Chapter 17 - An introduction to agile project management. In this chapter the core principles of Agile PM are discussed and compared with traditional project management methods. A specific agile methodology called Scrum is used to describe these principles in action. The chapter concludes with a discussion of limitations and concerns.
Student Version CHAPTER SEVENTEEN An Introduction to Agile Project Management McGrawHill/Irwin Copyright © 2011 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Where Where We WeAre Are Now Now 17–2 Traditional Traditional PM PM versus versus Agile Agile Methods Methods • Traditional PM Approach – Concentrates on thorough, upfront planning of the entire project – Requires a high degree of predictability to be effective • Agile Project Management (Agile PM) – Relies on incremental, iterative development cycles to complete less-predictable projects – Is ideal for exploratory projects in which requirements need to be discovered and new technology tested – Focuses on active collaboration between the project team and customer representatives 17–3 Traditional Traditional Project Project Management Management versus versus Agile Agile Project Project Management Management Traditional Agile Design up front Continuous design Fixed scope Flexible Deliverables Features/requirements Freeze design as early as possible Freeze design as late as possible Low uncertainty High uncertainty Avoid change Embrace change Low customer interaction High customer interaction Conventional project teams Self-organized project teams TABLE 17.1 17–4 Project Project Uncertainty Uncertainty FIGURE 17.1 17–5 Agile Agile Project Project Management Management • Agile PM – Is related to the rolling wave planning and scheduling project methodology • Uses iterations (“time boxes”) to develop a workable product that satisfies the customer and other key stakeholders • Stakeholders and customers review progress and reevaluate priorities to ensure alignment with customer needs and company goals • Adjustments are made and a different iterative cycle begins that subsumes the work of the previous iterations and adds new capabilities to the evolving product 17–6 Iterative, Iterative, Incremental Incremental Product Product Development Development FIGURE 17.2 17–7 Agile Agile Project Project Management Management (cont’d) (cont’d) • Advantages of Agile PM: – Useful in developing critical breakthrough technology or defining essential features – Continuous integration, verification, and validation of the evolving product – Frequent demonstration of progress to increase the likelihood that the end product will satisfy customer needs – Early detection of defects and problems 17–8 Agile Agile PM PM Principles Principles Focus Focuson on customer customervalue value Iterative Iterativeand andincremental incrementaldelivery delivery Experimentation Experimentationand andadaptation adaptation Self-organization Self-organization Continuous Continuousimprovement improvement 17–9 Popular Popular Agile Agile PM PM Methods Methods Scrum Scrum Crystal CrystalClear Clear Extreme Extreme Programming Programming RUP RUP(Rational (Rational Unified UnifiedProcess) Process) Agile AgileModeling Modeling Rapid RapidProduct Product Development Development(PRD) (PRD) Agile Agile PM PM Methods Methods Dynamic DynamicSystems Systems Development Development Method Method(DSDM) (DSDM) Lean LeanDevelopment Development 17–10 Agile Agile PM PM in in Action: Action: Scrum Scrum • Scrum Methodology – Is a holistic approach for use by a cross-functional team collaborating to develop a new product – Defines product features as deliverables and prioritizes them by their perceived highest value to the customer – Re-evaluates priorities after each iteration (sprint) to produce fully functional features – Has four phases: analysis, design, build, test 17–11 Key Key Roles Roles and and Responsibilities Responsibilities in in the the Scrum Scrum Process Process • Product Owner – Acts on behalf of customers to represent their interests • Development Team – Is a team of five-nine people with cross-functional skill sets is responsible for delivering the product • Scrum Master (aka Project Manager) – Facilitates scrum process and resolves impediments at the team and organization level by acting as a buffer between the team and outside interference 17–12 Applying Applying Agile Agile to to Large Large Projects Projects • Scaling – Is using several teams to work on different features of a large scale project at the same time • Staging – Requires significant up-front planning to manage the interdependences of different features to be developed – Involves developing protocols and defining roles to coordinate efforts and assure compatibility and harmony 17–13 Limitations Limitations and and Concerns Concerns of of Agile Agile PM PM • It does not satisfy top management’s need for budget, scope, and schedule control • Its principles of self-organization and close collaboration can be incompatible with corporate cultures • Its methods appear to work best on small projects that require only five-nine dedicated team members to complete the work • It requires active customer involvement and cooperation 17–14 Key Key Terms Terms Feature Iterative incremental development (IID) Scrum meeting Scrum Master Sprint backlog Product Backlog Product Owner Scaling Agile PM Self Organizing Team 17–15 ... customer interaction Conventional project teams Self-organized project teams TABLE 17. 1 17 4 Project Project Uncertainty Uncertainty FIGURE 17. 1 17 5 Agile Agile Project Project Management Management... collaboration between the project team and customer representatives 17 3 Traditional Traditional Project Project Management Management versus versus Agile Agile Project Project Management Management... that subsumes the work of the previous iterations and adds new capabilities to the evolving product 17 6 Iterative, Iterative, Incremental Incremental Product Product Development Development FIGURE 17. 2 17 7