Projet agile : retenez ceci si vous travaillez avec des indépendants

What does agile working mean?

Agile project management means that projects are approached with high flexibility, speed, and “agility”. Through this modern and innovative form of work management, every team member participates in the overall responsibility of the project. At the same time, workflows are made easier and more transparent with the help of agile methods.

The significant advantages of agile project management methods are a more efficient use of all resources and great flexibility. At the same time, all participants have more freedom when it comes to allocating their own workload.

In comparison to classic hierarchical structures, hierarchies in agile project management tend to be flat. In this way, the individual strengths of each member of the project team are brought to their fullest extent. By having all team members agree on an agile method and commit to its principles, techniques and values, the efficiency of the entire team increases.

Agile project management methods are established in many areas. Whether Kanban, Scrum, Design Thinking or Extreme Programming, each of these methods has different advantages fwhen it comes to working on projects. Due to its original application in software development, agile project management is particularly suitable for projects in the STEM sector but can easily be applied to other areas and industries as well.

Why should you work with freelancers?

When working with freelancers, companies have not only advantages regarding cost-effectiveness. They are also working with experts who have many years of professional experience. Thus, these workers are characterized by a high compatibility with different teams. At the same time, freelancers can work highly independently and self-sufficiently. Another plus: an external team members come to the company with a fresh view. In this way, they can provide new input and unbiased input on projects. Beyond these advantages, freelancers are ideally prepared for collaboration in agile project teams.

Why freelancers are an advantage for working in Agile teams

Agile project management requires a high degree of initiative, personal responsibility, and the ability to work independently. Freelancers naturally bring these skills with them. They must organize their tasks themselves and take direct responsibility for everything they do.

In an agile project team, freelancers can bring all their advantages to the table. At the same time, companies can strengthen their teams with freelancers in a targeted manner to increase the efficiency of the entire project.

How to successfully implement agile project management with freelancers

Even though freelancers usually have all the necessary skills for a smooth collaboration in agile teams, employers should consider certain important aspects in advance:

Communicate clearly:

Successful project management requires fast and transparent communication. It is therefore always an advantage if the freelancers assigned are familiar with the project management tools the team is using. It can be beneficial to provide a quick introduction to the tools used during onboarding so that everyone is on the same page.

Assign roles precisely and communicate deadlines clearly:

As mentioned above, freelancers are highly self-organized and can work autonomously. It is therefore more important to integrate them well into the project team and to define their role precisely.

Agree on the agile project management method in advance:

For the project management to achieve its objective, all participants should understand and ideally internalize the respective method used. Therefore, the method should be clarified, and a brief introduction can be provided in advance. The job-requirements should be already clearly defined when selecting a specialist for the project team.

Conclusion

Agile project management methods are ideal for collaborating with freelancers if the required conditions are fulfilled

Freelancers can work in agile project teams without any problems. For the collaboration to be successful, the freelancers should have the necessary knowledge of the agile project management methods used and should be familiar with the use of project management tools. Once this is the case, nothing stands in the way of a productive and constructive collaboration with freelancers in agile teams.