Agile development - Product based and Project based

[Tommaso2]

Hi all,

I found that Agile Development includes "product based" and "project based", but which is the difference?

Can you please provide a clear use case?

Also: enhancements and defects are found and raised by agile team during the developments? Or when?

Many thanks

[Pooja Limbani · Accepted solution]

Hi @Tommaso2 

Here's a simple visual breakdown to help you differentiate Product-Based vs. Project-Based Agile Development using a real-world scenario:

Aspect	Product-Based	Project-Based
Focus	Long-term value delivery for a product	Short-term delivery of a defined scope
Team Structure	Stable, cross-functional product teams	Temporary teams formed for a specific project
Success Metric	Customer satisfaction, product adoption	On-time, on-budget delivery
Timeframe	Continuous, iterative development	Fixed start and end dates
Ownership	Product Owner owns roadmap and backlog	Project Manager owns scope and timeline

Here’s a simple real-time ServiceNow scenario that clearly illustrates the difference between Product-Based and Project-Based Agile Development:

Feature	Product-Based Agile	Project-Based Agile
Use Case	Continuously improving the Service Catalog experience for end users	Implementing HR Service Delivery (HRSD) module for a new business unit
Goal	Add new catalog items, improve UI, optimize workflows based on feedback	Deliver HRSD setup with onboarding, case templates, and workflows within 3 months
Team	Stable product team focused on Service Catalog	Temporary project team with HR, IT, and developers
Timeframe	Ongoing sprints with evolving backlog	Fixed timeline with defined milestones
Backlog Owner	Product Owner prioritizes based on user feedback and analytics	Project Manager/Scrum Master manages tasks to meet scope
Outcome	Continuous delivery of catalog improvements and automation	One-time delivery of HRSD configuration and go-live

• Product-Based Agile in ServiceNow is like owning and evolving a feature—such as the Service Catalog—over time.

• Project-Based Agile is like delivering a scoped implementation—such as HRSD—for a specific business need with a clear end.

Defects are found during development (by developers or QA),In sprint reviews or testing, After release (via user feedback)

Enhancements can be raised During development (by team or stakeholders),After demos or reviews, Post-deployment (from the actual users)

Help future readers out—mark the answer and close the thread if it helped you! 😊

[Pooja Limbani · Accepted solution]

Hi @Tommaso2 

Here's a simple visual breakdown to help you differentiate Product-Based vs. Project-Based Agile Development using a real-world scenario:

Aspect	Product-Based	Project-Based
Focus	Long-term value delivery for a product	Short-term delivery of a defined scope
Team Structure	Stable, cross-functional product teams	Temporary teams formed for a specific project
Success Metric	Customer satisfaction, product adoption	On-time, on-budget delivery
Timeframe	Continuous, iterative development	Fixed start and end dates
Ownership	Product Owner owns roadmap and backlog	Project Manager owns scope and timeline

Here’s a simple real-time ServiceNow scenario that clearly illustrates the difference between Product-Based and Project-Based Agile Development:

Feature	Product-Based Agile	Project-Based Agile
Use Case	Continuously improving the Service Catalog experience for end users	Implementing HR Service Delivery (HRSD) module for a new business unit
Goal	Add new catalog items, improve UI, optimize workflows based on feedback	Deliver HRSD setup with onboarding, case templates, and workflows within 3 months
Team	Stable product team focused on Service Catalog	Temporary project team with HR, IT, and developers
Timeframe	Ongoing sprints with evolving backlog	Fixed timeline with defined milestones
Backlog Owner	Product Owner prioritizes based on user feedback and analytics	Project Manager/Scrum Master manages tasks to meet scope
Outcome	Continuous delivery of catalog improvements and automation	One-time delivery of HRSD configuration and go-live

• Product-Based Agile in ServiceNow is like owning and evolving a feature—such as the Service Catalog—over time.

• Project-Based Agile is like delivering a scoped implementation—such as HRSD—for a specific business need with a clear end.

Defects are found during development (by developers or QA),In sprint reviews or testing, After release (via user feedback)

Enhancements can be raised During development (by team or stakeholders),After demos or reviews, Post-deployment (from the actual users)

Help future readers out—mark the answer and close the thread if it helped you! 😊

[Shubham_Jain · Accepted solution]

@Tommaso2 

Difference: Product-Based vs. Project-Based Agile in ServiceNow

Aspect Product-Based Agile Project-Based Agile

Focus	Continuous improvement of a product (e.g., an application or platform capability)	Delivery of a fixed-scope, time-bound project
Examples	- Enhancing HRSD app - Maintaining custom ServiceNow app - Ongoing development for CMDB	- One-time integration project - ServiceNow upgrade project - Implementing ITOM Discovery in 3 months
Backlog Ownership	Managed by Product Owner	Managed by Project Manager or Scrum Master
Work Type	Roadmap-driven, feature-based	Scope-driven, milestone-based
Common Use	Platform teams, product teams	Customer delivery teams, transformation projects