Starting with an EIA–748–C compliant Earned Value Management System, integrating an Agile Software Development Lifecycle (Agile) is straightforward when there is a Bright Line between the Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB) and the Sprints and Tasks of the Agile Software Development Process.
The resources listed here are the starting point for anyone interested in applying the principles developed in this briefing for integrating Agile with Earned Value Management projects
Every tool, process, and practice has a dark side. Knowing these is a Critical Success Factor to the integration of EVM and Agile at the desired Maturity Level.
Both Earned Value Management and Agile have Dark Sides. Things that are not talked about in public.
But when they are Integrated, each provides a solution for the problems of the other.
Assess current and desired Maturity for Agile and EVM is the starting point for integrating these two processes.
In Agile, Story Points are used as measures of effort. In Earned Value there is no concept of Story Points, rather Dollars and Hours are the measures of effort and duration for the work.
When using Agile on EVM projects, each unit of measure has value to the benefits produced through the integration, IF there is a proper segregation of these concepts.
Start with defining the deliverables to produce the capabilities needed for project success. Then what work is needed, the order of that work, and the defined outcomes of that work become obvious. Sequence that work, assign durations and resources and you've generated the plans and schedule for success
Performance based planning in a nut shell (V5)Glen Alleman
Step by step activtiies to increase the probability of success for all projects, no matter the project domain. These principles and practices can be found in all successful projects.
The resources listed here are the starting point for anyone interested in applying the principles developed in this briefing for integrating Agile with Earned Value Management projects
Every tool, process, and practice has a dark side. Knowing these is a Critical Success Factor to the integration of EVM and Agile at the desired Maturity Level.
Both Earned Value Management and Agile have Dark Sides. Things that are not talked about in public.
But when they are Integrated, each provides a solution for the problems of the other.
Assess current and desired Maturity for Agile and EVM is the starting point for integrating these two processes.
In Agile, Story Points are used as measures of effort. In Earned Value there is no concept of Story Points, rather Dollars and Hours are the measures of effort and duration for the work.
When using Agile on EVM projects, each unit of measure has value to the benefits produced through the integration, IF there is a proper segregation of these concepts.
Start with defining the deliverables to produce the capabilities needed for project success. Then what work is needed, the order of that work, and the defined outcomes of that work become obvious. Sequence that work, assign durations and resources and you've generated the plans and schedule for success
Performance based planning in a nut shell (V5)Glen Alleman
Step by step activtiies to increase the probability of success for all projects, no matter the project domain. These principles and practices can be found in all successful projects.
Performance-Based Project Management® id s deliverables based approach to project success. Deliverables start with the needed capabilities that the project produces to meet the mission objectives or fulfill a business case.
These deliverables fulfill the requirements, assessed through Measures of Effectiveness and Measures of Performance
Forecasting cost and schedule performanceGlen Alleman
For credible decisions to be made, we need confidence intervals on all the numbers we use to make decisions.
These confidence intervals come from the underlying statistics and the related probabilities.
Statistical forecasting, using time series analysis of past performance, is mandatory for any credible discussion of project performance in the future.
Probabilistic Schedule and Cost AnalysisGlen Alleman
An overview of the probabilistic risk analysis processes that can be applied to a program. Although it may not appear to be a “simple” overview, this material is the tip of the iceberg of this complex topic.
Just schedule analysis has been addressed in detail here. The cost aspects of forecasting and simulation must be addressed as well to complete the connections between schedule and cost.
Probabilistic cost will be surveyed here, but an in depth review is for a later time.
The effectiveness of risk management depends on the people who set it up and coordinate the risk management process to do their job properly.
On many programs, risk management consists only of having a policy and oversight, not managing in the presence of uncertainty.
If we treat red flags as false alarms rather than early warnings of danger this incubates the threats to program success.
• Group think of dominate leaders often inhibits good thinking about risks.
IS EARNED VALUE + AGILE A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN?
Increasing the Probability of Program Success requires by connecting the dots between EV and Agile Development.
Presented at
The Nexus of Agile Software Development and
Earned Value Management, OSD-PARCA,
February 19 – 20, 2015
Institute for Defense Analysis, Alexandria, VA
The Project Breathalyzer provides program managers with a quick look at software project health. They identify software projects that "should not be in the road." The Breathalyzer determines whether key program elements exist, without which the program is not likely to suceed.
Integrated Agile with EVM -- Executive overviewGlen Alleman
Earned Value Management and Agile Software Development have much in common. The most important is progress to plan is measured by Physical Percent Complete with tangible evidence of working products at the end of planned period of performance.
For software intensive system of systems, agile development provides powerful tools for producing working software on frequent boundaries to gain needed customer feedback to assure the program is going in the right direction.
The 5 Immutable principles of project managementGlen Alleman
Software development methods are sometimes confused with Project Management principles. There are 5 irreducible principles used to manage projects, no matter the domain or context. We need to assure our development work is guided by these 5 Project Management principles.
Earned Value Management and Agile Software Development have much in common. Most important is progress to plan measured by Physical Percent Complete with tangible evidence of working products at the end of planned period of performance.
For Software Intensive System of Systems (SISoS), agile development provides the tool for producing working software on frequent intervals needed for customer feedback to assure the program is going in the right direction.
Earned Value is one approach to Performance measurement for monitoring and controlling the progress of software development projects.
There are other approaches, but all methods need to ask “what value is being returned for the invested cost and effort?”
Without connecting predetermined delivered value with predetermined effort; progress can only be measured as the passage of time, and you'll be late before you start.
Measures of Effectiveness, Measures of Performance, Technical Performance Mea...Glen Alleman
Three immutable variables, statistically coupled, for all projects. Each to level - Cost, Schedule, and Technical Performance are loosely coupled.
The drivers of each of these are listed as well.
All elements are in play and are probabilistic.
Managing in the presence of this uncertainty is the primary role of all project management.
Avoid software project horror stories - check the reality value of the estima...Harold van Heeringen
Many large software projects turn into software horror stories, resulting in newspaper headlines and even political issues. Often, the project costs and schedule were estimated unrealistically optimistic, using immature estimation techniques. A relatively simple way to avoid many problems is to perform a reality check on the estimate. This presentation was given on the conference of the International Cost Estimating and Analysis Association (ICEAA2014), June 2014 (Denver, USA)
Recent College of Performance Management Webinar on using Technical Performance to inform Earned Value Management. Six steps to building a credible Performance Measurement Baseline to connect the dots between all the elements of the program
Managing in the presence of uncertaintyGlen Alleman
Uncertainty is the source of risk. Uncertainty comes in two types, aleatory and epistemic. It is important to understand both and deal with both in distinct ways, in order to produce a credible risk handling strategy.
Performance-Based Project Management® id s deliverables based approach to project success. Deliverables start with the needed capabilities that the project produces to meet the mission objectives or fulfill a business case.
These deliverables fulfill the requirements, assessed through Measures of Effectiveness and Measures of Performance
Forecasting cost and schedule performanceGlen Alleman
For credible decisions to be made, we need confidence intervals on all the numbers we use to make decisions.
These confidence intervals come from the underlying statistics and the related probabilities.
Statistical forecasting, using time series analysis of past performance, is mandatory for any credible discussion of project performance in the future.
Probabilistic Schedule and Cost AnalysisGlen Alleman
An overview of the probabilistic risk analysis processes that can be applied to a program. Although it may not appear to be a “simple” overview, this material is the tip of the iceberg of this complex topic.
Just schedule analysis has been addressed in detail here. The cost aspects of forecasting and simulation must be addressed as well to complete the connections between schedule and cost.
Probabilistic cost will be surveyed here, but an in depth review is for a later time.
The effectiveness of risk management depends on the people who set it up and coordinate the risk management process to do their job properly.
On many programs, risk management consists only of having a policy and oversight, not managing in the presence of uncertainty.
If we treat red flags as false alarms rather than early warnings of danger this incubates the threats to program success.
• Group think of dominate leaders often inhibits good thinking about risks.
IS EARNED VALUE + AGILE A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN?
Increasing the Probability of Program Success requires by connecting the dots between EV and Agile Development.
Presented at
The Nexus of Agile Software Development and
Earned Value Management, OSD-PARCA,
February 19 – 20, 2015
Institute for Defense Analysis, Alexandria, VA
The Project Breathalyzer provides program managers with a quick look at software project health. They identify software projects that "should not be in the road." The Breathalyzer determines whether key program elements exist, without which the program is not likely to suceed.
Integrated Agile with EVM -- Executive overviewGlen Alleman
Earned Value Management and Agile Software Development have much in common. The most important is progress to plan is measured by Physical Percent Complete with tangible evidence of working products at the end of planned period of performance.
For software intensive system of systems, agile development provides powerful tools for producing working software on frequent boundaries to gain needed customer feedback to assure the program is going in the right direction.
The 5 Immutable principles of project managementGlen Alleman
Software development methods are sometimes confused with Project Management principles. There are 5 irreducible principles used to manage projects, no matter the domain or context. We need to assure our development work is guided by these 5 Project Management principles.
Earned Value Management and Agile Software Development have much in common. Most important is progress to plan measured by Physical Percent Complete with tangible evidence of working products at the end of planned period of performance.
For Software Intensive System of Systems (SISoS), agile development provides the tool for producing working software on frequent intervals needed for customer feedback to assure the program is going in the right direction.
Earned Value is one approach to Performance measurement for monitoring and controlling the progress of software development projects.
There are other approaches, but all methods need to ask “what value is being returned for the invested cost and effort?”
Without connecting predetermined delivered value with predetermined effort; progress can only be measured as the passage of time, and you'll be late before you start.
Measures of Effectiveness, Measures of Performance, Technical Performance Mea...Glen Alleman
Three immutable variables, statistically coupled, for all projects. Each to level - Cost, Schedule, and Technical Performance are loosely coupled.
The drivers of each of these are listed as well.
All elements are in play and are probabilistic.
Managing in the presence of this uncertainty is the primary role of all project management.
Avoid software project horror stories - check the reality value of the estima...Harold van Heeringen
Many large software projects turn into software horror stories, resulting in newspaper headlines and even political issues. Often, the project costs and schedule were estimated unrealistically optimistic, using immature estimation techniques. A relatively simple way to avoid many problems is to perform a reality check on the estimate. This presentation was given on the conference of the International Cost Estimating and Analysis Association (ICEAA2014), June 2014 (Denver, USA)
Recent College of Performance Management Webinar on using Technical Performance to inform Earned Value Management. Six steps to building a credible Performance Measurement Baseline to connect the dots between all the elements of the program
Managing in the presence of uncertaintyGlen Alleman
Uncertainty is the source of risk. Uncertainty comes in two types, aleatory and epistemic. It is important to understand both and deal with both in distinct ways, in order to produce a credible risk handling strategy.
Earned Value Management Meets Big DataGlen Alleman
The Earned Value Management System (EVMS) maintains period–by–period data in its underlying databases. The contents of the Earned Value repository can be considered BIG DATA, characterized by three attributes – 1) Volume: Large amounts of data; 2) Variety: data comes from different sources, including traditional data bases, documents, and complex records; 3) Velocity: the content is continually being updated by absorbing other data collections, through previously archived data, and through streamed data from external sources.
With this time series information in the repository, analysis of trends, cost and schedule forecasts, and confidence levels of these performance estimates can be calculated using statistical analysis techniques enabled by the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) algorithm provided by the R programming system. ARIMA provides a statistically informed Estimate At Completion (EAC) and Estimate to Complete (ETC) to the program in ways not available using standard EVM calculations. Using ARIMA reveals underlying trends not available through standard EVM reporting calculations.
With ARIMA in place and additional data from risk, technical performance and the Work Breakdown Structure, Principal Component Analysis can be used to identify the drivers of unanticipated EAC.
Defining business value in units meaningful to the business and connecting these to the measures of performance for the project that produce this business value.
Executive Overview of Managing Agile Programs with Earned ValueGlen Alleman
Starting with an EIA–748–C compliant Earned Value management System, integrating an Agile Software Development Lifecycle (Agile) is straightforward when there is a Bright Line between the Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB) and the Sprints and Tasks of the Agile Software Development Process.
Integrated Program Performance ManagementGlen Alleman
Integrated Program Performance Management elements are organization planning schedule applied to increase the probability of program success on traditional and agile programs.
Showing how to Increase the Probability of Project Success by applying the ...Glen Alleman
All projects ‒ Traditional and Agile ‒ operate in the presence of uncertainty that creates risk.
Five Immutable Principles and their supporting Processes and Practices can be used to increase the probability of success in the presence of these uncertainties.
From WBS to Integrated Master ScheduleGlen Alleman
A step by step guide to increasing the Probability of Program success starting with the WBS, developing the Integrated Master Plan and Integrated Master Schedule, risk adjusting the IMS, and measuring progress to plan in units of measure meaningful to the decision makers.
There are four major questions that need answers when applying agile software development to DOD development programs
1. How can Agile Development methods increase the Probability of Program Success (PoPS) on Earned Value programs?
2. How can Agile development be integrated with the FAR / DFAR and OMB mandates for program performance measures using Earned Value?
3. What are the “touch” points (or possible collision points) between Agile and EIA-748-C?
4. What are the measures of success for Agile methods in the context of EIA-748-C?
The state of Georgia is a valued Computer Aid, Inc. (CAI) customer who is seeing great success with both APO and PPM. From their Director of Enterprise Governance and Planning,
"The CAI solution provides a governance layer of process discipline, best practices, and predictive analysis to reduce risk and improve project success, regardless of the PPM tool used by agency project teams."
Customers measure progress in terms of business value – the currency of this business value are the project deliverables, not the passage of time or consumption of money.
This resource document describes the Program Governance Road map for product development, deployment, and sustainment of products and services in compliance with CMS guidance, ITIL IT management, CMMI best practices, and other guidance to assure high quality software is deployed for sustained operational success in mission critical domains.
Making Agile Development work in Government ContractingGlen Alleman
Before any of the current “agile” development
methods, Earned Value Management provided information
for planning and controlling complex projects by
measuring how much “value” was produced for a given
cost in a period of time. One shortcoming of an agile
development method is its inability to forecast the future
cost and schedule of the project beyond the use of “yesterdays
weather” metrics. These agile methods assume
the delivered value, “velocity” in the case of XP, is compared
with the estimated value – this is a simple comparison
between budget and actual cost resulting in a Cost
Variance.
Planning projects usually starts with tasks and milestones. The planner gathers this information from the participants – customers, engineers, subject matter experts. This information is usually arranged in the form of activities and milestones. PMBOK defines “project time management” in this manner. The activities are then sequenced according to the projects needs and mandatory dependencies.
Increasing the Probability of Project SuccessGlen Alleman
Risk Management is essential for development and production programs. Information about key cost, performance and schedule attributes are often uncertain or unknown until late in the program.
Risk issues that can be identified early in the program, which may potentially impact the program, termed Known Unknowns, can be alleviated with good risk management. -- Effective Risk Management 2nd Edition, Page 1, Edmund Conrow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2003
Cost and schedule growth for complex projects is created when unrealistic technical performance expectations, unrealistic cost and schedule estimates, inadequate risk assessments, unanticipated technical issues, and poorly performed and ineffective risk management, contribute to project technical and programmatic shortfalls
From Principles to Strategies for Systems EngineeringGlen Alleman
From Principles to Strategies How to apply Principles, Practices, and Processes of Systems Engineering to solve complex technical, operational,
and organizational problems
Building a Credible Performance Measurement BaselineGlen Alleman
Establishing a credible Performance Measurement Baseline, with a risk adjusted Integrated Master Plan and Integrated Master Schedule, starts with the WBS and connects Technical Measures of progress to Earned Value
Capabilities‒Based Planning the capabilities needed to accomplish a mission or fulfill a business strategy
Only when capabilities are defined can we start with requirements elicitation
Starting with the development of a Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) estimate of work and duration, creating the Product Roadmap and Release Plan, the Product and Sprint Backlogs, executing and statusing the Sprint, and informing the Earned Value Management Systems, using Physical Percent Complete of progress to plan.
Program Management Office Lean Software Development and Six SigmaGlen Alleman
Successfully combining a PMO, Agile, and Lean / 6 starts with understanding what benefit each paradigm brings to the table. Architecting a solution for the enterprise requires assembling a “Systems” with processes, people, and principles – all sharing the goal of business improvement.
Builder.ai Founder Sachin Dev Duggal's Strategic Approach to Create an Innova...Ramesh Iyer
In today's fast-changing business world, Companies that adapt and embrace new ideas often need help to keep up with the competition. However, fostering a culture of innovation takes much work. It takes vision, leadership and willingness to take risks in the right proportion. Sachin Dev Duggal, co-founder of Builder.ai, has perfected the art of this balance, creating a company culture where creativity and growth are nurtured at each stage.
Epistemic Interaction - tuning interfaces to provide information for AI supportAlan Dix
Paper presented at SYNERGY workshop at AVI 2024, Genoa, Italy. 3rd June 2024
https://alandix.com/academic/papers/synergy2024-epistemic/
As machine learning integrates deeper into human-computer interactions, the concept of epistemic interaction emerges, aiming to refine these interactions to enhance system adaptability. This approach encourages minor, intentional adjustments in user behaviour to enrich the data available for system learning. This paper introduces epistemic interaction within the context of human-system communication, illustrating how deliberate interaction design can improve system understanding and adaptation. Through concrete examples, we demonstrate the potential of epistemic interaction to significantly advance human-computer interaction by leveraging intuitive human communication strategies to inform system design and functionality, offering a novel pathway for enriching user-system engagements.
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 4DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 4. In this session, we will cover Test Manager overview along with SAP heatmap.
The UiPath Test Manager overview with SAP heatmap webinar offers a concise yet comprehensive exploration of the role of a Test Manager within SAP environments, coupled with the utilization of heatmaps for effective testing strategies.
Participants will gain insights into the responsibilities, challenges, and best practices associated with test management in SAP projects. Additionally, the webinar delves into the significance of heatmaps as a visual aid for identifying testing priorities, areas of risk, and resource allocation within SAP landscapes. Through this session, attendees can expect to enhance their understanding of test management principles while learning practical approaches to optimize testing processes in SAP environments using heatmap visualization techniques
What will you get from this session?
1. Insights into SAP testing best practices
2. Heatmap utilization for testing
3. Optimization of testing processes
4. Demo
Topics covered:
Execution from the test manager
Orchestrator execution result
Defect reporting
SAP heatmap example with demo
Speaker:
Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP
Dev Dives: Train smarter, not harder – active learning and UiPath LLMs for do...UiPathCommunity
💥 Speed, accuracy, and scaling – discover the superpowers of GenAI in action with UiPath Document Understanding and Communications Mining™:
See how to accelerate model training and optimize model performance with active learning
Learn about the latest enhancements to out-of-the-box document processing – with little to no training required
Get an exclusive demo of the new family of UiPath LLMs – GenAI models specialized for processing different types of documents and messages
This is a hands-on session specifically designed for automation developers and AI enthusiasts seeking to enhance their knowledge in leveraging the latest intelligent document processing capabilities offered by UiPath.
Speakers:
👨🏫 Andras Palfi, Senior Product Manager, UiPath
👩🏫 Lenka Dulovicova, Product Program Manager, UiPath
"Impact of front-end architecture on development cost", Viktor TurskyiFwdays
I have heard many times that architecture is not important for the front-end. Also, many times I have seen how developers implement features on the front-end just following the standard rules for a framework and think that this is enough to successfully launch the project, and then the project fails. How to prevent this and what approach to choose? I have launched dozens of complex projects and during the talk we will analyze which approaches have worked for me and which have not.
State of ICS and IoT Cyber Threat Landscape Report 2024 previewPrayukth K V
The IoT and OT threat landscape report has been prepared by the Threat Research Team at Sectrio using data from Sectrio, cyber threat intelligence farming facilities spread across over 85 cities around the world. In addition, Sectrio also runs AI-based advanced threat and payload engagement facilities that serve as sinks to attract and engage sophisticated threat actors, and newer malware including new variants and latent threats that are at an earlier stage of development.
The latest edition of the OT/ICS and IoT security Threat Landscape Report 2024 also covers:
State of global ICS asset and network exposure
Sectoral targets and attacks as well as the cost of ransom
Global APT activity, AI usage, actor and tactic profiles, and implications
Rise in volumes of AI-powered cyberattacks
Major cyber events in 2024
Malware and malicious payload trends
Cyberattack types and targets
Vulnerability exploit attempts on CVEs
Attacks on counties – USA
Expansion of bot farms – how, where, and why
In-depth analysis of the cyber threat landscape across North America, South America, Europe, APAC, and the Middle East
Why are attacks on smart factories rising?
Cyber risk predictions
Axis of attacks – Europe
Systemic attacks in the Middle East
Download the full report from here:
https://sectrio.com/resources/ot-threat-landscape-reports/sectrio-releases-ot-ics-and-iot-security-threat-landscape-report-2024/
Connector Corner: Automate dynamic content and events by pushing a buttonDianaGray10
Here is something new! In our next Connector Corner webinar, we will demonstrate how you can use a single workflow to:
Create a campaign using Mailchimp with merge tags/fields
Send an interactive Slack channel message (using buttons)
Have the message received by managers and peers along with a test email for review
But there’s more:
In a second workflow supporting the same use case, you’ll see:
Your campaign sent to target colleagues for approval
If the “Approve” button is clicked, a Jira/Zendesk ticket is created for the marketing design team
But—if the “Reject” button is pushed, colleagues will be alerted via Slack message
Join us to learn more about this new, human-in-the-loop capability, brought to you by Integration Service connectors.
And...
Speakers:
Akshay Agnihotri, Product Manager
Charlie Greenberg, Host
Neuro-symbolic is not enough, we need neuro-*semantic*Frank van Harmelen
Neuro-symbolic (NeSy) AI is on the rise. However, simply machine learning on just any symbolic structure is not sufficient to really harvest the gains of NeSy. These will only be gained when the symbolic structures have an actual semantics. I give an operational definition of semantics as “predictable inference”.
All of this illustrated with link prediction over knowledge graphs, but the argument is general.
Smart TV Buyer Insights Survey 2024 by 91mobiles.pdf91mobiles
91mobiles recently conducted a Smart TV Buyer Insights Survey in which we asked over 3,000 respondents about the TV they own, aspects they look at on a new TV, and their TV buying preferences.
Essentials of Automations: Optimizing FME Workflows with ParametersSafe Software
Are you looking to streamline your workflows and boost your projects’ efficiency? Do you find yourself searching for ways to add flexibility and control over your FME workflows? If so, you’re in the right place.
Join us for an insightful dive into the world of FME parameters, a critical element in optimizing workflow efficiency. This webinar marks the beginning of our three-part “Essentials of Automation” series. This first webinar is designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills to utilize parameters effectively: enhancing the flexibility, maintainability, and user control of your FME projects.
Here’s what you’ll gain:
- Essentials of FME Parameters: Understand the pivotal role of parameters, including Reader/Writer, Transformer, User, and FME Flow categories. Discover how they are the key to unlocking automation and optimization within your workflows.
- Practical Applications in FME Form: Delve into key user parameter types including choice, connections, and file URLs. Allow users to control how a workflow runs, making your workflows more reusable. Learn to import values and deliver the best user experience for your workflows while enhancing accuracy.
- Optimization Strategies in FME Flow: Explore the creation and strategic deployment of parameters in FME Flow, including the use of deployment and geometry parameters, to maximize workflow efficiency.
- Pro Tips for Success: Gain insights on parameterizing connections and leveraging new features like Conditional Visibility for clarity and simplicity.
We’ll wrap up with a glimpse into future webinars, followed by a Q&A session to address your specific questions surrounding this topic.
Don’t miss this opportunity to elevate your FME expertise and drive your projects to new heights of efficiency.
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 3DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 3. In this session, we will cover desktop automation along with UI automation.
Topics covered:
UI automation Introduction,
UI automation Sample
Desktop automation flow
Pradeep Chinnala, Senior Consultant Automation Developer @WonderBotz and UiPath MVP
Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP