The Practical Adoption of Agile Methodologies

The Practical Adoption of Agile Methodologies

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APM Volunteer Research report

May 2015


ThisreportwaswrittenbymembersoftheAPMNorthWestbranch.


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Executivesummary 5

Acknowledgements 5

1. Introduction 6

1.1 Whatisagile? 6

1.2 Whyisagileneeded? 7

2. Literaturereview 9

2.1 Whyagilegrewoutofinformationsystemsdevelopment–ahistoryoffailure 9

2.2 Howagileaddressesthecausesofdevelopmentprojectfailures 10

2.3 Challengestoapplyinganagileprojectmanagementmethodology 11

3. Studyapproach 12

3.1 Researchscope 12

3.2 Researchmethodology 13

3.3 Datacollection 14

3.4 Dataanalysis 16

3.5 Participants 17

4. Findings 17

4.1 Allparticipantsagreedthat… 19

4.2 Participantshadtoconsider… 25

5. Conclusions 26

Glossary

References 27

Bibliography 30

Onlinebibliography 35

Contents


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TheAssociationforProjectManagement(APM)hassponsoredthisreviewofthepracticaladoptionofagilemethodologyinprojectmanagementintheNorthWest.

Theobjectiveofthestudywastounderstandtheextenttowhichagiletoolstechniquesandrolesarepracticallyinplaceincorporateprojectmanagementmethodologies;todeterminethelevelofagilecommitment,e.g.pilot,fulluse,selectivebasedonneed,aswellasdriversforselectionorde-selectionofthemethodology.

Consistentwithacademicprecedents,aqualitativeapproachwasadopted:firstandsecondsemi-structuredinterviewsofnorth-westcompaniesandprojectmanagerswhouseagileapproacheshavebeenheld,toestablishthelevelofadoptionthenexploreelementsadoptedandtheirrelativesuccess.Thesefindingswerethenmappedtogiveacommonglossaryoftermsthroughaconvergentdictionaryapproachtotheinterviews.Followingthedataanalysis,aDelphireviewwasundertakentoreflectfindingsandrecommendationsbacktothetargetpopulationforvalidation.

Understandingofpracticaladoptionhasbeengainedthroughanalysisoffindingsfromindepthinterviews,toidentifybestpractice.

Thekeyfindingsare:

Driversforadoptionofagilearetimeandcostconstraints.

Theenvironmenthastoberight:customeraccessandeffort,seniormanagementsupport,agoodteam,andflexibleculture.Alargefactortoconsiderbeforeembarkingonanagileprojectistounderstandtherolesandbehavioursneededforprojectmanagementandthelevelofwillingnesstoorganisearoundprojectdelivery.Itisbesttodealwithinstability,suchasrapidchangeinenvironment,innovations,unclearrequirements.

ItisstilllargelyusedbyIT,ratherthannon-ITteams,asourparticipantsfromconstructionandengineeringneededtomeetthesafetyandregulatorycriteriathatindicate‘gowaterfall’.

Whenchoosingaprojectforagileadoption,considertheoptionsforco-location,therangeofskillsofteammembersandtheiravailability,empowermentofasingleproductowner,useoftoolsandtechniquestoenhancecommunications.

Agileneedsmorefromaprojectmanagerinthewayofcommunicationforrisks,issuesandstakeholdermanagement,asspeedofresolutionisoftheessence.

Acknowledgements

Manythanksgotoallcontributorstothisstudyandparticularlyto:

AlastairArdern,programmedirector

ChrisBell,programmemanager

MartinBerman,programmemanager(Cognizant)

TonyDavis,programmemanager(Aimia)

KevinFaussett,projectmanager

JoanneHinchcliffe,projectmanager

PaulJohnson,programmemanager

Dr.KevinKane,projectmanagementcourseleader,(SalfordUniversity)

MarkSutherland,PMStandards

DotTudor,agilecoachandexpert(TCCLtd)

APM North West branch

Executive summary


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1. Introduction

1.1 What is agile?

Agiledevelopment,oragileprojectmanagement,isaniterativeandincrementalmethodofmanagingthedesignandbuildactivitiesforengineering,informationtechnology,andnewproductorservicedevelopmentprojects,forexampleagilesoftwaredevelopment.Itrequirescapableindividualsfromtherelevantbusiness,withsupplierandcustomerinputtoworkinahighlycollaborativemanner,insmallstages,tocompletesmallportionsofthedeliverablesineachdeliverycycle(iteration),andwherepossibledeployingdeliverablestolive(increment)toachievevalueandrealfeedback,whilstiterativemethodsevolvetheentiresetofdeliverablesovertime,completingthemneartheendoftheproject.Theendresultisaproductthatbestmeetscurrentcustomerneedsandisdeliveredwithminimalcosts,waste,andtime,astheiterationsencouragefeedbackandreview,soachievingbenefitsearlierthanviatraditionalapproaches.

Thereisalargebodyofliteraturedescribingvariousagilemethodologytoolsandtechniquesandsomeresearchintoitsadoption.However,mostusageoccursinsoftwaredevelopmentandinnovation.ManycompanieshaveconsidereditsadoptioninresponsetohabitualfailureofITdeliveryfrommoretraditionalprojectmanagementapproaches.

DISCOVER

DESIGN

TEST

DEVELOP

Business requirements

Technical design

Client OK & launch

Coding & testing

Diagram from Michael Reich, Commonplaces, NH USA, 2014


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1.2 Why is agile needed?

Informationsystems(IS)projectshaveareputationoffailuretodeliverbusinessrequirements,meetcost,qualityandtimetargetsorrealisebenefits,despite30yearsofresearchanddevelopmentofbestpractices.Theprofessioncontinuestohavehighprofilefailuresthatmakeheadlinenews,suchastheNHSrecordssystem.ThemotivationforthisresearchistoprovidematerialforISprojectmanagerstouseandhelptoimproveprojectoutcomes.Therefore,theprofessionwillbeenhancedbyreversingthecommonviewthatISprojectsconsistentlyfailtodeliver.

Theconsequencesoffailureareexpensive,toeitherremediatethenewsystemstoachievethebenefitsplanorstartanewprojectorstageofdevelopment.LossofconfidenceandopportunitycostmustalsobeconsideredbytheorganisationcommissioningtheISproject.Insomecases,suchasregulatorycompliance,timescalesareimposedfromoutsidetheorganisationandcanattractfines,lossofrevenueorevenfailuretooperate.ThecostoffailedISprojectsintheUKaloneismanybillionsofpoundsannually(BritishComputerSocietystudy,2004).

Historically,researchhasfocusedonthecausesoffailureofISprojects,oronindividualprojectelements.Failurefactorsincludeamixofpeople,technologyandmethodologyissues.Peoplefailurefactorsincludepoorteamcommunications,lackofvision,poorstakeholdermanagementandchangingrequirementswhiletechnologybasedproblemsareusuallyaroundhardwareorsoftwareelementsnotworkingasexpectedandincreasingcostsordeliverytimelines.Failuretofollowgoodprojectmanagementpracticeshasalsobeenproventoimpactthechancesofsuccess.

SeveralprofessionalbodiesareavailableintheUnitedKingdomtoenhancetheprojectmanagementprofessionwhiletheirmemberscomefromavarietyofprofessions;construction,engineeringandinformationsystems,whichwouldindicateawillingnessfortheprofessiontolearnandadoptbestpractice.Withallofthesecommunitiesthereisanunderpinningsetofpublicationsfortheirbodiesofknowledgethesebeingverysimilarwithsomeprocessandlanguagedifferencesbutallwithtransferrableapproachesandbestpractice.

TheAssociationforProjectManagement(APM)iscommittedtodevelopingandpromotingprojectandprogrammemanagementthroughitsFIVEDimensionsofProfessionalismwithamissionstatement:

‘Toprovideleadershiptothemovementofcommittedorganisationsandindividualswhoshareourpassionforimprovingprojectoutcomes.’

TheAPMBodyofKnowledgedefinestheknowledgeneededtomanageanykindofproject.ItunderpinsmanyprojectmanagementstandardsandmethodsincludingtheNationalOccupationalStandardsinProjectManagement,whilstacompetencyframeworkprovidesaguidetoprojectmanagementhardandsoftskills,includingrelationshipmanagementandbenefitsrealisation.APMqualificationsandknowledgealignwiththeIPMAorganisation.

Whilsttherearenumerousprojectandbenefitsmanagementapproaches,eitherasanindustrystandardorspecifictoorganisations,allfollowasimilarlifecycleforcomparativepurposesbutthelevelofadoptionandpracticalusageisimportantforbroaderapplicationofagileprocesses,tools,rolesandtechniques.

Thebodyofknowledgeunderpinningtheseorganisationsiswelldocumentedandsupportedbuttherearenostudiesexplicitlylinkingandexploringhowtheoutcomeofinformationsystemsdevelopmentprojectsmightbeinfluencedbytheinteractionbetweenthemainprocesses,roles,toolsandtechniques.ThestudyfindingswillbeusedtoaddtothetoolsandtechniqueswithintheprofessionaldocumentationsetsandtrainingmaterialsandhenceexpandtheAPMBodyofKnowledge,foragile.


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DISCOVER

DESIGNTEST

DEVELOP

Sprint # 1

DISCOVER

DESIGNTEST

DEVELOP

Sprint # 2

DISCOVER

DESIGNTEST

DEVELOP

Sprint # 3

Agile method

Diagram from Michael Reich, Commonplaces, NH USA, 2014

Itistobehopedthatthefindingsfromthisstudywillgiveprojectsponsorsandteamsfurtherinformationonwhichfactorsbestinfluencesuccessfuladoptionoftheagiledevelopmentapproachandsowheretoconcentratebestpracticeandeffortthroughouttheprojectlifecycle.Itistheaimofthisstudy,therefore,tostarttofillthe‘practicalagileadoptionforsuccess’gapinthecurrentbodyofprofessionalliterature,andstarttoexploreitsusageonnon-ITandinnovativeprojects.


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2. Literature review

2.1 Why agile grew out of information systems development – a history of failure

TheAPMBodyofKnowledgeincorporatestoolsandtechniquesforidentifyingstakeholdersandinfluencenetworks,withadviceonhowtoincorporategoodstakeholdermanagementintotheprojectmanagementprocesses.Thesetoolsandtechniquesareusuallyusedina‘waterfall’approach,whereeachprojectstageissequential,suchasrequirementsdefinition,solutiondevelopment,buildanddeployment.

Despitethis,thesuccessandfailureratesofISprojectshasbeenwellexploredfordecades,(WillcocksandMargetts1994),andthereasonsISprojectsfailarenowfairlywellunderstood.Moreover,aplethoraofpotentialbestpractices–aimedatreducingthelikelihoodofITfailures–havealsonowbeenproposed.Forexample,theintroductionof‘hybridmanagers’hasbeenrecommendedasamechanismforavoidingfailure(Earl,1994),ashavethepowerandcompetenciesbothinISandthebusiness(MarkusandBjorn-Andersen1987,Griffiths1994).

Earlyresearchfocusedontechnologyasanexternalforce,thenmovedontohumanfactorsandeventuallyanacknowledgementthatbothfactorsaresignificanttosuccess[Orlikowski,August1992].Ifthetechnologyitself,andthesocialcontextinwhichitistobeapplied,arelikelytoinfluenceprojectoutcomes,thenitislikelythatrepresentativesfromboththeITdepartmentandthewiderorganisationwillneedtobeinvolvedinitsdevelopmentandimplementation[Mata,Fuerst,&Barney1995].Indeed,thecontributionofeffectiveandharmoniousIT-businessrelationshipsandconsequentISorganisationalstructuresanddecision-makingframeworks,hasbeenexplored[e.g.Winfield,1990;Hoffman,1994;ScottMorton,1990;Peppard,2001],[Venkatraman&Loh,1994].ISmanagementandevolutionhavealsobeenwellexplored,(Hirscheim,Earl,Feeny,Lockett1988).AkeyfactorinsuccessfulISimplementationsistheunderstandingofuserrequirementsandtheinteractionbetweenISandthebusinessline[Rockart1988].

Aconsiderationwhendefiningtherelationshipmanagementandbuildingaprojectteamisthetypeofprojectandthematchtoprojectmanagerpersonality.Dvir(2006)hypothesisesthatthe“fitbetweenprojectmanager’spersonalityandmanagementstyleandthetypesofprojectstheymanageiscrucialtoprojectsuccess”.Hisstudyfocusedontherelationshipsbetweenprojectprofile,projectmanagerpersonalityandprojectsuccess.Similarly,Shao&Muller(2011)definedprogrammesuccesscriteriaandfactors,intoninecategories,fiveofwhichrelatedtopeoplethreetoprocesselementsandonetostrategicalignment.Akeysuccessfactorwastheprogrammemanager.Fisher(2011)identifiessixskillsandbehavioursofaneffectiveprojectmanagerwhichincludeculturalawarenessandinfluencingothers.Thesewouldseemtorelatetoasuccessfactorforinformationsystemsprojectsbeingeffectiverelationshipandstakeholdermanagement.

Businesspartneringisnowarecognisedindustryrole(BritishComputerSocietySkillsFrameworkfortheInformationAge),andhasparallelswithresearchfindingsinotherareas,suchasconstructionprojects.Hellard(1995)statesthatthekeyelementsofsuccessfulprojectpartneringare:

Commitment

Equity

Trust

Mutualobjectives

Effectiveproblemsolving

Timelycommunicationand

Continuousmeasurementandimprovement.

TheconclusionstobedrawnfromthisbodyofliteraturearethatmuchofsystemsdevelopmentisabouttechnicalandsocialinteractionsduringprojectstodevelopharmoniousIT/business


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relationships.Thesearesupportedthroughvariousprojectmanagementanddevelopmentlifecyclepractices,suchasbusinessrequirementsspecificationsanduseracceptancetesting,aswellasstructuralconditionssuchasreportingrelationshipsandpolicies[Markus&Benjamin,1996].Asabasicprinciple,IThastobebusiness-drivenandinvestmentdecisionstakenonthebasisofbusinessvalue,withabusiness-smartITorganisationandanIT-smartbusinessorganisationtheideal[Dvorak,Holen,Mark&Meehan,1997].Additionally,teamsneedtobeactivelybuilttoincludebusinesspeopleaswellastechnicalstaff[Pitt,Berthon&Lane1998].

2.2 How agile addresses the causes of development project failures

AgilemethodologieshavebeenpropoundedincreasinglyforISprojectsoverthelast10years.KentBeckintroducedtheconceptsofextremeprogramming,(AgileXP),whilein1986byHirotakaTakeuchiandIkujiroNonakainthe“NewProductDevelopmentGame”developedscrum.Bothevolvedfromaprevioussoftwaredevelopmentmethodology:DSDM(DynamicSystemsdevelopmentMethod).TheDSDMConsortiumareguardiansoftheagileprojectmanagementframeworksurroundingallagiledeliverymethods.

TheAgileAlliancehaspromotedjointapplicationdevelopmentmethodologieswithhighuserinvolvementinbuilddecisions(Beck,2000).Thesemethodspromotecontinuousmonitoringandadaptingofdeliverablestomeetfixedbenefits.Unfortunately,duetothechallengesofcomplexity,scaleandinterconnectivityfacingsoftwareengineers,thelevelofsystemsfailureremainsstubbornlyhigh(e.g.Ewusi-Mensah&Przasnyski,1994;Doherty,&King,2001).Indeed,areportbytheBritishComputerSociety[BCS,2004]concludedthat:

“BillionsofpoundsarewastedeveryyearonnewITsystems’,as‘onlyaround16percentofITprojectscanbeconsideredtrulysuccessful.”

Laantietal(2011)examinedanorganisation-wideadoptionofagilepracticesatNokia,andtheirresultsrevealedthat“respondentsagreedwiththebenefitsofagileusage,includinghighersatisfactionandeffectiveness,increasedqualityandtransparency,andearlierdetectionoffaultsandthat60%wouldprefertostaywiththemethodsthanreturntotheirpreviouswaysofworking.”

Agileapproachesplaceemphasisonbusinessownershipofproductsandprioritiseteameffortsbasedonbusinessbenefit.Themethodologyaimstoenhanceteamworkingandsharedunderstandingofgoals,basedonaleanconceptof“VoiceoftheCustomer”andisakintotheleansixsigmaprocessimprovementapproach.

Alloftheseapproachesadvocateakeyuserwhoisempoweredtoprioritisetheworkofaself-sufficientteam,withtheprojectmanagerbecominga‘servantleader’whocoachestheteamforimprovements,aswellasaddressingotherdisciplinessuchaswiderstakeholdermanagementtokeeptheteamfocusedpurelyondelivery.Theaimistodeliverearlierbenefitsbydoinghighestvalueworkfirst.However,theagilemethodologiesarelesscomprehensive,dealingpredominantlywiththesoftwaredevelopmentstage.Somecompanies,suchasSiemens,haveadaptedthetoolsandtechniquesandappliedthemtoengineeringworksuccessfully,buttheirusageisstilllimited.

Mostagileadoptionhasbeendrivenfromthesoftwaredevelopmentarena,butthereisabodyofresearchnowinvestigatingwhetherthismethodologycanbeusedbyotherindustries.Conforto(2014)statesthat“projectplanningandcontrolisachallengeforcompaniesengagedindevelopingnewproductsandtechnologies”andthatthereisadrivetoimplementonlypureagileprojectmanagement.Itistheaimofthisstudytoinvestigatehowoftenthatoccursandwhetherpartialadoptionalsobringsbenefitsoveramoretraditionalprojectapproach.


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2.3 Challenges to applying an agile project management methodology

Projectmanagersusetheirownexperiencetopickandchoosethebestmethodsandpractices,whateverthemethodologyandadaptthemtotheirspecificdelivery.AdrianMaloneoftheAPMSpecificInterestGrouponknowledgemanagementstatesthatprojectmanagerscancreatetherightenvironmentandprovideappropriatetoolsforpeopleandteamstocollaborateinthecreationandsharingofknowledge.

Arelativelynewtrendistheuseofsocialmediainprojectteams.PM2.0documentsthepossibleuseofsocialmediainprojectmanagementtoimproveteamworking,stakeholdermanagementandcommunication.Whereagileisadoptedacrossfunctions,teamandgeographies,useofsocialmediaandinformationsharingtoolsisvital,soafactorinpracticaladoptionisteamlocationandmitigationsifnotco-located.

Thebenefitsofusingsocialmediaforbroadstakeholdermanagementisbasedonthereach,allowinganyandallinterestedpartiestotrackprogressandreceiveupdatesorevenrequestfurtherinformationthatmaynotnecessarilyhavebeencaughtbymoretraditionalstakeholdermanagementmethods.Anysubsequentreductionin‘noise’willhelpbuildtowardstheperceptionofsuccess.Thekeydifferenceisthatinformationandthevoiceofthecustomeristhereforeinrealtimesocanbeausefuladditionaltoaprojectmanager’scommunicationstoolset.Daimetal(2011)investigatestheuseoftechnology,specificallye-collaborationandcommunityplatformtools,inglobalvirtualteams.

Toolssuchaswikisandblogsareusedtoneutralisesomeoftheissuesaroundvirtualteamsworkingacrosstimezones,aswellasindividualiseservices.Unfortunately,thereisalackofresearchpapers,asauthorspractisewhattheypreachandpublishviablogsorfocusonbroadersocialmediatrendssuchastheinteractiveworkplace,ratherthanspecificprojectusage;evidenceneedstobegatheredastohowwellthesetoolsandtechniques(suchaswikis,Sharepoint,Facebook,Twitter)areusedandtheirimpactonprojectsuccess.


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3. Study approach

3.1 Research scope

Theresearchpopulation,forexpediencyofaccessandavailability,hasbeencontainedtotheNorthWest:itispositedthatthecorporateandprofessionalprojectmanagementpopulationhereisrepresentativeofthewiderUnitedKingdomenvironmentandthatlessonslearntcanbetransferrableacrosstheISprojectmanagementprofessionasawhole.Carewastakentoinvestigatearangeofprojectsofvaried‘scale’,whichmayhaveanimpactonprojectselectionforsuitabilityofagilemethodsandbeanindicatorofthematurityofagilepracticeadoption.

Akeypointtonoteisthemembership,eithercorporateorpersonal,ofinterviewees,professionalbodies,asapre-dispositiontotheadoptionofnewmethodsandbestpractice.

3.2 Research methodology

Ashurstetal(2008)undertookexploratoryresearchusingacasestudyapproach,toaddresstheneedtocoverarangeoforganisationalparameters,whilstWaardenburg(2013),establishedaGroundedTheoryapproachtoagilepracticesintraditionalenterprises,aimingtodevelopatheoryfromdataratherthangatheringdatainordertotestahypothesis.

Theaimistouncovertheissuesstudyparticipantshaveexperienced,andresisthavingpreconceivedideasandsolimitthequestionsaskedduringtheinterviewprocess.Thismethodallowstheproblemstonaturallyemerge.

Previousstudiesintothesefactorshavefollowedaqualitativeapproach,utilisingarangeofsurveys,questionnairesandinterviews.Wateridge(1997)deliveredaquestionnaireonsuccesscriteriawithsubsequentinterviews,askingrespondentstoindicateandratethefivemostimportantcriteriaforsuccess.Thiswasfollowedbyfurtherinterviewsofkeyprojectstaff,gatheringindividualperceptionsofthosesuccesscriteria.Agrawal(2006),investigatedquantitativesuccesscriteriathroughquestionnairestargetedatprojectmanagers,andbusinessaccount(relationship)managersrepresentingtheseniorendcustomer.

Shaoetal(2009)reviewedprogrammesuccessandfoundthatmuchisstillconceptual,withlittleliteraturesuggestingmeasurements,includingPMIandOGCguidance,whichrelatespurelytobenefitsrealisation,valuecreationororganisationalchange.Inthequalitativestudyof2011forprogramcontextandsuccess,semi-structuredinterviewswereusedtocollectdata,withintervieweesbeingthepeoplewiththebestknowledgeoftheresearchsubject.Samplenumberswereidentifiedonatheoreticalsaturationpointandstoppedwhennonewconceptsorcategoriesemergedfrominterviews.

Thestudythereforefollowedan‘interpretive’style,togainknowledgeofthepracticalextentofagileadoption,supportedbyrealworldevidence.

Diagram 1: Research scope

NWorganisations

NWproject managers

APMmembers

Type of project(IT/non IT)

Scale of project


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3.3 Data collection

Thedatacollectionprocessusedforthisstudywassemi-structuredandqualitative,andstructuredinthreestages;firstandsecondinterviewsandaDelphireview.

Evidencewasgatheredthroughaseriesofsemi-structuredinterviews,coveringthefollowingareas:

Rolesandresponsibilities

Toolsandtechniques

Behaviours

Organisationalenablers

Trainingandskills

Projectmethodologycontext

Terminology

Practically,aconcentrationdiagramwasusedasthebasisforinterviewstocaterforspeedofresponseswithachecklistfortoreviewtogiveconsistencyofapproach.

DatawascapturedoninterviewsheetsandvalidatedthroughaDelphireview(detailedinthefollowingsectionondataanalysis).

3.3.1 Challenges to data collection

Definingcriteriatomeasureprojectsuccesshasbeenrecognisedasadifficulttask(Baccarini,1999).PintoandMartel,(1990)usedthreedimensionstodefineprojectsuccess:theefficiencyoftheimplementationprocess,theperceivedqualityoftheproject,andfinally,clientsatisfaction.

Time,costandqualitygoalscanbecollectedasquantitativedataitems,butperceptionofsuccessisqualitative.So,previousresearchhasusedarangeofdatacollectionmethodsbutmostcommonlysemi-structuredinterviews.

Therefore,akeychallengetoovercomewasoffinancialdisclosure,bothfullprojectlifecyclecostsandproposedandachievedbenefits.Accesstokeypeople,particularlysincetheaimistoreviewclosedprojects,maybeproblematic,asparticipantsmayhavemovedontootherworkorevenothercompanies,aswellasallayingconcernsaroundsharingofcompetitiveinformation.Theremaywellbeemotionalbarrierstoovercome,althoughtheexpectationisthatpeoplewhohaveworkedonsuccessfulprojectswillbewillingtoairtheirviewsmoreopenly.

3.3.2 First interview outline

Aninitialtelephoneinterviewwasplanned,toestablishthefollowingwithpotentialparticipants:

Haveyouheardofagileprojectmanagement?

Doyou/yourorganisationuseit?Ifyes,willyoubeusingitagain?

Haveyoubeentrainedtouseit?

ThesamequestionswereadaptedforuseasasurveytoolandpublishedthroughtheAssociationforProjectManagementbranchmeetingwiththeInstituteofChemicalEngineers,togaintheperceptionsandprofessionalviewsofawider(non-IS)audience.


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3.3.3 Second interview outline

Thiswasaseriesofopenquestionstounderstandthecorporatepersonalandprojectcontext,anddriveafreeflowingdiscussionforrichdata.

Context:

Contact’sroleinagile–champion,practitioner,observer,recipient

Scaleofproject–<100k,100-900k,>£1million,>£5million

Typeofproject–regulatory,innovation,serviceimprovement

Discussiongeneration:

Howdoyoudefinebenefitsanddecideonmethodologytouse?

Whatdoesagilemeantoyou?(generatekeywordlust,checkmeanings)

Howmanypeopledoyouhaveontheteam?(Morethan10andit’snotreallyagile…)

Howlonghasitbeenrunning?(Indicatesadherencetotime-boxingandbenefitsrealisationtimescale)

3.4 Data analysis

3.4.1 Convergent term mapping

Term Alternatives Meaning

Agile Scrum,DSDM,XP,agileprojectmanagement,SAFE,kanban

Iterativedevelopmentapproach

Productowner Client,businessambassador,thetruth,sponsor

Responsibleforproduct

Scrummaster Projectmanager,teamleader Servant-leaders,coordinators

Backloggrooming Re-planning,pull

Dailyscrum Stand-upteammeeting Plan,do,reviewdailysession

Estimating Re-factoring,planningpoker,runratereview,throughputmetrics,measures

Sprint Iteration,developmentphase Shortdevelopmentphases

Sprintplanning Planninggame,backlogchart,requirementsplanning

Sprintretrospective

Sprintreview,review,retrospective,lessonslearnt,continuousimprovementsession


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3.4.2 Data mapping

DerivedfromAlmeidaetal,2012,thefollowingcategorieswereusedtomapthesemi-structuredinterviewresponses:

Organisation Process Project team Project type and others

Organisationalstructuretype

Capabilityofreconfiguration

Self-directedteams Productsuccessionplanning

Organisationalculture

Processautomation Teamautonomytomakedecisions

Urgencytocomplete/pace

Entrepreneurialculture

Processmodularity Teammembership Goalclarity

Learningorganisation Easyaccesstoinformation

Teamdedication Projectcomplexity

Agilestyleworkenvironment

Formalisation Teamknowledgeaboutagile

Projectnewness

Acceptanceofagilemethodology

Frequentdevelopmentmilestones

Teamexperience/expertise

Supportsystemse.g.testharnesses,designtools

Adequaterewardforagileuse

Processconcurrency Projectmanagerexperience

Customerinvolvement

Emphasisonspeed Externalintegration Teamsize Collaborativework

Performancemeasuring

Teamlocation Suppliers’involvement

Knowledgemanagementsystems

Multidisciplinaryteams

Multidisciplinaryteams

Resourcecompetition

Strongexecutivesupport

Decentraliseddecisionmaking


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3.4.3 Delphi review of findings

TheDelphimethodisastructuredcommunicationtechnique,originallydevelopedasasystematic,interactivemethodwhichreliesonapanelofexperts.Delphiisbasedontheprinciplethatforecasts(ordecisions)fromastructuredgroupofindividualsaremoreaccuratethanthosefromunstructuredgroups.

TheDelphitechnique’suniquecontributionisthe‘boilingdown’ofdifferingexpertopinionsorotherstakeholdersintoconsensusfordecisionmaking,withoutcreatingdirectconfrontationorallowingstrongindividualstodominatetheprocess.

Usuallyallparticipantsremainanonymous.Theiridentityisnotrevealed,evenafterthecompletionofthefinalreport.Thispreventstheauthority,personality,orreputationofsomeparticipantsfromdominatingothersintheprocess.Arguably,italsofreesparticipantsfromtheirpersonalbiases,allowsfreeexpressionofopinions,encouragesopencritique,andfacilitatesadmissionoferrorswhenrevisingearlierjudgments.

Theexpertsanswerquestions(firststageinterviews),thenresponsesarecollectedandanalysedbythefacilitator,commonandconflictingviewpointsareidentified.Ifconsensusisnotreached,theprocesscontinues,tograduallyworktowardssynthesis,andbuildingconsensus.

Thefacilitator(theauthor),thenprovidesananonymoussummaryoftheexperts’comments,inthisinstanceviaemail.Theexpertsareencouragedtorevisetheirearlieranswersinlightoftherepliesofothermembersoftheirpanel.Itisbelievedthatduringthisprocesstherangeoftheanswerswilldecreaseandthegroupwillconvergetowardsthe“correct”answerandthemeanaveragescoreofthefinalroundsdeterminetheresults.

3.5 Participants

TenAPMNorthWestcorporatememberswereinitiallycontacted,butonlyfourresponded,andofthose,onlytwoconfirmedinterestinparticipatinginthestudy.Ofthose,onlyoneactivelyparticipatedatthenextstage.Themainreasonfornon-participationwasconcernaboutgainingapprovaltopublish,evenanonymously,potentiallysensitiveinformationaboutprojectperformance.

Followingdiscussionwiththestudysponsor,theAPMNorthWestbranchchairman,itwasagreedtorequestparticipationfromindividualprojectmanagers,oftenworkingatthoseorganisationsandbasedintheregion.Theparticipationagreementwaspositive,withalloutof14peoplecontactedcontributingtheirexperiencesandlearning.Intandem,arequestforinputfromprojectmanagersattendingajointeventbetweentheAPMandtheInstituteofChemicalengineers;of120attendees,onlytwohadheardofagile,andnonewereusingit.

Allparticipantshadconsideredusingagileinavarietyoforganisations,acrossarangeofprojects,butpredominantlyinregulatedenvironmentssuchasfinancialservicesorpharmaceuticals.However,fivehadneverpractisedit,andthereasonsforusingadifferentmethodologywereexploredduringthefirstinterview.Onlythreeprojectmanagershadusedagilefornon-ITdelivery,andwereadvancingfromagiletokanban,followingasuccessfultrackrecordandwidescaleadoptionwithintherelevantcompanyoverseveralyears.

Theprojectsdiscussedduringinterviewsrangedfrommulti-millionpoundprogrammes,to£100,000softwaredevelopments.Themajorityofprojectscitedasexampleswerefrom£500,000to£2million,whichappearedtoindicateasimilarscaleofteamsizeanddurationthatwasthenexploredduringthesecondinterview.


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4. Findings

4.1 All participants agreed that …

4.1.1 Agile is a misunderstood term

Theirexperiencesindicatedthatsponsorsandbudgetholdersthoughtofagileas,“thisshouldbequickerandcheaper”,untiltriedforthefirsttime,asthereisanexpectationthatonlythedevelopmentworkneedsresourcing,andoverheadssuchasprojectmanagement,qualitycontrol,architectureanddesignarenotunderstoodorperceived.Allparticipantscommentedthatifyouarefortunateenoughtohaveanall-round,highlyexperiencedsetofdevelopers,maybe,butthat’snotagile!Thereisariskwithoutthoseoverheadsthattheenddeliveryisnotcoherentanddoesn’tintegratewiththerestofthebusiness.

Twoparticipantsmentionedprojectscaleasarisk;forinstance,ifthisisapilotandonlypartofawiderdelivery,thereneedstobeeffortandcapacitytodelivertheremainder,asthereisatendencytoperceiveagileasawaytodevelopaprototypethatthen,rightlyorwrongly,carriesonasafullproductionsolution.

4.1.2 The company environment has to be ready

Thethree‘mature’adoptersemphasisethatbeforeembarkinganagiledeliverymethodology,itisimportanttoconsiderthebroaderprojectmanagementcontextandhowagilecanbeembeddedwithinexistingprocessesandcontrols.Allprojectmanagersinterviewedagreedthatifthewholecompanyisusedtoworkingonprojectsinastructuredmethodology,thenbuy-iniseasier,comparedtosomewhereunusedtodeliveringchangeandsodevelopmentisnotacorecompetency.Theconsensusisthattheenvironmenthastoberight:customeraccessandeffort,seniormanagementsupport,agoodteam,andflexibleculture.

4.1.3 Multifunction people and co-location are the ideal

Everyoneinterviewedwasadamantthattheteamideallywouldbephysicallyascloseaspossible.Havingafulltime,multi-functionalteamofanalysts,designers,testersanddevelopersallinoneroomisthegoal,toaidknowledgesharingandsavetime.

TonyDavissays:“Theteamwasco-locatedinasingleblockofdesksforaboutsixmonths.Acoupleofmonthsagohot-deskingwasintroducedandwejustfounddeskswherewecould.Withindaysbreakdownsincommunicationsbecameapparentandthereweretensionsinthestand-ups.Ourcycle-timestartedtoincrease.I’malwaysinearlysoonemorningIprintedoffabunchof‘ReservedforOpenAPIProject’labelsandtookoverablockofdesks.LaterImadeitofficialbygettingFacilitiestoagree.Thingsimprovedquickly.”

Itwasagreedthatsmallerteamscommunicatebetter,sothegeneralrecommendationwasforanidealteamsizeIbetweenfiveandnine,withgetagoodmixofskillsandpersonalities.Ifbiggerteamsarenecessary,thentheadvicewastotrytosplitdownintosmallergroups,byfeaturesorfunctionalareas,ratherthanlivewithabiggerteam.

Twoparticipantsproposedthatusingagenerictermhelpstobreakdownsilos,e.g.designer,analyst,programmer.Thissupportstheideaofateambeingmultifunctionalwheremembersactashybrids.Theidealwouldbetohaveeverypersonabletodoeveryjob,butamorerealisticaimistohave“generalisingspecialists”(accordingtoagilecoachDotRoberts),andassignthetypeofworkanyonecando,suchasorganisingworkshoplogistics,acrossthegroup,regardlessofindividualspecialisms,toavoidresentment/preferentialtreatment.Goforthebest,mostexperiencedteamthatisnecessaryforthejob.

Allparticipantsnotedthatdidn’tworkwellwasusinglessexperiencedteammembers,whostruggledtofitworkintothebroadercontextofunderstanding,andthereforetoconsiderintegratingtheirwork


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intothewhole.Itisimportantforeachteammembertounderstandwhatotherpeoplearedoing,wheretheirworkfitsandprogressagainstthebiggerpicture.

Fourintervieweesreiteratedthatanexperiencedteamisobviouslymoreeffective,andnotspecifictoanagilemethodology.Thisaspirationisnotspecifictoagilebuttheimpactisgreater,asworkismovingmuchfaster.Timelags,Chinesewhispers,etc,canbereducedpossibleoverdistancebutreducingthehindrancesisharderandneedsmoretools.However,ifyoucan‘tgettheoptimum,theprojectmanagermustallowtimeforteammemberstodevelopandimprove,socaterforaddressinganyskillsorexperiencegaps.

4.1.4 Communications and ways of working take more effort with agile than waterfall

JoHinchcliffestates:“Communicationsandwaysofworkingarekey.”Allparticipantsagreedit’simportanttospendtimeupfrontdefiningtheorganisationandagreeingprocessedandproceduresbeforestartingsprintplanning.Somecommunicationstacticsusedconsistentlybyparticipantsweretoshowprototypestousersregularlytogetinterimfeedbackduringsprints.

Shecontinues:“Findfailuresquicklytomeetexpectationsofagiledevelopmentbeingcheaperandnotjustquickerbutbeawareofthepotentialconflictbetweenthescrummasterlookingafterthehealthoftheteamandaprojectmanagerdrivingforspeed.Alsoclarifythecommunicationsandstakeholdermanagementbetweentheprojectmanager,productownertokeepeffortawayfromthescrummasterandtheteam.”

Itisimportanttocelebratesuccessatsprintreviewsandretrospectivesandmostprojectmanagersmentionedrecognitionactivities.JoHinchliffestates:“Thereisnohidinginagile.Everyonehastopulltheirweightoritreallyshows.”Soprojectmanagersmustputeffortintoproperteambuildingandunderstandtheindividual’sstrengthsandweaknessesaswellasfortheteamaswhole,togetmosteffectiveuseofskills.

4.1.5 Self-organising teams need help

Exploringthepreviouspoints,sixprojectmanagersexplainedthatself-organisingteamsneedafullrangeofskillsandco-location,witheasyandregularaccesstobusinessuserspreferred.Estimationforearlysprintscanonlybeaccurateifbasedontheexperienceoftheteammembersonsomethingsimilar,ortheirabilitytocompareandextrapolate.Theyneedtounderstandandbeabletoexplaintotheprojectoffice,projectmanagerandscrummastertheunnecessarylayersandbottlenecksthatneedremoving.

PaulJohnsonquotestwooftheprinciplestakenfromtheAgileManifesto,whichreinforcethebenefitsofself-organisation:‘Buildprojectsaroundmotivatedindividuals.Givethemtheenvironmentandsupporttheyneed,andtrustthemtogetthejobdone’and‘Thebestarchitectures,requirementsanddesignsemergefromself-organisingteams.’

4.1.6 It’s all about delivering small but delivering often

Thetheoryisthatestimatingimprovesovertime;asarhythmisestablishedaccuracyimproves.Theaimistogoforquickwins,whichareusuallyeasiertoestimateandtodo.Morecomplicatedrequirementscouldverywellbesupersededbythetimetheteamgettothem.However,whilstallparticipantsagreedwiththetheory,threenotedthatestimatingisgenerallymoreaccuratethanforwaterfall,butputwaterfallinfrontofinexperiencedpeopleandseehowwildlytheestimatesandactualsvary!

AlastairArdernstatesthat“afixedcostfocusesproductownerswhenprioritisingrequirementstodeliver.Anythingthatintroducesabarrierorhandoverneedstobescrutinisedasitholdsuprealwork.Asakeyuserorsponsor,ifyouarenotgettingwhatyouwant,stop”.


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4.1.7 Planning and reviews have to be done, but can be fun

Theagiletheoryadvocatedacycleofbuild,measurethenlearn,todelivervalue,improveworkflowandimprovequalitytodelivertherightthing.

MartinBermanadvocatesusingmethodssuchasplanningpokerforestimation,aspartofsprintplanning,(butaddintimefortraininganddevelopment),asthefunelementencouragescreativityandhelpstogeneratediscussion.Hestates,“It’sgoodtointroduceanewconcept,togetalltheteamsinoneroom,toassesstherelativesizeofworkchunks,andnotjustdothisforeachsprint.It’sfunandabitdifferent,andreallyhelpswithmotivation.However,youdoneedtoaddintimefortraininganddevelopmentandtrytouseatoollikeJirabetweenthetechnicalteams.Justensureanalystsareincludedfortraceability,visibilityandtosupportestimation.”

Twoprojectmanagersdrewattentiontoafurtherriskofanagileapproach.Theysaidit’simportanttoconsiderhowtoavoida“technicaldebt”,byrushingtogetsomethingdone;alwaysplaninrequirementsfortidyingworkupasyougoalong.

Oneprojectmanagermentionedthatthereisoftenapreconceptionthatagilemeansnodocumentation.Whilstthisisnotthecase,mostparticipantssaidthattheyhadactivelyconsideredtheappropriatelevelofdocumentationtoproduce.OneparticipantsuggestedthatusingKipling’s‘sixhonestservingmen’stillworks:whoneedsthis,whataretheygoingtouseitfor,whydotheyneedit,whenandhowoftendoesitneedtobeproduced,wherewillitbestored,howwillitbedeliveredandconsumed?

Allagreedthatretrospectivesareessentialandthatthereviewprocessaftereachiterationorsprintistheonlywaytogaincontinuousimprovementandhencevelocity

4.1.8 Measure and track!

Severalparticipantswarnedagainstteamsthinkingtheyareworkinginanagilewaywithoutfollowingthebasicprinciples.Thustheysacrificewaterfallstandardsofcontrol.It’simportanttogetmetricsforvisibilityaswellascontrolinanymethod,evena“non-pure”approach.

4.2 Participants had to consider…

4.2.1 When agile is the most suitable approach to use.

Levelofcertaintyversustimetomarketisthebalancethatneedstobeconsideredwhenselectingsuitableprojectstogoagile.Allcitedthatatypicalcaseisifacustomerknowswhattheydon’twant,butcanbecoaxedtodescribethefirstbenefittheydowantdelivered.agilethenenablesrapidprototyping,toaiddrivingoutfullerrequirements.

Anotherpointmadebyoneprojectmanageristoselectanagiledeliveryapproach,whenthedrivetodeliverisgreaterthantherisk,e.g.shippingearlystageEbolavaccinewithoutfullclinicaltrialsresults.

Fourparticipantsmentionedthatit’sahardselltostakeholders;“giveusmoney,wepromisetodeliversomethingbutwedon’tknowwhatorexactlywhen”.Thiscommentwasfelttoemphasisetheneedforstrongprojectmanagementaroundanagiledelivery,asthereisatendencyforstakeholderstothinkagileisallthat’sneeded,whenactuallyit’sadevelopmentsubsetofafullprojectmanagementlifecyclethatactuallynecessitatesmorestakeholdermanagement,risksandissuesidentificationandpre-emptiveactions.Thedifficultytheyidentifiedistoselectaprojectwhereaclientcanspendenoughtimewiththeteamandallagreedthat,ifyoucan’tgetthat,it’snotsuitableasitwon’twork,soabetterapproachwouldbeawaterfallmethodology.So,theirexperiencewasthatitneedstobeexplainedasasignificanttimecommitmentthathastohavedelegatedauthorityandbuyinfromseniormanagement.Oneparticipantnotedthatthefirsttimethrough,it’sa“leapoffaith”,andsothereisariskofgivingupandlosingbenefits.


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Aspartofthisstudy,wedidaskconstructionandengineeringcompaniesabouttheiradoptionofagileandgotaresoundinglackofpractitioners.KevinFaussettcommentsthat:“Agileisnotusedasconstructionandengineeringworkshaveclearrequirements,relativelystableenvironments,knownworkandthereforehighqualityestimates.Theyarealsoheavilyregulatedwithsafetyimplications.”

Thisbearsouttheacademicresearchthatagileadoptionislimitedinthosearenasandbearsoutthetechnologypractitionersviews,whowereunanimousinsayingtheywouldn’tuseagileforfixedscope,regulatoryandsafetywork.Allagreedthatagileworksbetterthanwaterfallforhighrisk,fastmoving,urgentneedwork,thatcangetbuyinandtime,buttherequirementsareunclear.Noonewoulduseitasamethodologyinsafetyrelatedsituationse.g.aeronautics.ChrisBellsaysthat,his“experienceofthetechnologyandinnovationexperienceisthatagileisthemethodtochoosewhenthereisuncertainty:overrequirements,prioritisation,environment,andtimeandcostarepressures”.Healsonotedthatinhisexperience,agileappealstoyoungerpeoplewhohaven’tpreviouslybeenexposedtowaterfall.

TonyDavisidentifiedthefollowing:

Waterfall

Pros Cons

Worksbestwhentherearedefinedrequirements

Bestforstableenvironment

Theteamisdistributedandhencecontrolcanbemanagedbydefineddeliverables,milestonesanddependencies

Bestifscarceskillsorresourceshavelimitedavailability

Plansarerepeatableforsimilarprojects

Requiresinvestmenttodefinescopeandschedulebeforeworkbegins

Scopechangescanbeslowandtheadverseimpactincreasesoverthelifecycle

Riskofnothingtoshowforthemoneyuntiltheend

Changeaddseffortandrisk,soastrictchangecontrolprocessmustbeinplacetoavoid‘scopecreep’

Agile

Pros Cons

Workswellwhenthedetailedrequirementsareunknownorsubjecttochange

Giveflexibilityto‘coursecorrect’

Needsregularstakeholderfeedback

Theteamisco-located,multi-functionalandenablestoworkinacollaborativeway

Earlyreturnoninvestmentbyregulardelivery

Noadvantageforprojectswherethescopeanddetailedrequirementsarewellunderstoodandchangecanbecontrolled

Uncertaintyaroundscopeandschedulescanmakestakeholdersnervous

Lesseffectiveifthe‘team’isdistributed

Demandsmanagementandprioritisationofthebacklog


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4.2.2 What split of waterfall/agile to use

Manyprojectsdiscussedduringtheinterviewsbeganaswaterfall,togetenoughunderstandingtogeta‘go’decision,thenmovedtoanagileapproachatvariousstagesofthejustifystage.Whentomovetoagilewasnotaconsistentview,withsomemaintainingallstages,postbusinesscasecouldbeappropriatelydeliveredinanagileway,withothersmaintainitsjustforthedevelopmentstage,sopost-detaileddesign.Allagreedtheirpreferreddeliverieswereinsmallchunks,ratherthancompilingitemstobejoinedtogetherattheend,asthatwastooclosetoawaterfallapproachandincreasedriskofdeliveringthewrongthingorhittingintegrationproblemsaftersignificanttimeandefforthadbeenexpended.

Thismixedstageapproachalsohastheadvantageofbuildingconfidenceingovernancegroupswhohavenotbeenexposedtoagilebefore.Anotherstakeholdermanagementtechniquemostprojectmanagersusedwastosharethescrumorkanbanboardsshowingkeymetricsonaregularbasis,andconcentrateonmakingthetrackingandcommunicationshighlytransparent.

4.2.3 Scrum or kanban?

Twooftheorganisationsstudiedhadprogressedfromscrumsprintstoakanbanapproach,(kanbanwasdevelopedbyToyotatoimproveproductivity),perceivingittogivegreaterflexibility,becauseitisacontinuousprocess.PaulJohnsonandTonyDavisbothagreeonthekeydifferencesbetweenthetwomethods:

Kanban Scrum

Continuousdelivery,doesnotassumeyoucanfiteverythingintoasprint

Time-boxedsprints,goodforsupportingcommittedtime-constraints

Workis‘pulled’throughthesystem(singlepieceflow)

Workis‘pulled’throughthesysteminbatches(thesprintbacklog)

Changescanbemadeatanytimewithagreement

Nochangesallowedmid-sprint

Cycletime Velocity

4.2.4 How to get a great product owner

TonyDavisstatesthat:“Theroleofproductowneriskeyandneedstobeasenior,empoweredspecialistwithappropriateresponsibilityandauthorityfromtheirprimaryroleinthebusiness.”

Businessinvolvement–dedicated,parttimeordevolvedtoananalyst.

Riskofproductownerjustaddingthingsinandtakingcontrol

Needsomeonewhocanconvertbusinesslanguageintotechnicalactivitiesbutisawareoftheneedtofitintocorporateandregulatorygovernance.

Mustunderstandthe‘customer’andhavetheauthorisationtotakedecisions.

Multipleusersandevenprojectownersmeansaforummustbesetuptomanageconflictingrequirementsandpriorities,orresultinchangingorre-planningactivities.JoHinchcliffesharedasimpleideaforprojectmanagerstobooktimeintopeople’sdiariesaheadoftime,outsideofasprintandtoschedulemoreinputthanmayactuallybeneeded,togivesomeflexibilityandcapacitytosupporttheteam.Itis,asinanyprojectmethodology,importanttobeclearupfrontaboutholidays,needs,expectationsandactivelycommunicateandmanageteammembers.


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Usingabusinessanalystinlieuofaproductownerwasoneadaptationseveralparticipantshadused.Allwhohadagreeditwasaworkaroundandfarfromideal.Theanalysthadtogobacktothecustomerorparttimeproductowner,whichbuiltdelayintotheworkingsoftheteamandreducedthroughput.

Whateveryoneremarkeduponandlikedwasthemanagementbenefitofbuildinguptrust,ascomparedtonovisibilitywithwaterfalluntiltheendproductisdelivered,thendiscoveringthatitsnotsuitable.Deliveryteamsalsoappreciatedbeingabletoseetheirproductinliveuse.

4.2.5 Do I need a scrum master and a project manager?

Aspreviouslystatedbyallparticipants,co-locationismostimportant,butespeciallywiththeroleofscrummaster;oneprojectmanagernotedthathisexperienceofhavingaremoteorevenoffshorescrumprojectmanagementofagileworksbestwhenatasingleteamlevel,butoftenaprojectismadeupofmultipleteams,withascrummasterasteamleader.Allparticipantsagreedthattheprojectmanager’sleadershipstyleneedstobefacilitative,a“servant-leader”,ratherthanamoretraditional,directivestyle.

Similarly,twoparticipantsspecificallyexpressedtheviewthattraditionalcommandandcontroldoesnotwork,asitstopstheagilitybytakingawaytheindividual’sresponsibilityfortheirownwork,andcanbiastheestimationprocess.Therefore,theprojectmanagerneedstobesomeonewhotaskstheteam,buthelps,supports,coordinatesand,aboveall,listens.

Theconsensusfromparticipantsisthatboththescrummasterandprojectmanagerarerequired,butneedtoworkcloselytogethertomanagetheproductownerandteamresourcing.

Theprojectmanagermustscrutinisethemetricscloselytobeabletotrackprogressandcommunicateitexternallytotheteam,butalsousethemasanindicatorofblockersandsotoclearissuesawayfromthegroupbeforetheybecomeserious.IftheprojectIspartofanoverallprogramme,theprojectmanagerwillthenbeabletocommunicateeffectivelytotheprogrammemanager.

MarkSutherlandsharedthelearninggainedfromanon-goingpilot:projectswithinalargeprogrammearefollowingscrumstandardssetdownbytheGovernmentDigitalServicefortheframework,assuranceandservicestandards,bringingdevelopersinfromsuppliers,withthesponsoractingastheproductowner.

Theprojectteamsareusingagileafteraninitialdiscoveryphase,whichgeneratestheproductbacklogs.Eachsprintistwoweeks,withdailystand-upsandregularplanninggames.Theteamarephysicallylocatedinthebusinessarea,astheywereoriginallybasedinadifferentbuilding,whichdidn’tworksowell.Theynowhavetheirownseparateenvironmentandteammembersgetawarenessandtrainingonhowtoworkintheiragileteam.

Theworkisdigitaltechnology,withagiledevelopmentselectedasthepreferredmethodologybecauseofthedrivetoreducebudgetsanddomoreforless,anddeliverquickly.Itwasbelievedthatadoptingthemethodologyinitiallyfortechnologywouldbeagoodfit.Itwasn’tinitiallyasuccess,duetoalackofcapabilityandtryingsomethingtotallynewonabigpieceofwork.However,followingtraining,relocation,separatingtheworkintostreamsandaddingrealtimeinformationsharingtoolssuchaswikis,anewmindsethasbeenestablished.

Therecommendationnowistoensurethatpeoplearecomfortableandtherightfitforthenewwaysofworking,especiallywhenfittingintoamoreestablishedsetofdevelopmentandprojectmanagementmethodologies.MarkSutherlandsaysthatatfirst“usingPRINCE2,alltheneatprojectstageswere‘messedup’withagile.Thefirsttimethrough,pre-training,waspartwaterfallandpartRAD.Followingthatexperience,asetofprincipleshavebeenestablished,howtoputmultifunctionteamstogether,andaportfoliomanagementteamacrossallagileprojects”.


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4.2.6 How to project manage across multiple agile workstreams and projects

MartinBermannotes:“Ifyouresultinhavinganumberofagileprojectsanddependencies,howtomanagethemalltogetherhastobecarefullydefined.Whilstagroupofsprintsinasingleteamcanbeaddedtogethertomakean“epic”ofrelateddeliverables,thereisalsotheconceptofa‘scrumofscrums’tomanageandalignacrossteams,forinstance,ifyouhavelotsofenablingwork,orareworkingonlegacysolutions.”

Severalparticipantsreflectedthat,ifdeliveringmorethanoneproject,itisimportanttoconsiderorganisingby“productline”ratherthanprojectbasedteams,astheteamownthefunctionality,buildupknowledgeandhaveasenseofprideintheirarea,workingonproductspecificprojectsovertime.Also,considerhowworkcanbesplitup:oneprojectmanagerexpoundednotusingsprints,buthavingakanbanstylepullfromtheteamtoworkonsmallstoriesforworkableitemsandjustdeliverwhenready.Thisgivesearlyvalue,butitwasclearduringtheinterviewsthattheapproachwasusedbyahighlyexperiencedandskilledteam,somaynotbesuitableinallsituations.Metricswerevital,putinplaceandmanageinthatsituation,assprintsdoactasanaturaldelimiter.

Theproductownerneedstoattendallsprintplanningsessions,andsomehadsupportfrombusinessanalyststododetailedrequirements.Allprojectdiscussedheldrequirementsinanoveralllist,theneachteamdrewthemdown.Everyonebroadlydefinedeachsprint,thenbrokethemdownintosmallerstories.

Theparticipantshaddeliveriesthatneededintegratingtoawiderprojectenvironment,sostatedthatitisimportanttoputthoughtintotheinterfacesbetweenlegacyandagileworkstreams,e.g.todefinethestyleandscopeofbusinessrequirements,forconsistencyacrossteamsandtoreducetimeandeffort.Thisthenhelpstodecidehowtobreakworkdowninstreams–possiblybyfunctionalareasorintoalogicaldeliveryorderorprocessflowbasis.

Anotherkeyconsiderationthatmanyparticipantshadstruggledwithwasdecidingwhethereachteamincludestestinginasprintbeforedelivering,orwhethertheproductistestedandintegratedbythescrumofscrumsorinalegacymethodology.Theadvantageisthatdeliverystaysfocusedwithareducedsetofskillsneededintheteam,butthedisadvantageisdelayandhandoverbeforeafinishedproductisactuallydelivered.Whereverpossible,theypreferredtodeveloptestsinconjunctionwithrequirements,thenchecktheywereincrementalandrunconsecutivelytobuildupovertime.Oneprojectmanagersuggestedsplittingasprintintotwosections,withabuildoftwoweekswithathirdweektointegrateandtestacrossstreamsormodulesorthreeweeksforlargerrequirementsandtwoweeksforsmallerdeliverables.Thesecanthenbeorderedaccordingtowhenscarceorpartialresourcesareavailable.

Anotherparticipantsuggesteddefiningaprocesspipeline,thentracktokeepwithinanumberofsprintse.g.s-1tos+1ofeachother.Healsoimplementedanoveralldesignauthority,toactasachangeboard,whichgaveanappropriatechangecontrolprocessandreviewers,toassesstheimpactacrossprojectsofonesprintnotdeliveringsomethingonthebroaderdeliveries.So,aprogrammeboardcansupporttheproductowner,aswellashostananalysttostartdefiningfuturerequirementsonbehalfoftheproductowner,aswellasshapefutureepics.


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4.2.7 Use of tools and techniques to address gaps

Akeyagileprincipleisworthreiterating,thatof,‘individualsandinteractionsovertoolsandtechniques’.

Everyonewasadamantthathavingateaminthesamelocation,facetoface,wasverymuchtobedesired,butifit’snotpossibleandateamisdistributed(acrossbuildings,countries),theprojectmanagerhastothinkverycarefullyaboutenablingcommunications,andinvestigatethetechnology,suchasskype,googlehangouts,instantmessaging,webexandvideoconferencing.Collaborationtoolsarereadilyavailableontheinternet,suchaskanbanboards,ElementoolandteamFoundationServerfromMicrosoft,withmanybeingfreeware.

Theyalsoputeffortintoconsideringabroaderuseofsocialmediaforriskmitigationifnotco-located,notjustsharedboards:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/ff637362.asp

http://elementool.com/

http://info.leankit.com/online-kanban-board, https://kanbanize.com/

Onlyone,non-ITprojectmanagerwhoresponded,hassuccessfullyusedsocialmediaforteamcommunications,butnotforanagiledelivery.Thegeneralviewwasthatpolicingthesuitabilityofcontentwasproblematicinaformal,corporateenvironment,sotheoverheadsoutweighedbenefit.


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5. Conclusions

Theparticipantsrepresentedabroadrangeofprojectmanagementexperience,stylesandprojectscales,butthedriversforselectingagileasamethodologywerethesame:eitheraneedforspeed,afixedbudgetwithuncertainrequirementsbutclearbenefits/outcome,orawillingnesstopilotandprototype.However,theprojectsdeliveredbytheparticipantsinanagilemethodologywerepredominantlyinformationtechnologysolutions.Thiscouldbeduetosomemembershipornetworkbias,orcouldbeindicativeofalackofadoptionforwiderprojectdeliveries.

Allparticipantsidentifiedkeysuccessfactors:

Projectmanagementmaturityandcultureofprojectmanagementtounderstandrolesandexpectedbehaviours.

Anagreedtimecommitmentfromclient/customeriscritical.

Co-locationorabilitytomeetregularlyfacetofaceasateam.

Investmentintrainingandteambuilding.

Theynotedthatmanyprojectmanagementprinciplesarethesame,regardlessofmethodology,butmorerelevanttoagilearecommunicationsmethods,experiencedteammembers,co-locationandseniormanagementbuyin.However,agileisperceivedtotakemoreinitialefforttogetthebestconditions,suchasthatcolocation,afullrangeofskillsetsintheteam,fulltimenotparttimeresourcing.Also,thattheagileprincipleofservantleaderalsoappliestotheprojectmanager,notjusttothescrummaster.

Withoneexception,participantsallblendedmethodsfromtherangeofagilemethodologies,butthemajorityusedabasisofscrum,(asXPseemstohavebeenpopularearlierintheadoptiontrend).Andoneismovingfromscrumtowardskanban.Theparticipantsadaptationsbrokedownintothreeareas:

1.Artefactsconsistentasaminimumsetwereaproductbacklog,sprintplanningsessions,sprints,dailymeetingsandretrospectives.

2.Whereadaptationsweremade,itwasmainlytosprintsduration,buttheconsensusonanidealdurationwastwotofourweeks,severalhadusedabusinessanalystastheclient,andwhatwastrackedandinwhatformatwasparticulartoeachorganisation,sotrackingmetricswereadapted(butalwaysneeded,evenifnotaclassicburndownchart).

3.Peerprogramminghadalimitedadoption.

Akeylearningpointwastodesignupfronthowtointegratewithlegacymethodologies,managegovernanceformixedmethodologiesacrossacompany,andhowtoorganisemultipleworkstreams,whethersplitbyproject,functionalityorsimplytomaketeamsaneffectivesize.

Allhadhadsomepositiveexperienceandwoulduseagileagain,asitdoesdeliverearlybenefit,forlessmoney.Noneoftheparticipantswoulduseagileforregulatoryorsafetychanges,orwhereastableenvironmenthasclearsetofrequirements.


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Glossary

Benefits realisation Theprocessofunderstanding,planning,realisingandreportingbothfinancialandnon-financialbenefitsassociatedwithtechnologyenabledbusinesschange.

Business relationship management Aformalapproachtounderstanding,definingandsupportingabroadrangeofinter-businessactivitiesandrelationshipsovertime.

Information systems (IS) Anintegratedsetofcomponentsforcollecting,storingandprocessingdata.

Information technology (IT) Thesoftwareandhardwaresystemsthatsupportdataintensiveapplicationstodeliverinformation,knowledgeanddigitalproducts.

Kanban Kanbanisamethodformanagingknowledgeworkwithanemphasisonjust-in-timedeliverywhilenotoverloadingtheteammembers.Inthisapproach,theprocess,fromdefinitionofatasktoitsdeliverytothecustomer,isdisplayedforparticipantstoseeandteammemberspullworkfromaqueue

PRINCE and PRINCE2 Aprocessbasedmethodforeffectiveprojectmanagement.

Project management Thedisciplineofplanning,organising,motivatingandcontrollingresourcestoachievespecificobjectives.

RAD Rapidapplicationdevelopment

Scrum Aniterativeandincrementalagiledevelopmentframeworkforsoftwareprojects.

Waterfall Asequentialdesignanddeliveryprocess.

Wiki Awebsitewherecontentismodifiedbyendusers


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