The author of this white paper assesses the different project management standards, framework and methodology and how agile complements with the other project management techniques.

1. Why AGILE? Why not PMP / PRINCE2?
Agile environment focuses on working together collaboratively and deliver the projects in short intervals.
Agile changes the mindset from controlling the project to facilitating the project as a servant leader.
In today’s world, many financial organization tend to follow the Agile framework for the reasons, its
adaptability to changing the customer, industry needs and proven results in delivering the projects
successfully with improved quality, cost efficiencies, fastest time to market and customer satisfaction.
The author of this white paper assesses the different project management standards, framework and
methodology and how agile complements with the other project management techniques.
Agile is most preferred framework among other project management techniques. It emphasizes more on
customer collaboration over contract negotiation, individuals and interaction (face to face conversation)
over comprehensive documentation, It also focuses on working software and responds to changes
quickly than any other project management methodologies
Agile principle ensures continuous focus to requirements, design changes, architecture etc. which
emerges from self organizing teams.
If we put in simple words, agile eliminates the waste and delivers highest business value as fast as
possible.
Let’s analyze pros and cons of Agile versus PMP, PRINCE2 and some important elements of AGILE /
SCRUM.

2. PMP PRINCE2 AGILE/SCRUM
Key Differences - PMI standard (USA)
- Waterfall method
often end up in failure
due to the reason , it
cannot adapt to
changes quickly
- PMBOK (Project
Management Body of
Knowledge)
- Focuses on Plan
conformity rather
than Business value
- Command control
leadership
- More of process
oriented approach
- Methodology –OGC (
Office for Government
Commerce UK)
- Lists down everything
step by step similar like
waterfall method.
- Why should we do it this
project?” and “are the
benefits worth the costs
and risks of doing the
project
- PRINCE2 is a predictive
it is based on the Plan
- Need to tailored to suit
the specific projects
requirements & limitations
- Waterfall method often
end up in failure due to
the reason, it cannot
adapt to changes quickly
- PRINCE2 is principles
based approach to
project management.
- Framework – More
suitable for development
environment and helps the
team to work together
collaboratively with the
customer and delivers the
product quickly. Focuses
more on Business value
(Customer centric
approach).
- Management style is
decentralized,
collaborative and servant
leadership
- Scrum delivers software
product often instead of
waiting till the end of the
project.
- What needs to be
delivered next week? and
is the working software
what the customer needs?
- Agile meant for short-
term, incremental
achievements
- SMEs required to produce
an efficient framework that
can easily adapt to change
- As compared to waterfall
(sequential), Scrum is an
overlapping development it
does all requirements. e.g.
design-code-test- little of
everything rather than
doing one thing at a time
so as to ensure faster
delivery
- SBOK – provides
guidelines for the
successful implementation
of scrum
- Scrum principles are
based on

3. 1. Empirical process
control- ensuring
transparency,
inspection and
adaption
2. Self Organization –
Offering more
knowledge and
amplify the learning
3. Collaboration- by
working together to
deliver the greatest
value
4. Value based
prioritization- deliver
the maximum value
5. Time boxing –
ensuring fixed period
of time and delivery
6. Iterative development
– flexibility to introduce
the change as part of
the project
Processes &
Sub-Processes
Totally 5 major process
- Initiation
- Planning
- Execution
- Monitoring
- Control
Totally 10 Knowledge
areas:
- Integration
- Scope
- Time
- Cost
- Quality
Totally 7 Major Process
- Starting up a project
- Initiating a project
- Directing a project
- Controlling a stage
- Managing stage
- Boundaries
- Managing product
delivery
- Closing a Project
Main Processes
- Initiate
- Plan and estimate
- Implement
- Review & Retrospect
- Release
Life cycle Phases
Scrum in the Life-Cycle
Phase:
- Identify the “must do”
work items and keep them
in the backlog
- .Convene the backlog
prioritization meeting to
order the product items
- Conduct the team review
meeting and determine

4. - Human Resources
- Communications
- Risk Management
- Procurement
- Stakeholder
Management
47 Sub Processes
the sprint priority and do
the efforts estimation
- Engage the team to select
the first sprint item and
complete it within agreed
sprint cycle
- Start Iterate process for
2nd, 3rd, 4th. till last time
- Conduct the review and
plan release into next
phase
- Conduct retrospective on
the release
- Repeat sprint cycle if there
are more than 1 release
until all final release
- Conduct Phase
Retrospective Scrum the
next Phase until final
phase
- Conduct Project
Retrospective
Critical integration points
are:
- Project plan — Contains a
preliminary Release Plan
outlining Scrum’s Sprint
cycles.
- Stage plans — Contains
description of the scope to
be developed as defined
by Scrum’s Product
Backlog, typically at a
medium level of detail.
- Work packages —
Contains the details of the
scope (“Product Backlog”)
that is committed to
delivery for a Sprint, the
acceptance and quality
criteria (“Definition of
Done”). At the end of each
Sprint, completed
Products are delivered

5. with associated artifacts
and deliverables defined
by that Work Package.
- Lessons learned — Each
Sprint concludes with a
lessons learned (Sprint
Review) to improve quality
and efficiency of the
project’s delivery for
subsequent Sprints.
- Reporting — at the end of
the Stage, the Project
Manager incorporates
Sprint Review Reports into
the End Stage Reports.
Tools and
Estimation
Techniques
Mainly,
- Parametric
Estimating
- Analogous Estimating
- Microsoft Project *
- Delphi technique.
- Bottom-up estimating.
- Parametric estimating.
- Single-point estimating.
- Comparative estimating
.
- Top-down estimating.
- Three-point estimating.
- The user stories are
delivered in short iterations
called sprints
- User stories are estimated
based on the size of the
story, not the duration of
time it will take to deliver it.
- Story Points are based on
Wide Band Delphi
Collaboration Tools used:
- Burn down chart, Jira,
Mingle , WebEx, VC,
Whiteboards etc.
Commonalities - Scope
- Time
- Cost
- Quality
- Human Resources
- Communications
- Risk Management
- Stakeholder
Management
- Project plan
- Stage plans
- Work packages
- Lessons learned
- Reporting
- Project plan (sprint
Planning)
- Stage plans (description of
Product backlog)
- Work packages (detailed
view of product backlog)
- Lessons learned (Sprint
review)
- Reporting (sprint review
reports)

6. Challenges - Integration of all
processes
- Scope creep
- Lack of accountability
- Lack of SME
- Dealing with Risk
- Lack of
communication
- Un realistic timelines
- Resource constraints
- Lack of stake holder
participation
- Tailored standard project
management
methodology may lead to
risk of applied to various
projects may lead to
failure.
- Waterfall method is
common delivery
mechanism, which may
not be appropriate for all
tailored projects.
- Lack of solid business
case may lead to quality
failures and do not meet
up business expectations.
- Lack of senior
Management leadership
& ownership
- Unclear linkage between
business priorities and
project priorities
- Lack of Integration
between suppliers and
Clients
- PRINCE2® does not
provide specialist aspects
such as industry specific
activities as well as
detailed techniques such
as earned value analysis.
- The challenge of people
working together
- Assignment of Tasks (self
organizing) still need
education to scrum team
- Lack of Product owner
participation
- Unrealistic goals / release
pressure / over
commitment lead to
severe impact on quality
- Lack of feedback /
communication between
Product Owner and the
project Team members
- Presence of Scrum master
is always expected to be
with the team members.
Lack of collaboration may
lead to failures.

7. High Level overview of Scrum Project’s Flow:
Detailed view of Scrum Project’s Flow:

8. The user stories are delivered in short iterations called sprints. These sprints last between two and four
weeks. Once a sprint starts, no changes are allowed. At the end of the sprint, users stories are
delivered that are potentially shippable and that meet the established Definition of Done.
There are four important meetings that revolve around the sprint. They are:
Sprint Planning Daily Stand-Up Sprint Review: Sprint Retrospective:
- It is Time-boxed
to eight hours
for a one-
month.
- This meeting is
conducted prior
to the Sprint as
part of the
Create Sprint
Backlog
process.
- Scrum Master
is present to
facilitate the
meeting and
the team
commits to the
stories that will
comprise the
sprint.
- This meeting occurs
at the same time each
day and is short,
typically no longer
than 15 minutes.
- The team reports the
stories they are
working and any
impediments that are
halting successful
completion of the
sprint.
- Any impediments that
the team cannot take
care of are handled
by the Scrum Master
- The Sprint Review
Meeting is Time-boxed
to four hours for a
one-month Sprint.
- This meeting occurs at
the end of the sprint.
- The Scrum Team
presents the
deliverables of the
current Sprint to the
Product Owner.
- Product Owner reviews
the product (or product
increment) against the
agreed Acceptance
criteria & either accepts
or rejects the
completed User
Stories.
- If the story is not
delivered then it is
moved back to the
backlog. When new
things are identified,
they are also placed in
the backlog. The
product owner is
responsible for keeping
the backlog prioritized.
- The Retrospect Sprint
Meeting is Time-boxed
to 4 hours for a one
month
- Sprint and conducted
as part of the
Retrospect Sprint
process. This meeting
also occurs at the end
of the sprint.
- The team discusses
what went well during
the previous Sprint
and what did not go
well, the goal being to
learn and make
improvements in the
Sprints to follow.
- Improvement
opportunities or best
practices are identified
and documented
 Conduct Daily Standup and Retrospect Sprint processes promote transparency and collaboration,
leading to a high trust work environment ensuring low friction among employees.

9. In Conclusion:
The challenge of people working together & collaboration is not an easy win, over commitment on
deliverables may have a severe impact on projects and there are times, scrum team experiences lack of
ownership from product owners and other team members. So collaboration is the key to success of every
scrum project.
About the Author: Swaminathan Nagarajan IT Strategist, overall 21+ years of broad Experience
encompassing Global Head of IT - Service Management, On/Offshore Operations Program
Management, Governance & Leadership Skills gained in the Global environment viz Citigroup , Credit
Suisse, Barclays, National Bank of Canada, IBM, HP, etc.
Holds several industry accreditations and certifications such as Scrum Master, Prince2 practitioner, ITIL
V3 expert, ISO/IEC 20000, Lean Six Sigma master belt, CRISC and COBIT 5.0 Etc., some of his previous
publications are “Key Factors for Successful ITIL Implementation, ITIL Production Readiness and
Effectiveness”.
https://sg.linkedin.com/in/swaminagarajan