SOFT FACTORS¶

The previous chapters have dealt with the various agile project management methods and frameworks, the so-called hard factors. Without these tools, no agile project can be managed and implemented. Nevertheless, one important element has not yet been covered: The soft factors.

In order to work successfully in a project team, you need to know not only the agile methods but also the soft factors, which will be discussed in more detail below.

Soft factors are relevant for every project, because a team that does not work together harmoniously will eventually not deliver a good product. Also stress- and conflict management play a major role in every project. However, since Kanban and Extreme Programming, unlike Scrum, are merely methods and not frameworks, the use of the soft factors and the associated responsibilities vary from project to project. In contrast, the roles in a Scrum project are clearly defined, which is why the soft factors are explained in this chapter on the basis of the Scrum framework. Of course, the soft factors can also be adopted for other agile projects so they are not limited to Scrum.