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03 - Basics of Agile Project Management

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26 views2 pages

03 - Basics of Agile Project Management

Uploaded by

Saharsh Anand
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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HOW AGILE ARE YOU?

By Michelle Labrosse

The project management technique for software development is moving into other industries.

Some of us are natural-born planners. We plan out every moment of our lives in detail, from what we will be doing on
the weekend to how many children we want and what their names will be, to how our career will progress - in detail.

Others of us are doers and are more spontaneous, nervous if too many plans are made for us; we would rather live
our lives with flexibility and freedom to make plans as we go. If you sit down and think about how last year’s activities
evolved, you will probably be able to determine on which side of the spectrum you belong: a planner or a doer.

What’s great about project management is that it brings both sides of the spectrum together so that planners will
eventually execute and do their project tasks, and doers must first plan their project tasks before jumping right in. A
relatively new way to do project management has made this merger of planners and doers even more seamless:
Agile principles and practices.

What exactly is Agile?


Agile is a philosophy that focuses on people, collaboration, and shared values to get projects done. It can be best
described by the Agile Manifesto, which was written back in 2001 by a group of software project managers. The Agile
Manifesto describes Agile as valuing the following:

1 Individuals and interactions over processes and tools


2 Working software over comprehensive documentation
3 Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
4 Responding to change over following a plan

Looking at these, it would seem that Agile falls more on the side of the doers than the planners, and this is partially
true. Agile practitioners pride themselves on doing what they say and saying what they do, as well as allowing for and
embracing change in project requirements.

But not to worry, planners: There’s plenty of opportunity for you as well in the Agile realm. In Agile, teams plan in
“sprints,” which is exactly how it sounds - planning in small, fast bursts. Before every sprint there is a “sprint planning”
meeting where the team meets with the product’s owner and decides what needs to get done in the next sprint. After
the sprint the team goes through a “sprint review” where the team will demonstrate the incremental value that was
attained during the sprint.

Using this method, planning and doing go back and forth in rapid succession to create clear transparency in what
everyone is doing and what the project team should be focusing on.
How does Agile relate to traditional project management?

Although the Project Management Body of Knowledge (Project Management Institute, 2008) doesn’t specifically
mention Agile methodologies, it doesn’t contradict them, either. In fact, the PMBOK discusses iterative approaches to
project management, which can be applied to projects managed with Agile principles and practices. Therefore it’s not
an either/or relationship, but rather a complementary one. Agile techniques are particularly useful in projects that
require quick responses to change along with communication with customers.

Why should you care?


OK, let’s cut to the chase. In the project management field, Agile principles and practices are topics of growing
interest and importance. The Project Management Institute’s research shows that the use of Agile methodologies
tripled from December 2008 to May 2011. In fact, it’s predicted that by the end of 2012, Agile development will be
used on 80 percent of all projects involving software development. But the technique is not limited to software
companies anymore. Agile methods are being used increasingly by other industries because of its proven ability to
decrease product defects, improve team productivity, and increase the delivery of business value.
1
Agile Project Management: A Solution to the Changing Project Landscape
By Sandra VanWyk-Fancher

The changing project landscape calls for alternatives beyond the traditional Waterfall approach. One promising
alternative is Agile Project Management. I recently attended a PMI class that taught us “old timers” how to adapt to
innovative processes.

The most significant change is that Agile Project Management is just that: agile, non-rigid, flexible (does that scream
scope creep?). There is value in both the Waterfall and Agile methodologies, and knowing when to use which
method is a key to success.

The best advice is project manage your project management! Waterfall is perfect for projects that have low
variability, low complexity and few unknowns. Construction and repeatable work fit best with the Waterfall
approach. In contrast, Agile works best when complexity and uncertainty is high.

Agile provides high visibility, lots of inspection points and the ability to change the scope based on status. Agile
affords constant feedback and checkpoints to make sure you are on track, allowing you to define the uncertainty as
you go.

As a Project Manager, your process changes, your team structure changes and your lifecycle changes. Rather than
focusing on the planning (as with the traditional model), Agile Project Management focuses more on the execution
phase. The triple constraint is replaced with meeting business objectives and speed to market. Agile welcomes in
high bandwidth of communication and active problem solving, which helps to find defects right away.

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