Agile project management - everything you want to know but were afraid to ask Presented by Adrian Pyne Tuesday 18 October 2016 APM East of England branch event Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford

1. East of England Branch
Agile project management
Everything you wanted to
know but were afraid to ask…
Adrian Pyne
Pyne Consulting λ

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 Agile principles
 We were Agile
 The pace of change and the value of being Agile
 Being Agile at two levels:
– Agile Organisational Project management
– Being Agile in projects and programmes
 Avoiding the pitfalls
Content
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Does Agile Project Management……
exist?
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Core Principles of Agile
High Level
 Satisfy the customer - Produce outcomes
that result in benefits – incrementally / regularly in
order of priority
 Value driven and time box where possible
 Clear roles and responsibilities
 Enough definition to get started
 Embrace changing requirements with
robust change control
 Sustainable environment for success
 Empower the team to make rapid decisions
 Collaborative behaviours based on Trust
and quality communications
 Simple keep it simple
 Reflect, learn and adjust at regular
intervals
 ‘Fail early’ if results disappoint
TIME
SCOPE
COST
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"Vercingetorix Throws Down His Arms at the Feet of Julius Caesar", 1899, by Lionel Noel Royer
They were Agile
http://www.whereprojectsthrive.uk/julius-caesars-agile-conquest-of-gaul-58-to-50bc/

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We were Agile
 Management created our Landscape
 Co-located team including Users
 Prioritised set of core requirements
 Change reflected developing new business processes
 Sustainability: already looking ahead to other services sustainable
 Collaborative behaviours – US + BT IT teams + Users
 Keep it simple – requirements groups for “sprints”
 Weekly reviews / learnings
1986

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Pace of Change and Agile
The rate of change is not going to slow
down anytime soon. If anything, competition in
most industries will probably speed up even more
in the next few decades – John P. Kotter
Faster development and Change
• Constant focus on the goal
• Collaborative working
• Flexibility
• Delegated decision making

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The Value of Being Agile
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$95,000 per second
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
0.5%
http://www.whereprojectsthrive.uk/

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 Organisational Agile Project Management
Being Agile: two levels
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 Within projects and programmes

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Projects are viruses
Agile Organisational Project
Management

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Agile Organisational Project
Management
A challenging landscape for Agile
Link to video: “I want to run an Agile project”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u5N00ApR_k

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Agile Organisational Project
Management
Organisation Culture
Vision
Strategy
Technology
ProcessPolicies
Values
Organisation
Rules
Behaviours
Symbols
Relationships
Perceptions
Beliefs
Assumptions
Unwritten
rules
Common practice
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Agile Organisational Project
Management
What needs to be overcome
 Non-agile organisation culture
– Lack of flexibility
– Non-release of operational resources
– Lengthy decision making, e.g. change
– Resistance to Matrix working
– Top down governance
– Lack of Trust and empowerment
– Very risk averse – loathing of uncertainty
 Gathering organisational anti-bodies to anything new in the culture
And some people simply get it wrong……

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Vision
Strategy
Technology
ProcessPolicies
Values
Organisation
Rules
Symbols
Relationships
Perceptions
Beliefs
Assumptions
Unwritten
rules
Common practice
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The real project landscape?

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 Satisfy the customer
 Welcome change
 Regular successes – success as
measure of progress
 Operational and project people work as
one team
 Self organising teams
 Build an environment around motivated
individuals
 Simplicity
 Reflect, learn and adjust
Julius Caesar – Conquest of Gaul

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Agile Organisational Project
Management
What an agile project landscape looks like
Eye on the PRIZE
Delegation to
projects Prioritised
portfolio
TRUST
Dashboard

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Programme: Agile culture
IT project: Agile culture & Sprints
Other projects: Serial approach
Agile Organisational Project
Management
What an agile culture and environment looks like
“Waitbury’s”

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Being agile in projects
The wreckage of agile projects
 But we’re agile…….
 Silver bullet or poisoned apple?
 Agile as the wrong tool
 Agile head, but not heart – no agile mindset
 Self-organisation leads to constant escalation
 Fear / lack of confidence / lack of delegation
 Taking the eye of the ball
 Embracing Change without a design authority
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Agile Development, e.g. Scrum
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Being agile in projects
Agile project management vs agile development

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Business
Case
Prepare for Change
Stakeholder Manage
Integration
test
Business implementation
Cutover
Release
Bed
in
Muster
programme
Programme/project Assurance
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Being agile in projects
Agile project management vs agile development

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Being agile at two- levels: projects
What an agile project looks like
An Agile Project Manager stands back…hands off

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Timeboxing
Collaboration
Engagement
Purpose
Being agile at two- levels: projects
What an agile project looks like

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Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater
Re-combine and re-use
Avoiding the pitfalls:
Eric Abrahamson - Creative Recombination
 people
 networks (social not IT)
 culture
 processes
 structure
Eric Abrahamson: Change Without Pain
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1. Increase urgency
Kotter’s 8 Step change model
2. Build guiding teams
3. Get the vision right
4. Communication for buy-in
5. Enable action
6. Create short-term wins
7. Don’t let up
8.Make it stick
Create a
Climate for
change
Engaging and
enabling the
organisation
Implementing and
sustaining change
Open Minds,
Make the Change,
Embed the Change
Avoiding the pitfalls
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Avoiding the pitfalls
 Leadership must GET agile
 Leadership to establish an agile friendly organisation
 Persuade stakeholders so that they GET agile working
 Define your goals for agile working
 Determine how far agile needs to penetrate
 Define who needs to be agile, and help them be so
 Define how business processes need to change
 Define what technology can help, and/or needs to change
 Be an agile leader
People
ToolsProcess
Building an organisation fit for agile projects

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Does Agile Project Management……
exist?
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 A two-day Agile Project Management course based on the APM
Body of Knowledge is now available from Provek
 Details can be found here:
 http://www.provek.co.uk/Provek/Project-Management-
Training/Agile-project-management/
 Adrian Pyne:
e: a.pyne@btconnect.com
m: 07767 822842
Agile Project Management training
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 We were Agile
 The pace of change and the value of being Agile
 Being Agile at two levels
 Agile Organisational Project management
 Being Agile in projects and programmes
 Avoiding the pitfalls
Content
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Thank you
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Pyne Consulting λ
a.pyne@btconnect.com

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 Paperback: 246x189mm, 201
6 Publisher: APM
Author: APM Governance
Specific Interest Group
ISBN 978-1-903494-60-8
Publication date: September
2016
Price: £15.00
Discount: 10% off for APM
members
APM members should
contact Turpin Distribution
on +44 (0)1767 604951 to
receive their 10% discount
 via APM Website
Where to get it
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1. Lead through inspiration, care and Trust
2. Open Minds, Make the Change, Embed the Change
3. Work with your environment
4. Understand what can stop you being successful
5. Know and communicate the purpose of the Change
6. Recombine and re-use
7. Prepare for delivery AND for operations.
8. Be flexible and adapt, e.g. plan, measure and adjust
9. Ensure people know what they are to do, where they fit and how
they can work
10. Build a confident and professional team
Adrian’s Tactics for Change
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33. Links
http://www.whereprojectsthrive.uk/?s=adrian+pyne
http://www.apm.org.uk/blog/agile-thinking-projects-thinking-out-process-box
http://www.apm.org.uk/news/transformational-change-what-do-and-yellow-brick-road
I want to run an agile project parts 1 and 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u5N00ApR_k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAf3q13uUpE
Brian Wernham
http://www.amazon.com/Agile-Project-Management-Government-Wernham/dp/0957223404

34. This presentation was delivered
at an APM event
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