The new year is a time for reflection and goal setting. Many people use this time to think about what they’d like to achieve in the coming year. And for project managers, the new year is also a great time to test out new practices that can help you work more efficiently and effectively.
The agile methodology has grown increasingly popular in recent years as teams look for ways to become more flexible and collaborative. In this post, we’ll take a look at 10 agile project management practices that you can test in 2025 to see if they can help you and your team work better together.
Agile project management practices to test in 2025
1. Scrum of Scrums
2. SAFe
3. Dual-track agile
4. Lean
5. Crystal
6. Kanban
7. Extreme Programming
8. Feature-driven development
9. Dynamic Systems Development Model
10. Disciplined Agile
1. Use an agile project management tool
The first step to using agile project management is to find the right tool. There are several project management tools available, and some are more agile than others.
With a project management tool, you can create a project, add team members, assign tasks, set deadlines, and track progress. You can also use the tool to communicate with your team, share files, and more. For teams just starting out or looking to save on costs, it’s worth searching for a Miro promo code to get a discount on their subscription plans.
The most important thing is to find a tool that works for your team and your project.
2. Run daily stand-up meetings
Daily stand-up meetings are a staple of the agile methodology. These are short, 15-minute check-ins where team members can discuss what they worked on the previous day, what they’re working on that day, and any roadblocks they may be facing.
The purpose of a daily stand-up is to keep the team in sync and to address any issues as they arise. Many teams also complement these quick discussions with pulse survey tools to capture real-time feedback and track overall team sentiment between meetings. These meetings should be brief, so it’s important to keep the conversation focused on the three main questions: What did I do yesterday? What will I do today? Do I have any roadblocks?
If a longer conversation is needed, it’s best to take it offline.
3. Create a product roadmap
A product roadmap is a high-level, visual plan that lays out the vision and direction of a product over time. It’s a key tool for product managers, but project managers can use it to align their team and stakeholders on the goals and objectives of a project.
Product roadmaps should be built with your customers in mind. They should focus on the value of the features you plan to deliver, not the features themselves. They should also be flexible and easy to understand.
There are many different formats you can use to create a product roadmap, but a good place to start is with a simple timeline. When presenting your roadmap, make sure your visuals are sharp and easy to read tools that can unpixelate images are especially useful for cleaning up blurry graphics or diagrams. Then, you can add more detail and structure as needed.
4. Use a project charter
Project charters are a great way to get everyone on the same page before a project starts. They can be used to define the project’s purpose, objectives, scope, and stakeholders. This can help prevent scope creep and ensure that everyone is aligned on the project’s goals.
Project charters are typically created by the project manager and approved by the project sponsor or stakeholders. Once approved, the charter is used as a reference document throughout the project to ensure everyone is aligned and to help make decisions.
If you’re not already using project charters, try adding them to your project initiation phase and see how they help with project alignment and decision-making.
5. Create a product backlog
A product backlog is a list of all the tasks that need to be completed for the duration of the project. It’s a living document that changes as the project changes.
The product owner is in charge of the product backlog. As the project changes, the product owner will add, remove, or reprioritize tasks as needed.
6. Use the MoSCoW method
The MoSCoW method is a prioritization technique that helps you figure out which tasks to focus on first. It’s especially helpful when you’re trying to figure out what to include in a sprint.
To use the MoSCoW method, categorize your tasks as follows:
• Must: Tasks that absolutely need to be completed in the current sprint
• Should: Tasks that you should complete if you have time
• Could: Tasks that would be nice to complete if you have time
• Won’t: Tasks that you won’t complete in the current sprint
Once you’ve categorized your tasks, you can start building your sprint backlog with the must-have tasks. Then, if you have time, you can move on to the should-have tasks, and so on.
7. Use the 2-week agile sprint
The 2-week sprint is one of the most well-known agile project management practices, but it’s not the only sprint duration out there. In fact, some agile teams use sprints as short as one week or as long as a month.
The 2-week sprint is a great place to start if you’re new to agile. It’s long enough to give you some breathing room to get things done but short enough to keep you focused and make sure you’re always working on the most important things.
Pro tip: If you’re new to agile, use a 2-week sprint to get started and then experiment with different sprint lengths to see what works best for your team.
8. Use the agile burndown chart
Agile burndown charts are a graphical representation of work left to do versus time. They are a powerful tool to help you track the progress of your agile sprints and spot any issues that could cause delays.
To use a burndown chart, you need to know the total amount of work required for the sprint and the amount of work completed each day. The chart will then plot the ideal progress of the project against the actual progress.
If the actual progress is below the ideal, it suggests that the team may need to put in more effort to meet the deadline. If the actual progress is above the ideal, it suggests that the team may be able to take on more work.
9. Run a sprint review meeting
The sprint review meeting is an opportunity for the team to showcase the work they have completed in the sprint to the project stakeholders. This is a time-boxed meeting and should not last longer than one hour.
The meeting should include a demonstration of the working product increment and a question and answer session. The goal is to gather feedback from the stakeholders on the work completed and to make any necessary adjustments to the project plan.
The sprint review meeting should be run by the product owner and attended by the project team, the Scrum Master, and the project stakeholders.
10. Run a sprint retrospective meeting
Sprint retrospective meetings are a great way to gauge the success of a sprint and to identify any areas for improvement. This is a collaborative meeting where everyone has the chance to speak and provide feedback.
To run a sprint retrospective meeting, you’ll need to follow these steps:
1. Set the stage: Start by talking about what went well during the sprint and what didn’t. This will help to set the tone for the rest of the meeting.
2. Gather data: Next, you’ll want to gather data from the team. You can do this by asking questions, using polls, or even using a whiteboard to write down any issues that the team has.
3. Generate insights: Once you have data, you can start to generate insights. Ask the team to look at the data and think about what they could have done differently.
4. Decide what to do: Finally, you’ll want to decide what to do. This is where you’ll come up with an action plan to address any issues that came up during the sprint.
Get started with agile project management
Agile project management can help teams deliver higher quality work in less time. But, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution, and it can be difficult to know where to start.
Here are some tips to get started with agile project management and how to choose the best approach for your team.
1. Get the right tools
There are many tools available to help you manage your projects in an agile way. Some of the most popular tools include Trello, Jira, Asana, and Basecamp. For example, growth-focused teams might also use tools like ReferralCandy to manage referral and affiliate programs in an agile way — testing campaigns in short sprints, iterating quickly based on data, and aligning marketing experiments (e.g., the use of cold email software) with product delivery cycles.
Each of these tools has its own unique features and benefits, so it’s important to do your research and find the tool that works best for your team.
2. Choose the best approach
There are many different approaches to agile project management. Some of the most popular approaches include Scrum, Kanban, and Lean.
Each of these approaches has its own unique set of principles and practices, so it’s important to do your research and find the approach that works best for your team.
3. Get training
Agile project management is a complex topic, and it can be difficult to get started without the right training. There are many different training programs available, so it’s important to do your research and find the program that works best for your team.
4. Start small
It’s important to start small when you’re getting started with agile project management. This will allow you to test the waters and make sure that the approach you choose is right for your team.
5. Get feedback
It’s important to get feedback from your team and your stakeholders when you’re getting started with agile project management. This will allow you to make sure that you’re on the right track and that you’re delivering the highest quality work in the least amount of time.
Conclusion
Agile project management can help you manage projects more efficiently and effectively, but it’s important to choose an agile methodology that aligns with the needs of your team and the goals of your project.