Agile roles and responsibilities within a team may vary but there are clear and defined goals: to deliver flawless products quicker, more frequently and more closely aligned to the needs of customers and clients. The Agile team methodology has been widely adopted but what is it, how do these teams work and what are the roles they consist of? Let’s explore them below.

Agile and waterfall are two distinct project management methodologies. Agile is younger than waterfall and is very effective in today’s dynamic software development world. Can it learn something from it’s older sister? Certainly - decades of waterfall project management established some tools and processes that agilists would benefit from, especially when it comes to project budgeting.

When it comes to project management in software development, the agile methodology continues to prove its efficiency at rapid response to change. Nonetheless, subsequent iterations do require following a plan, which is usually set during a sprint planning meeting that kicks off every iteration. In this article, we take a closer look at the value of sprint planning and how to do it right - in accordance with agile, the unquestionable cornerstone of the software development process. 

Many companies have embraced agile project management in software development because developing software quickly and transparently while reacting to market changes has become imperative in today’s rapidly changing business landscape. According to a Gartner 2019 study Agile in the Enterprise, the main benefits of agile are better alignment between business and IT departments, better ability to manage changing priorities, and accelerated product delivery.  

Agile project management is still going strong in 2021, and since it’s a big part of our daily work at Netguru, we try to stay up-to-date with the best tools and techniques out there. Here’s a list we’ve compiled of the best tools for PMs, some of which we use across the company, and some, we think, do a great job in certain circumstances.

Tips & tricks for what we’ve discovered in the last few years about working with teams across many borders.

The key to the successful implementation of digital healthcare solutions is patient engagement. Without mutual trust between healthcare providers and patients, even the most sophisticated technological solutions won’t improve patients’ medical outcomes. We gathered experts from across digital healthcare – both from dynamic startups like Keto-Mojo, as well as enterprises like Roche – and with this patient-centered approach in mind, discussed the essential aspects of patient engagement:

There is a lot you, as a PM, can do to make sure your team is successful in delivering the product you are working on. Taking full ownership of the timeline, budget, risks and a consulting mindset are just some of the ideas I want to share with you. You can be sure that the PM role can be as vital to a project’s success as skilled developers and insightful QAs. In this article I will share with you tips that helped us successfully deliver a working MVP for one of our clients. Enjoy!

Remote work is all around us. And it’s great! But, as it’s widely commented in the agile community, it poses some specific challenges when implementing Scrum or other agile approaches. Below you will find some tips on how we tackle them at Netguru. But before we go there, let’s debunk one myth: Neither Scrum Guide nor Agile Manifesto forbids remote setups

What makes a specific person a good Project Manager? Is it soft communication skills? An analytical brain that manages budgets and timelines? High-level multitasking capabilities? If you ask me, I’d say that a pinch of everything will do the job.

To say that the people who work for Netguru are scattered the length and breadth of the country still wouldn’t give you the full picture. Now, it’s true that we have 9 offices in Poland, but our employees aren’t obliged to actually go there to work. As a result, you can meet Netgurals in Cyprus, Buenos Aires, Budapest, Tel Aviv or even Kuwait. How I make sure that our workflow goes smoothly and manage my team if it’s a hundreds miles away? Simple - by sticking to the 10 rules of running a remote team, which I would like to share with you now.

The answer, of course, may vary. I hope I won’t surprise or disappoint anyone by pointing out that all I’m sharing here are my experiences and thoughts - there are no definite answers for such a question in a complex environment.

Lessons learned do not account for much unless they are recorded, improved upon, and spread. Sharing knowledge is one of the pillars of our culture. We came to a point where we realized that we’d learned so much in recent years, we had outgrown the bandwidth of our usual publication channel – our blog.

You’re a project manager about to take over the management of a new software project and all you get is a one-pager. Sound familiar? We’ve all been there, but there are a few easy steps you can take to get to know your product better. They will help you make more informed decisions, manage risks better, and have a greater impact on the success of your team, project, and product. 

Many people will tell you that coming back to the same organisation after you had once decided to leave is not a great idea. For a very long time I absolutely agreed with that hypothesis. Over a year ago I decided I would like to come back to Netguru more than 2.5 years after leaving. 

Success is a few simple disciplines, practiced every day; while failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day. —Jim Rohn Someone said that the one-percent improvement approach (also known as continuous improvement) can make one win a medal at the Olympic Games. It might not be the only reason to apply this approach in your life. Continuous improvement is a great tool (or rather a mindset) you can use to achieve your long term goals, and become more efficient, organized, productive and happy. 

This post will give you an idea what skills and knowledge are required for project managers and whether technical expertise is the protein or a spice.

Making sure your teams works like a well-oiled machine is no easy task. That said, it’s a task you should be committed to throughout the project to make sure the efficiency is maintained, instead of only achieving it temporarily. Maintaining the efficiency of our teams is one of the most important roles of a Project Manager in Netguru. While we tend to it in every project, there is no universal recipe for it, as each of our team setups is unique.

Balancing time, money, scope, resources – those are just some of the Project Manager responsibilities. PM has to ensure that difficult projects are handled and positive results are obtained. We have to take care of proper communication between the team and the Client. Challenges are part of our job too.

After my very last recruitment call, the time slowed down. Even though it's been just a few days before I received the decision, I couldn't stop constantly refreshing my email box. And, oh my god, I eventually saw the awaited message. Joining Netguru was my big goal, so I don't need to describe how proud and happy I was when I saw the offer. The curiosity level went high immediately when I started to think about the upcoming adventure - how does it feel to become a new project manager at Netguru? And here I am to tell you what my first week looked like.