Is there a place for Project Managers in Agile?

May 10, 2018

What is Agile?

2Image © 2017 The Cirdan Group

What is Agile?

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Agile is More than a Process, It's a Mindset

Collaborative Interactive

Responsive Functional

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Not just contractual agreements, with strict process, inflexible plans, and nothing you can test until you are "almost done".

There is no One Way

5Image © 2013 Dr. Ahmed Sidkey The Agile Mindset

They Say There is No PM in Agile

There is no PM in a scrum team

There is no Microsoft Project Plan for a scrum

team

There is no task assignment

in a scrum team

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So Who Does These?

▪ Actively manage dependencies

▪ Manage risks and mitigations

▪ Maintain overall schedule for delivery

▪ Maintain the budget

▪ Maintain the resource plan

▪ Provide executive reporting

This need doesn’t go away “because Agile”

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PMs Help Manage Complexity

RISK PROFILEFew Risks Many High Risks

TECHNOLOGY COMPLEXITYKnown, Independent Systems New or Highly Dependent

BUSINESS COMPLEXITYSingle LOB Cross Enterprise

TEAM LOCATIONOne location Geographically Dispersed

PROJECT SIZEOne Team Many Teams

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Large Agile Frameworks

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• DAD Program Management• DAD Portfolio Management

• SAFe Program / Portfolio Management• SAFe Release Train Engineer

TDs Agile Project Structure

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There is a Role for PMs in Agile

◼ You can find roles that leverage your interest and experience within an Agile context

◼ And remember – not all projects will be Agile

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References

◼ Cornelius, D. A. (2014). The PM role in a lean and agile world. Paper presented at PMI® Global Congress 2014—North America, Phoenix, AZ. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.

◼ Eriksson, Ulf (2015). The Role of the Project Manager in Agile Development. https://reqtest.com/agile-blog/the-role-of-the-project-manager-in-agile-development/

◼ Banerjee, Soumita (2016). Role of a Project Manager in Managing Agile Projects. Journal of Business and Financial Affairs, Bridgeport, CT

◼ Shastri, Hoda, Amor (2017). Understanding the Roles of the Manager in Agile Project Management. IESC '17, Auckland, New Zealand

◼ Disciplined Agile Delivery – DAD - http://www.disciplinedagiledelivery.com/

◼ Scaled Agile Framework – SAFe - https://www.scaledagileframework.com/

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