3 Top Agile Trends for 2024: Atlassian Creator Predictions
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New Year’s resolutions and 2024 predictions are about to be a dime a dozen. When everyone wants to stake their claim in the “thought leadership” space, you’re more likely to find opinions than facts.
Don’t worry, I’m doing the hard work for you. As an Atlassian Creator, I have access to the best sources and years of experience as an Agile project manager to bring you an honest, realistic set of 2024 Agile predictions.
Let’s talk about three trends in Agile that you’ll likely see in 2024.
Agile Trend #1: Keep it simple, silly.
It looks like I shared a gut instinct with Adaptavist, one of the leading Atlassian Solution Partners, on this trend. Agile became so popular because it worked. Over the years, you’ve seen more and more people trying to make Agile, well, more Agile. But as the old adage goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
There’s a lot to be said for being innovative, but sometimes things are designed with limitations for a reason. We’ve seen a rise in “Scrumban” over the last few years, but good old-fashioned Scrum and Kanban remain the Agile methodologies with the highest use and highest satisfaction. The 16th Annual State Agile Report reported that 87% of respondents use Scrum (up from 58% in the 14th report), 56% use Kanban (up from 7% in the 14th survey), and only 27% are using the Scrumban hybrid, a smaller increase from its previous 10% in the 14th annual report.
I predict that we’ll see a return to the basics of Agile, both as a word and as a concept. This doesn’t mean that companies will fail to add their personal touch to Agile, but rather that the touch will become simpler, more concise, and more streamlined.
Agile Trend #2 : The business world will be ruled by Agile… literally.
In a report on Agile statistics by Radix, it was stated that the FBI recently started using Agile to manage government projects. In fact, it’s estimated that 80% of Federal IT projects are managed using Agile. What does this mean?
Well, it means that maybe the government will start actually getting things done.
Jokes aside (I’m serious), when a project management method makes its way to the top, there’s something to be said for its effectiveness. As more and more large organizations turn to Agile, including the majority of Fortune 500 companies, I predict we’ll continue to see Agile grow as the main project management method for most larger companies.
“Organizations are realizing that working as a team is hard and following Agile practices fosters communication and efficiencies that teams desire. Small companies and non-tech companies are realizing that there are better ways to get work done and they are turning to Agile which has been an industry staple in tech companies for guidance.”
Alex Ortiz, Creator of Apetech Tech Tutorials
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Agile Trend #3: New project managers will try to set themselves apart with certifications.
Whether it’s becoming a Scrum Master or a SAFe Product Owner, new project managers will start beefing up their resumes with Agile-focused certifications.
Project management is proving to be a lucrative career path for those entering the workforce. And as it gains popularity, the field has become increasingly competitive. Soon just being a good organizer won’t be enough.
Coursera predicts that the more general PMI-Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) certification will top charts as the #1 course for new Agile project managers, with more niche certifications like Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Professional Scrum Master I (PSM I), and Scaled Agile Framework certifications (SAFe) rounding out the list of the most sought-after certifications in the year 2024.
Check out how agile will affect the field of project management with my project management trends for 2024.
Final Thoughts: Always be iterating.
Agile will continue to be a popular project management method in 2024, with novice and experienced project managers alike looking to hone their skills to stay educated in a competitive landscape.
Since the hard skills of Agile are so easily attained, we might see project managers beefing up on things like certifications and soft skills to get ahead. But as the saying goes, it’s a marathon and a sprint, so always be iterating–even if what you’re iterating on is yourself.
