Agile Project Management

Agile project management takes the ideas from Agile software development and applies them to project management. Agile methodologies generally promote a project management process that encourages stakeholder involvement, feedback, objective metrics and effective controls.

Agile Metrics: A Seminal Approach for Calculating Metrics in Agile Projects

Organisations today are increasingly recognising the advantages and benefits of using the agile project management approach in their projects, but are lost when it comes to using a well defined set of metrics that can be applied to these agile projects. The solution lies in examining the Agile Manifesto and building metrics based on the tenets of agile project management principles. This article talks about the comprehensive agile metrics that can be effectively used by organisations.

How Agile Practices Reduce Requirements Risks

Every software project carries some risk, but many of these risks can be mitigated. That's true of problems related to product requirements - problems that are often cited as one of highest risks for any type of software project. Whether it is having unclear requirements, lack of customer involvement in requirements development, or defective requirements, these troubles are a major culprit in projects that go awry.

Project Management the Agile Way

Agile project management has a lot to offer legal case management. Imagine you could continually wring out the inefficiencies in your law practice. Picture having the luxury to step back from the trees and see the forest. It may sound crazy, and, in the case of removing every single efficiency, perhaps pie in the sky. But you can get close, and it takes a lot less effort and time than you think if you embrace something we software folks call a "Sprint."

Scrum vs. Waterfall Round 2: The Fight Continues

We began our "fight" by exploring two estimating techniques that are often used on both Scrum and Waterfall projects. The first was relative sizing (one kind of analogous estimating) and the second Delphi (called Planning Poker in Scrum). Scrum won both rounds (barely) because, although both techniques can be used on both types of projects, their usage in Scrum seems easier to understand, learn, and apply. I don't know about you, but when I hear the terms Analogous and Delphi I think academics and hard work. When I hear about tee-shirt sizes and planning poker, I think fun.

A Heavyweight Fight: Scrum vs. Waterfall

I think people like a good fight. Certainly the media seems to, as is evident in the world of politics, sports, and entertainment to name a few. In the world of business analysis the current fight seems to pit Agile methods against the Waterfall approach. For the next several blogs we'll have a Scrum vs. Waterfall match. In corner #1, representing the Agile methods, we have the Scrum framework. In corner #2, representing Waterfall, we have the "traditionalists."

Traditional Project Management vs Scrum: Adapting Square Pegs to Round Holes

With the Agile methodology proving to be a major force when it comes to software application development, the role of a ScrumMaster is becoming more and more valuable. Traditional project managers can succeed by adapting their way of doing things and helping the transition take place.

Get Agile: Applying the Lessons From Software Development to Business Process Design

When 60% of all process redesign projects fail, how can you improve your odds while simultaneously accelerating results? By using "agile process design" techniques adapted from the software development industry. We need to break out of that old cycle of developing monolithic processes only to have them fail to produce the results we anticipated. In an environment where every dollar counts more than ever, we just cannot afford a 60% plus failure rate in process redesign.

Agile Project Management: AFP

Businesses all over continue to struggle implementing the PMBOK or PRINCE2 as a whole or parts of them claiming that they are too complex, too involved and take from the time it takes to produce the project deliverables. Adaptive Project Framework (APF) comes to the rescue by adapting to the ever changing business environments.

Top 5 Ways to Incorporate CMMI with Agile Methods

There is a common misconception that CMMI and Agile are polar opposites. One relies on institutionalisation and documentation of processes and methodologies, while the other emphasises interaction among workers and "working software over comprehensive documentation" (Agile Manifesto). Process documentation and institutionalisation is the lifeblood of CMMI, and it is often used in critical software development life cycles. On the other hand, the Agile approach is called into action when a project features incremental changes, particularly those that have not been included in initial requirement documents.

Picking a Project Management Methodology

A short study from Vertabase on choosing between an agile or waterfall approach for their latest software development project. We were having an internal meeting to pick a project management methodology for a web project we are working on for a new client. As developers of commercial software, our instinct was to lean towards an agile based approach.

Metrics that Matter in Agile Projects

Agile methods need only the most important metrics: the ones that tell the whole story about the project. Metrics measure the health of a project and are by far the most objective ways by which a project manager enables all project sponsors and delivery teams to see where resources are needed or spent, or which areas of a project need more focus. So how do Agile teams determine the most important metrics?

Agile Through the Waterfall

Many organisations have adopted Agile practices into their development methodologies and they have proved to be successful for the organisation as a whole. There also are many organisations that have pockets of people who wish to be Agile, but can't get traction within to make it a widely accepted practice throughout the enterprise. I recently had an opportunity to participate in an Open Space session where we explored how organisations that are mainly guided by Waterfall methodologies, unwittingly also employed Agile practices.

CMMI and Agile: Opposites Attract

The myths surrounding the compatibility of CMMI and Agile have recently been debunked by SEI. Learn how these seemingly opposing strategies can be paired to foster dramatic improvements in business performance! Despite the perception that CMMI best practices and Agile development methods are at odds with each other, new research suggests just the opposite train of thought. In fact, CMMI and Agile champions can benefit from using both methods within organisations, with the potential to dramatically improve business performance.

What Agile Methods Mean to Your Process, People and Products

Studies show that most successful projects were those that followed agile principles, proving that model-driven methods are not always the best when it came to managing changes, fast-paced project implementation, or even meeting market demands. The concept of agile development is not new. However, many technologists still stick to the age-old notion that software development can be easily designed and the outputs predicted without giving much thought to the more dynamic factors of projects, such as communication lines, people, and change.

Which Life Cycle Is Best for Your Project?

When choosing a development life cycle, don't just trust your feelings. Decide based on factors that really matter. Which life cycle will work best for your project? This is an important strategic question because making the wrong choice could lead to disastrous results of catastrophic proportions. Think about delayed deliveries, unhappy clients, project overruns, and cancelled projects.

Can We Combine Agile and Waterfall Development Strategies?

While there are likely as many unique Project Management approaches as there are Project Managers, there are two well-know production cycle methodologies that have been the topic of much discussion in PM circles - agile and waterfall methodologies. As I evolve in my own area of expertise, I am constantly reinventing small aspects of what I consider best practice. Most recently, to address the incredibly complex requirements of a large client initiative, I challenged myself to come up with a "super" Project Management process that would not only improve the way in which we deliver, but what we deliver at the end of the engagement. I determined there was a way to combine the best features of waterfall development disciplines with agile principles for superior results.

The Blending of Traditional and Agile Project Management

Traditional project management involves very disciplined and deliberate planning and control methods. With this approach, distinct project life cycle phases are easily recognisable. Tasks are completed one after another in an orderly sequence, requiring a significant part of the project to be planned up front. For example, in a construction project, the team needs to determine requirements, design and plan for the entire building, and not just incremental components, in order to understand the full scope of the effort.