

There are also other Agile methodologies, like:

• Waterfall: This is a more traditional approach where teams complete tasks in a set order, moving to the next stage only after finishing the current one.
• Kanban: Teams use a visual board to track tasks, pulling them from a backlog as they’re ready to work on them.
• Lean: The focus here is on maximizing value while cutting out anything unnecessary, helping teams stay efficient and avoid waste.

Boost your Agile Project management with Slack

Knowing the Agile principles is only one part of achieving a competitive advantage. The other part is how you harness those principles and facilitate important conversations. Slack’s cloud-based team communication platform allows teams to prioritize tasks, share ideas, and manage projects on one platform.
Integrate Slack with the tools you already use and see how easy cross-collaboration can be.