Agile Planning and Nonprofits

 

Agile planning is a flexible, iterative approach to project management that helps nonprofits create relevant programs in a cost-effective manner. Agile planning was originally developed for the software industry, but is now widely used across industries. Agile planning emphasizes short cycles of development, continuous feedback, and incremental improvements. This contrasts with the rigid long-term planning some organizations use.

Nonprofits can operate efficiently by breaking down large projects into smaller tasks and reviewing progress frequently to examine whether crucial assumptions are supported. By incorporating assumption testing, nonprofits ensure their initiatives are data-driven rather than assumption-based. Developing and testing in this manner allows the nonprofit to determine whether there are serious issues with these crucial hypotheses before expending large amounts of human and financial capital.

As a simplified example, a nonprofit would like to launch a day-long in-person financial literacy class. The specific areas of financial literacy they will focus on are credit and interest rates. The nonprofit believes running a group of twenty participants with two teachers once a month would be an effective format.

In Agile planning, the nonprofit would ask itself what assumptions are critical to the success of this program.

Assumption 1: An understanding of credit and interest rates is relevant to beneficiaries.

Assumption 2: The in-person format is desirable to their beneficiaries.

Assumption 3: The single day once a month format is desirable to their beneficiaries.

Assumption 4: Twenty beneficiaries is a reasonable class size.

Assumption 5: Two teachers will be sufficient and effective.

The nonprofit could rush ahead and develop all the course materials, acquire classroom space, advertise the course, and hire two teachers. This would incur significant costs for a program that may not be successful, usable, or even desirable.

Alternatively, the nonprofit could use Agile planning to test each of these assumptions in an organized manner, keeping costs at a minimum and maximizing the chances of developing a successful offering.

To test Assumption 1, the nonprofit conducts a survey of their community to determine their needs. If the survey supports the assumptions, the nonprofit proceeds to testing Assumption 2.

To test Assumption 2: The nonprofit spends two weeks developing a set of education materials. The nonprofit limits the time spent on developing materials because they require only a testable product, not a final product. The materials are then reviewed by a group of ten community members and feedback is incorporated. This process is repeated until the community members find the material relevant and usable. If materials are developed that are relevant and usable, then the nonprofit proceeds to testing Assumptions 3 to 5.

To test Assumptions 3 to 5: The nonprofit conducts a pilot class over a single day with twenty beneficiaries and two teachers. The two teachers are volunteers or staff, rather than permanent hires. Feedback from the beneficiaries and teachers is incorporated. This process is repeated until the course can be delivered in a relevant and effective manner. Only after Assumptions 3 to 5 have been supported does the nonprofit offer the course at larger scale and acquire permanent hires and classroom space.

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