ProjectManagement.com - Agile - Principles

Topic Teasers Vol. 9: Story Points or Hours?

Wed, 15 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Question: My team prefers to work in Story Points, but it sometimes becomes hard to deal with the realities of how to estimate a first iteration and how to deal with the availability of the team members. How do experienced agile teams handle these realities?

A.	If you want to be agile, you must estimate in Story Points. Nothing else will really work for a team once they begin to do the work of the project.
B.	Neither is the correct approach. Estimate your Product Backlog in Ideal Hours, and then they will transfer over easily to the iteration work of the team.
C.	If you create software, use Story Points. If you use agile for any other type of project, estimate in work hours, which you can input into MS Project.
D.	Use Story Points for the Product Backlog, but actual hours for the Iteration Backlog.

Agile: What's in it for the Project Manager? (Part 1)

Thu, 09 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Making a transition from what you're currently doing to an effective agile process is a project in itself--but it can easily be worth it. There are no guarantees, but let's look at what we can gain by adjusting our approach...

Agile: What's in It for the Project Manager? (Part 2)

Thu, 09 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Making a transition from what you're currently doing to an effective agile process is a project in itself--but it can easily be worth it. Let's look at what we can gain by adjusting our approach--our concluding installment looks at interpreting requirements and tracking progress, and offers some further caution and advice.

How to be Extraordinarily Agile

Thu, 09 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

On an agile project, we often must accomplish the extraordinary. Yet how can we do so when we must work with such...ahem...ordinary people? Here are some suggestions for helping your group of ordinary individuals to accomplish the extraordinary on your agile project.

How to Adapt Leadership for Evolving Teams

Thu, 09 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

There is no exact science for people. Just as our project processes should be context-specific, so too should our team processes. Depending on whether your team is brand new, establishing itself or stable, the way we interact as managers and leaders should be tailored to fit the circumstances. Here are some pointers.

Promoting Shared Leadership

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Agile methods suggest replacing top-down, command-and-control management with empowered teams and shared leadership. That all sounds nice, but what exactly is shared leadership and how do you get it to happen?

Agile Governance: A Rock and a Hard Place?

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Combining agile and governance seems, at first glance, to imply boxing people in from each perspective and forcing them to chose an option that is neither fully agreeable to each. But this combination is in the best interest of both camps; learn some practical approaches to make it work.

Topic Teasers Vol. 5: Agile Sales Teams

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Question: We are totally committed to agile in our production teams, but is there any way to use the agile philosophy for a sales team?

A.	Agile was written by software developers, and any attempt to move it outside of that sweet spot has proven unsuccessful.
B.	The agile philosophy is appropriate for any group that needs a flexible approach to providing increased value to the organization through a collaborative approach.
C.	Since the Scrum methodology includes software prototyping, testing and rework, salespeople must learn enough code to experience those parts of the agile process to use it.
D.	The agile philosophy is appropriate for any group that needs a step-by-step solution that can be replicated by each team in the organization to provide product consistency.

Agile Practitioners: Focus on the 'Why'

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 04:00:00 GMT

New ScrumMasters may understand the "what" and the "how" of their new practices, but they often don't understand the "why". Here we look at two common problems: project managers not creating the sprint burndown charts and teams not participating in the daily standup meetings.

Project Communication: Caught in the Middle

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 05:00:00 GMT

It would be simple for a development team to use agile software development practices to improve their development process, likely reducing the injection of defects and possibly increasing their productivity. But what happens if they don't? A lesson in communication and human behavior may help.

An Antidote to Velocity Obsession

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Getting things done is great. And getting these things done quickly is good because we arrive at this better state sooner. So yes, velocity is good...but not at the expense of quality, goodwill or noticing subtle changes in direction. If your obsession on velocity is damaging your team, Appreciative Inquiry can help reset the balance.

The History, Evolution and Emergence of Agile PM Frameworks (Part 2)

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 05:00:00 GMT

As our look at agile development concludes, we will take a more in-depth look at Scrum, XP, Flexible Project Management, the Agile Leadership Model, Agile Project Management, Adaptive Project Framework and Scalable Delivery Model.

The History, Evolution and Emergence of Agile PM Frameworks (Part 1)

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 05:00:00 GMT

What is agile project management, and what are its origins? And don't agile methods address the challenges of 21st century systems, like high-risk, time-sensitive, R&D-oriented, new product and service development projects? One expert takes a look back at the history of this rapidly growing method.

How Will Agile Be Remembered?

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 05:00:00 GMT

In the future, how will agile methods be remembered by the project management community? It seems history has a way of distorting the facts and simplifying concepts out of context. Given how history has mangled most other project management concepts, the prognosis for agile isn't positive.

I Can Sing and Dance, But I Don't Juggle

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 05:00:00 GMT

What is the true cost of too much multitasking? Is there even a cost? Or is the ability to multitask just plain expected as you advance through the software development career path? Learn what steps to take so that you and your team can become more effective at focusing on getting to "done".

Practicing Iterative Failures with Agile

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 05:00:00 GMT

As a reaction to process-heavy waterfall practices causing excessive delays and major budget overruns, the lightweight practices espoused by agile was a welcome relief. But if agile is such a great solution, why are there failures?

Coherence vs. Standardization

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Standardization is the "copy and paste" method of process development. It's as bad in spreading process through an organization as "copy and paste" is in code. Copying a working instance may be a good starting point, but it's a bad destination. Creative work needs attentive thinking, even when deciding to not change the status quo.

The Next Iteration Agile: Re-contextualizing Agile for the 21st Century (Part 3)

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 05:00:00 GMT

In this third and final installment, we will look at how agile can be re-contextualized for the business environment at large to transform not only specific projects or processes in an industry, but also entire organizations within that industry to meet the growing demand for faster project turnaround while also achieving higher quality and business value.

Principles of Evolutionary Architecture & Design for Agile PM (Part 2)

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Large-scale change of enterprise-level architecture and infrastructure presents a challenge, especially in today's networked world. Enter agile project management. In our concluding installment, we look at successful architecture and design from history, explore the challenges that come with the principles of evolutionary architecture and design--and identify a short list of evolutionary design principles.

Principles of Evolutionary Architecture & Design for Agile PM (Part 1)

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Large-scale change of enterprise-level architecture and infrastructure presents a challenge, especially in today's networked world. Enter agile project management and the ideas of refactoring and continuous improvement, which involve creating innovative new solutions for each problem encountered.

Rules Are Meant to be Broken

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 04:00:00 GMT

When it comes to an agile project, rules are meant to be broken. But these projects are rife with complexities. When do we break the rules, and how should we do so? The overarching theme to answer these questions is to make the complex simple.

Linking Agile to HR Theory

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Agile methods may seem counter intuitive to planning processes, but they are in tune with people principles. Projects are undertaken by people for people; they involve getting people to work together on things, collaborate, create consensus and sometimes compromise. As such, it is only right that the real key to project success should come from "people science" rather than "scheduling science".

Why Can't I Become Agile?

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 04:00:00 GMT

You've probably read many articles on the difference between traditional project management and agile (specifically, Scrum). One practitioner has been surprised with how established agile practitioners don't want to let project managers into their "club". Why can't project managers become agile?

The Next Iteration Agile: Re-contextualizing Agile for the 21st Century (Part 2)

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Part 1 of this series discussed the background environment and philosophical divergences that caused agile to establish itself as an alternative to traditional project management. With that background established, it's now time to start thinking about the where agile is headed and how it will get re-contextualized for the 21st century.

Agile 2012 Conference Round-Up

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 04:00:00 GMT

At the recent Agile 2012 conference, our trusty expert reveled in the overview presentations, how-to sessions and hands-on workshops showcasing lean, Kanban and agile techniques. But it was the presentations on the use of agile outside of IT and a couple of high profile "questioning agile" sessions that truly caught his attention.

Unintended Demotivation

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 04:00:00 GMT

No manager wants to demotivate their team, but sometimes their actions have unintended consequences. How can well-intentioned actions backfire?

The Next Iteration Agile: Re-contextualizing Agile for the 21st Century (Part 1)

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 04:00:00 GMT

As a practitioner, thinker and writer of agile project management, one writer often like to assess where we're at with agile as well as where we're headed. As a practitioner, he likes to know how to apply an agile practice or method and keep up to date with what's coming up in the industry. As a thinker and writer, he likes to understand where agile fits in the overall "big picture"--as well as foresee and anticipate future trends. This will be the first of a multi-part series that will attempt to assess agile from such a perspective, and to foresee how agile can be re-contextualized for the 21st century.

The Improvement Trio

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Everyone wants improvement. But do you know how to get it? Most people want to do a good job and improve. To do so requires three factors: information, time to reflect and learn, and a desire to improve.

Agile Sustainability: The Business Case for Lean, Agile and Green

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 04:00:00 GMT

For those project managers practicing agile practices and methods, you already have all the ingredients in place to optimize your green initiatives. This article will attempt to illustrate how agile principles can enhance and compliment projects that have sustainability as one of its main end goals.