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Project management
1. A Swift & Agile introduction to
Project Management
Atul Shetty, FLPI, CTT+, CSM®
2. • A project is temporary in that it has a defined beginning and end in
time, and therefore defined scope and resources.
• Project management is the application of processes, methods,
knowledge, skills and experience to achieve the project objectives.
3. What is the challenge?
• Less than 1 out of 3 software development projects
make it to completion!
• Ones that make it, 85% are over budget and time!
• Studies suggest: “Bad communications between parties are the
cause of IT project failures in 57% of cases studied.”
4. What have people done about it?
• Project governance – PRINCE2 came from IT Project Failures in UK
public service
• IT Infrastructure Library – defines IT service management best practices
• Agile – self managing development methodology preferring close
interaction with customer above traditional methods
• PMBOK - PMI global standards provide guidelines, rules and
characteristics for project, program and portfolio management.
• Six Sigma & ITIL
5. “PMP is a standard, PRINCE2 is a methodology and
Scrum/Agile is a framework”
Loosely speaking you can use these terms, standard, methodology and framework interchangeably for PMP, PRINCE2 and Scrum/Agile but here I am talking in strict technical sense.
PRINCE2 Foundation
The Foundation examination consists of a one hour multiple choice exam and approximately 97% of candidates pass this exam (note: UK national average pass rate).
PRINCE2 Practitioner
The Practitioner level is an open book 2.5 hour exam meaning that candidates can use their PRINCE2 manuals during the exam. Practitioner candidates must have passed the Foundation exam prior to sitting the Practitioner exam. Candidates must answer questions from 8 out of 11 syllabus areas. Each area is worth 10 marks making a total of 80 (8 x 10) marks available. Candidates must score at least 44 marks (55%) in order to gain certification.
Existing project managers or people wanting to move into project management should consider taking the Practitioner exam. Project administrators, team leaders and support staff might consider taking the Foundation exam.
PRINCE2 Professional
The Professional level consists of a 2.5 day residential assessment centre (there is no exam). During the assessment a candidate is assessed for competency in 19 areas, several of which are not PRINCE2 competencies but are broader project management ones such as interpersonal skills. So far, very few candidates have completed these assessments and the demand for the qualification remains low due primarily to a lack of awareness of the qualification.
1. Starting up a project
The project team is assembled, the project approach is decided and business justification is documented. activities: assemble project management team, create project brief, agree upon project approach, plan for project initiation phase check points: the project board approves the next phase of the project (project initiation) 2. Initiating a project
Project planning work is continued. activities: document the project plan, business case, risks, project controls and the plan for the next stage of the project. 3. Directing a project
The project board (project sponsors) controls the project. This involves a series of authorizations, giving ad-hoc direction and confirming project closure. check points: project board authorizes project initiation, stage plans and exception plans 4. Controlling a stage
The project is broken down into stages and each stage is controlled separately. activities: progress assessments, managing issues, status reviews and reporting, taking corrective actions, issue escalation, receiving completed work packages. check points: work packages are authorized 5. Managing stage boundaries
Includes end of stage activities and planning for the next stage. Also decides what should be done for stages that have exceeded tolerance levels. activities: stage planning, updating the project plan, updating the business case, updating the risk log, reporting the end of the stage end, creating a exception plan. 6. Managing product delivery
Managing the acceptance, execution and delivery of project work. Ensures that the work products are delivered to expectations and within tolerance. activities: accept a work package, execute a work package, deliver a work package. 7. Closing a Project
Project wrap up. activities: formally de-commission the project, project evaluation, identify follow up actions
There is a big agile project management world out there. Here are a few of the useful links to members of the agile practitioner community:
Agile Alliance: The Agile Alliance is the original global agile community, with a mission to help advance agile principles and practices, regardless of methodology.
Scrum Alliance: The Scrum Alliance is a nonprofit professional membership organization that promotes understanding and usage of scrum. The Scrum Alliance offers a number of professional certifications:
Certified Scrum Master (CSM)
Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO)
Certified Scrum Developer (CSD)
Certified Scrum Professional (CSP)
Certified Scrum Coach (CSC)
Certified Scrum Trainer (CST)
XProgramming.com: Ron Jeffries, one of the originators of the extreme programming (XP) development approach, provides resources and services in support of XP's advancement on the XProgramming.com site.
Lean Essays: Lean Essays is a blog from Mary and Tom Poppendieck, thought leaders in the use of lean concepts within the software development space.
PMI Agile Community: The Project Management Institute (PMI) is the largest nonprofit project management membership association in the world. The agile section of PMI's website provides access to papers, books, and seminars about agile project management. PMI supports an agile community of practice and a certification, the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP).