The Agile PMP: Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks (90 minutes)

The Agile PMP Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks

Introductions
Product consultant and agile evangelist for VersionOne
Previously a Senior Project Manager for CheckFree and John Harland Company
PMP, CSM, DSDM Agile Project Leader
Board member of APLN and the current Treasurer. Founder APLN Atlanta

Why are we here today ?

What is Agile?
Umbrella term to describe a family of methodologies
Engineering best practices
Leadership philosophy
Project management methodology

What is Project Management?
When will the project be done?
How much will it cost?
Do we all agree on what done looks like?
What are the risks to delivering time and on schedule?
How will we mitigate these risks so we can get done

Let’s take a look at Traditional Project Management

Balancing the Triple Constraints
There is a dynamic relationship between time, cost, and scope
When one of the three variables change, there is necessarily a change in one or more of the other two
Understanding and managing the relationship between these variables the primary job of the Project Manager

Managing Project Scope
Project scope is the set of deliverable the project is approved to build
Defined at a high level in the business case or project charter
Defined in greater detail in a product requirements document or a work break down structure

Managing Project Costs
Project cost is the sum of all capital expenditures, contractor expenses, and internal cost of labor
Project managers track project expenses in relationship to the budget
Responsible for making sure the project is spending money at the right rate and time

Managing the Schedule
The project schedule defines when all the deliverables should be completed and who is going to do them
The project schedule also defines the order of the deliverables and is used to track physical percent complete.

Building the Project Schedule
Scope for the project is defined and the size of the deliverables are estimated
Deliverables are sequenced and resource needs are calculated
Based on the size, available budget, dependencies, and constraints; the project timeline can be calculated

Traditional Waterfall Scheduling

What always happens when we approach the business with our project schedule ?

Add more resources (crashing)

De-scope or phase the project

Overlapping Phases (fast tracking)

Project Baseline and Critical Path
Once the project sponsors agree to the schedule, the schedule is locked and becomes the baseline
Once the project has a baseline, the project manager will calculate the critical path and begin tracking earned value
Earned value measures how much the project is spending relative to time and deliverables

What about uncertainty ?

Project Risk Assessment
What are the factors that could impact our ability to meet our project objectives
Risk can be categorized by likelihood of occurrence, impact severity, and ability to detect
The project managers prioritizes risk and create mitigation strategies

Primary Traditional Project Constraints
Scope is typically the primary driver… time and cost are calculated based on the size of the project
Assumes an ability to accurately predict scope, cost, and schedule

So… what’s new about Agile Project Management?

Primary Agile Project Constraints
Time and cost are the real drivers… scope has to be able to vary
Agile is a framework, a new way of looking at product development, that gives the project team the ability to inspect outcomes and adapt accordingly
Scope Time Cost Scope

A Fundamental Paradigm Shift
Not all projects are predictable
Market uncertainty drives change
The less certain we are about our requirements, the more we need to plan to adapt

Agile embraces uncertainty !

Agile is a risk mitigation technique when our assumptions about predictability do not hold

The Cost of Change
Cost of traditional change management is too high in many project contexts
Change control is bureaucratic and slow
We become resistant to change when we should embrace change

How often to we really take process cost into consideration when planning our projects ?

Still answering the five questions…
When will the project be done?
How much will it cost?
Do we all agree on what done looks like?
What are the risks to getting done on time and on schedule?
How will we mitigate these risks so we can get done

… but taking a difference approach
Deliver working product in short cycles
Keep the evolving product highly visible
Inspect outcomes frequently
Change our product or processes as we learn more to ensure acceptable outcomes
Do less work that will change

… and a shift in focus
Focus less on predictive up front planning
Focus more on delivering value
Focus more on collaboration with the business
Focus more on engaging the team

Moving away from activity based Project Management toward value based Project Management …

Not all value based project management is agile …

Proto-Iteration Planning

Iterative Planning

Predictive Feature Based

Agile Project Management

Agile and the PMBOK

Agile and the PMI process groups Initiation Planning Execute Monitor Control Closing

The Importance of Language
Companies don’t change over night
People need to bridge the old language to the new
Help teams understand new concepts within the old model

Understanding Agile in the context of the PMI knowledge areas…

Project Time
Define deliverables not activities
Strive to reduce dependencies between deliverables
Prioritize don’t sequence. Work from the top of the list.
Estimate based on relative size
Releases and iterations always end on time.
Time Management Activity definition Activity sequencing Activity resource estimating Activity duration estimating Schedule development Schedule control

Project Cost
Cost is defined by your willingness to invest
Cost estimates are the product of the team size and project duration
Cost Management Cost estimating Cost budgeting Cost control

Project Scope
Scope is defined at progressive levels of detail.
Plan scope, deal with project realities, and make tradeoffs.
Allow room for scope negotiation when planning project scope
Collaboration and frequent interaction
Scope Management Scope Planning Scope Definition Create WBS Scope Verification Scope Control

Project Risk
Business Risk, Technical Risk, and Logistical Risk
Risk management is built into the structure of the project
Risks are constantly visible and managed through iterations
Risk lists, response planning, and mitigation strategies
Risk Management Risk management planning Risk identification Qualitative risk analysis Quantitative risk analysis Risk response planning Risk monitoring and control

Project Quality
Quality is not an afterthought
Test first design
Test driven development
Continuous integration
Continuous testing
Quality Management Quality planning Perform quality assurance Quality control

Project Communication
Communication planning can be thought of in the traditional sense when looking outside the project team
Collocation
Information radiators
Osmotic communication
Communication Management Communications planning Information distribution Performance reporting Manage stakeholders

Project Integration
Agile has room for a Charter or a Vision statement
Project management plans and approach statements
More empowering style of management based on individual accountability
Change control is built into the process. Tradeoffs managed in real time.
Integration Management Charter Scope statement Project Management Plan Direct and Manage Project Execution Monitor and Control Project work Integrated change control Close project

Project Procurement
Agile does not deal much with procurement
Approach contracts with adaptability in mind
Build relationships based on trust
Create win-win agreements
Time Management Plan purchases and acquisitions Plan contracting Request seller responses Select sellers Contract administration Contract closure

Project Human Resources
Staffing based on available people and willingness to invest
Build your team around motivated people
Give them what they need to be successful and remove impediments
Allow teams to self-organize
Human Resource Management Human resource planning Acquire project team Develop project team Manage project team

What Can I Do Today ?

Agile Project Management Plans
Explain agile processes in the context of an agile project management plan
Build agile principles into the project charter or project definition document

Feature Based Deliverables
Stop putting activities in your project plan
Focus on outcomes… what are we going to build?
What capabilities need to be in the system by when?
Let’s start actually Earning Value

Iterative Planning
Do detailed planning on iterative cycles
Use the data gathered in the planning to do a reality check on your schedule
Keep a higher level plan, maybe a milestone plan in a traditional PM tool

Daily Stand-up Meetings
Increase visibility
Establish a sense of team work and collaboration
Shared accountability

Agile PM Model
Project Manager as the center of the project
Project manager as an enabler
PM Team Team Team Team Team Team Team Team PM

Incorporate agile values and principles

Empowerment
Create the context
Manage the process not the people

Self-Organization " Simple, clear purpose and principles give rise to complex and intelligent behavior. Complex rules and regulations give rise to simple and stupid behavior.” Dee Hock, Founder and Former CEO of Visa International

Trust
Expect the best out of people
Elevate the individual, give them respect
Value people and encourage relationships

Accountability
Measure results, not processes or steps
Focus on value
Inspect the process
Create a culture of accountability

True Agile Project Planning

Know where you are … Know where you are going … Know what else you need to do to get there…

Great Project Managers take input from reality and deal with it

Resources
Traditional Project Management
http://www.pmi.org
Agile Project Management and Leadership
http://www.versionone.com
http://www.apln.org
http://www.agilealliance.org
http://www.scrumalliance.org
http://www.dsdm.org
http://www.agilemanifesto.org
How to contact me
email: [email_address]
Blog: http://blog.versionone.com
Blog: http://www.leadingagile.com
Presentation: http://www.linkedin.com/in/cottmeyer

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The Agile PMP: Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks (90 minutes)

by Mike Cottmeyer on Nov 17, 2008

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The Agile PMP: Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks (90 minutes) — Presentation Transcript