Agile delivery and project management
Running a software project well: acceptance criteria, methodologies, stakeholders, metrics and the minimum viable product.
This topic is for the person who commissions software and keeps hearing words like agile, sprint, Scrum and backlog from suppliers without a clear idea of what they are being asked to agree to. It covers how a software project is run: what gets decided up front, what gets decided as you go, how you tell whether the work is on track and who on your side needs to be involved.
Where to start
- Agile vs waterfall: which will work best for you? explains how each approach works, what each one asks of you as the client and how the two are often combined.
- The importance of acceptance criteria, and how to write them answers the question that matters most on any project, which is how both sides know that a piece of work is finished.
- The top software development methodologies, and how to choose one is the reference to open when a supplier names a method and you want to know what it commits them to.
- Selecting the right project stakeholders covers who on your side needs to be involved: who pays, who decides, who uses the system and who can stop it.
What people get wrong
The first mistake is to hear agile as a reason not to agree scope. Agile is a way of ordering work into short cycles, showing working software at the end of each one and adjusting the plan on what you learn. It does not mean the scope is open-ended, and it does not mean a fixed price is impossible. Our view is that a fixed price works when the scope and the acceptance checks are agreed first. The short cycles are then used to deliver that scope in an order you choose and to handle change by swapping items in and out. A supplier who says they cannot quote because they are agile has confused the method with the contract.
The second is judging progress by activity. Sprint counts, velocity charts and daily stand-ups are measures the team uses to manage itself. From where you sit, the only measure that counts is working software that has passed the checks you wrote down. Ask to see it at the end of every cycle, on a test system you can use yourself.
The third is underestimating what the method asks of you. Short cycles only work if someone on your side can answer questions and make decisions every week or two. If that person does not exist, or has no time, the project will stall whatever the supplier calls its process. Naming that person is part of agreeing the scope, not something to sort out later.
How this connects to our work
CodeFirst runs its projects at a fixed price with the scope, price and acceptance checks agreed before work starts, and shows you working software during the build so there are no surprises at the end. Changes are quoted and either added, swapped for something of similar size or left for a later phase. How we work describes what happens from the first call to the first piece of work, and the fixed price page sets out the steps and compares the two ways of paying.
Articles on agile delivery and project management
- 2 October 2026 10 tips for being a successful software project manager
Ten practical tips for being a successful project manager when the project is software: agreeing what done means, handling risk and change, and going live.
- 2 October 2026 7 reasons to use Kanban
Seven reasons to use Kanban for software work, what makes a board Kanban, when a different method is the better choice and how to try it out for a month.
- 2 October 2026 Agile vs waterfall: which will work best for you?
Agile vs waterfall for the person paying for the software: how each approach works, what each asks of you, and how to choose between them or combine the two.
- 2 October 2026 The best way to kick off a new software project
The best way to kick off a new software project: what to settle before the first meeting, an agenda for the kickoff meeting and what to expect in month one.
- 2 October 2026 Product manager vs product owner: what is the difference?
The difference between a product manager and a product owner: one is a job, the other a Scrum accountability. What each decides and which your project needs.
- 2 October 2026 What is Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD)?
Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD) is the software delivery part of PMI's Disciplined Agile toolkit. What it covers, who owns it now and when it is worth knowing.
- 2 October 2026 Tips for gathering internal support for a software project
Tips for gathering internal support for a software project: costing the problem, knowing what each decision-maker needs and asking for a small first step.
- 2 October 2026 How to create a digital roadmap
How to create a digital roadmap in five steps: start from business objectives, list your systems, find the gaps and deadlines, then put the work in order.
- 2 October 2026 The importance of managing user expectations
Why managing user expectations decides whether a new business system is adopted, where false expectations come from and how to set them honestly before go-live.
- 2 October 2026 Measuring software team productivity with agile metrics
Which agile metrics help when measuring the productivity of a software development team: velocity, cycle time, throughput and the DORA delivery metrics.
- 2 October 2026 Advantages and disadvantages of the minimal viable product
The minimal viable product approach tests an idea with the least software you can build. Its advantages, its disadvantages and how to tell if it fits a project.
- 2 October 2026 Selecting the right stakeholders for a software project
Selecting the right project stakeholders means naming who pays, who decides, who uses the system and who can stop it. How to pick them and what to ask of each.
- 2 October 2026 The startup guide to building agile software
A startup guide to building agile software: the smallest process that works, how to keep the software cheap to change, and what to agree with an outside team.
- 2 October 2026 The importance of acceptance criteria: how to write them
Acceptance criteria are the checks that decide when a piece of software is finished. Why they matter, how to write them and how they make a fixed price work.
- 2 October 2026 Top software development methodologies: how to choose one
The top software development methodologies explained for the person paying: Waterfall, Scrum, Kanban, XP, DSDM and the scaled frameworks, and how to choose one.
- 2 October 2026 Top tools for agile teams: what each is for, how to choose
The top tools for agile teams in 2026, grouped by the job they do: tracking work, talking, documenting and reviewing. What each is for and how to choose.
- 2 October 2026 The value of risk management in software projects
The value of risk management in a software project is fewer expensive surprises. Which risks to look for, how to keep a simple risk register and how to use it.
- 2 October 2026 What is DevOps, and what does it mean for a business?
What is DevOps? A plain-English explanation of the practices behind it, how to tell whether your software team does it, and what it means for an older system.
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