Agile Project Management: How to Succeed in the Face of Changing Project Requirements by Gary Chin

portfolio-level estimation of, 188-189

in Project Data Sheet (PDS), 117-118, 188-189

project-level estimation of, 188

Retrospective process, see Lessons Learned process

reviews, project, 183

risk management, 123-140

contingency plans in, 127-129

mitigation plans in, 126-127

in Operational PM Infrastructure Workflow, 168

organizational attitude toward plan changes, 129-131

Risk Management Workflow, 133-140

risks identification in Project Data Sheet (PDS), 118

time to market in, 123-129

Risk Management Workflow, 133-140

assessing risks, 135-137

defining risk, 133-134

identifying risks, 134

integration of, 139

planning to address risks, 137-138

reassessing risks, 138

template for, 140

roles and responsibilities, 41-51, 56-60

boundaries and, 28-29, 42, 43-44

in classic project management, 42-43

in Communications Plan, 56-57

decision making and, 46-47, 57-58

defining concept of, 45, 56-57

exercise for developing, 49-51

in operational project management infrastructure, 163-164

time concerns and, 45

Index

S

silo mentality, 91, 149-150, see also functional management

single-company, multiple-organization stakeholders, 19-20

single-organization stakeholders, 17-18

soft skills, see adaptability/flexibility; interpersonal skills

solitude, collaboration versus, 93-94

speed/urgency

in agile project management, 9-10

in planning for agility, 98-100

time to market and, 123-129

stage-gate concept, 197-201

stakeholder types, 17-20

multiple organizations, 18-20

project manager role and, 74-75

single company, multiple organizations, 19-20

single organization, 17-18

see also business organizations

status reporting, 78

individual, 61, 78

in Operational PM Infrastructure Workflow, 168-169

overview of, 204-208

project, 61-62, 78

Sunset Review, see Lessons Learned process

Index

T

taskmaster role, 67

technical skills

adaptability versus, 94-96

of project team members, 88

technology development projects, 15-16

telecommuters, 94

templates

for action item tracking, 218

for Communication Plan, 63-64

for issue tracking, 213

for Lessons Learned process, 83-86

for Project Data Sheet (PDS), 119-122

for project prioritization, 224

for risk planning, 140

for Status Report, 208

time allocation, 45, 52-53

timeline, in Project Data Sheet (PDS), 116-117

time to market, 123-129

importance of, 123-126

product lifecycles and, 124

Index

U

uncertainty in agile project management, 3-8

external, 4, 6-8

internal, 4-6

in planning for agility, 98-100

see also risk management

unique expertise, 8-9

upper management

defined, 142

organizational change and, 147-149, 150

project change and, 142-145, 150

Index

V-Z

variance tracking, 69-70, 72-74

List of Figures

Chapter 1: Defining Agile Project Management

Figure 1-1: The relationship between classic and agile PM platforms.

Figure 1-2: Internal uncertainty is higher when doing something for the first time, and it diminishes as you gain experience.

Figure 1-3: Project uncertainty is made up of both internal and external components.

Figure 1-4: Impact of uncertainty on the project as a function of urgency.

Chapter 2: Determining When to Use Agile Project Management

Figure 2-1: The operational project environment is more conducive to classic PM.

Figure 2-2: The technology development project environment is more conducive to agile PM.

Figure 2-3: The product development project environment requires a mix of classic PM and agile PM.

Figure 2-4: Agile PM is more applicable when there are fewer organizational stakeholders.

Figure 2-5: Classic PM is more applicable when there are multiple organizational stakeholders.

Figure 2-6: Both agile and classic PM may be applicable when there are multiple organizations within a single company.

Figure 2-7: Applicability of agile PM, based on project type and organizational stakeholders.

Chapter 3: Projects are the Business

Figure 3-1: Typical business consisting of operational and project elements.

Figure 3-2: In agile PM, both the internal and external aspects of business and project decision making are integrated.

Figure 3-3: The primary focus of the project manager in an agile versus classic project environment.

Figure 3-4: The predominately static project boundaries of the classic project give way to more dynamic conditions in the agile project.

Figure 3-5: Agile PM looks to integrate the internal and external project environments.

Figure 3-6: Typical organizational structure for matrix management.

Figure 3-7: The pros and cons of matrix management.

Figure 3-8: A project-based organization integrates the business strategy with the projects.

Figure 3-9: Project-based versus matrix organizations in agile and classic project environments.

Chapter 4: The Cross-Functional Team—Organizing for Agility

Figure 4-1: How team member roles are defined in an agile versus classic environment.

Figure 4-2: Roles and responsibilities in the agile versus classic environment.

Figure 4-3: Decision making in an agile versus classic environment.

Figure 4-4: Meetings in an agile versus classic environment.

Chapter 5: The Project Manager’s Role

Figure 5-1: The project manager’s orientation in an agile versus classic environment.

Figure 5-2: Trends and variances monitored by the project manager in an agile versus classic environment.

Figure 5-3: The project manager’s focus in an agile versus classic environment.

Figure 5-4: The project manager acts as an intelligent information manifold to distribute key project information to team members and sponsors.

Chapter 6: The Agile Project Team

Figure 6-1: The hiring criteria in an agile versus classic project management.

Chapter 7: Planning for Agility

Figure 7-1: Projects that operate on the edge of technology tend to take a zigzag course toward their objectives.

Figure 7-2: The basis of timelines in an agile versus classic environment.

Figure 7-3: The basis of activity durations in an agile versus classic environment.

Figure 7-4: Network diagrams provide a high-level view of a project, especially when there are multiple pathways and decision points, without going into great detail.

Figure 7-5: Gantt chart overlaid on a network diagram.

Figure 7-6: The approach to planning in an agile versus classic environment.

Figure 7-7: Planning effort over time using agile and classic planning methods.

Figure 7-8: The basic planning tools in an agile versus classic environment.

Chapter 8: Approaching Risk in an Agile Environment

Figure 8-1: Reducing scope to get to market earlier usually extends the overall time and cost needed to get to the original scope.

Figure 8-2: Network diagram with probability weighting assigned to various pathways.

Figure 8-3: Contingency planning in an agile versus classic environment.

Figure 8-4: Project course changes in an agile versus classic environment.

Chapter 9: Management—Creating an Environment of Agility

Figure 9-1: Upper management’s role in the agile versus classic project.

Figure 9-2: Strategy, business objectives, and tactical projects all exert appropriate influences on each other.

Figure 9-3: Organizational adaptability in an agile versus classic PM environment.

Figure 9-4: A summary of management roles unique to the agile project environment.

Chapter 10: The Operational Project Management Infrastructure

Figure 10-1: Project management infrastructures are focused in two broad areas, planning and execution.

Figure 10-2: The operational project management infrastructure.

Figure 10-3: The focus of PM tools in an agile versus classic environment.

Figure 10-4: Architecture of an operational PM infrastructure.

Chapter 11: Agile Portfolio Management—Aligning Tactical Projects with Business Strategy

Figure 11-1: A general portfolio management structure showing the alignment of high level strategy, business objectives, programs, and individual projects.

Figure 11-2: In classic portfolio management, external influences start at the top and flow downstream.

Figure 11-3: In agile portfolio management, external influences are felt directly at the top and bottom and subsequently flow both downstream and upstream.

Figure 11-4: The direction of influence in an agile versus classic portfolio.

Figure 11-5: The portfolio review cycle in an agile versus classic portfolio.

Figure 11-6: Portfolio management responsibility in an agile versus classic portfolio.

Figure 11-7: Portfolio mapping hierarchy.

Figure 11-8: Portfolio construction in an agile versus classic environment.

Figure 11-9: Portfolio resource allocation in an agile versus classic environment.

Figure 11-10: Portfolio-level Gantt chart showing roughly estimated project/resource density over time.

Figure 11-11: Portfolio-level Gantt chart showing rough resource usage over time.

Figure 11-12: Top-down, project-level, resource estimation table from Project Data Sheet template.

Figure 11-13: Top-down, portfolio-level, resource estimation table for a specific period.

Figure 11-14: Portfolio-level Gantt chart showing rough resource usage over time.

Figure 11-15: Approach to achieving high-level objectives through tactical projects in an agile versus classic environment.

Chapter 12: Integrating Portfolio and Project Management with the Product Development Process for Business Success

Figure 12-1: Balancing process and innovation.

Figure 12-2: Integrating project management and portfolio management into the product development process.

Figure 12-3: Portfolio reviews tied to stage-gates.

Figure 12-4: Phase-to-phase detailed project planning.

List of Sidebars

Chapter 10: The Operational Project Management Infrastructure

Considerations for Selecting PM Software Tools for the Agile Project Environment

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