Project Management and Agile Methodologies by Avneet Mathur, PMP Ambiguity and change are characteristic of any development

process. In agile methodology, this is particularly true. Unlike traditional software development, in agile methodology the requirements are rarely clear at the start of development, despite analysts' best efforts. The installation of a system or new features inevitably changes the users' working practices, and thereby their requirements; and in any case, the world changes and consequently so do the requirements. Project Management must cope with this fluid environment to give rise to a successful project. "As a rule," says David L. Parnas, "software systems do not work well until they have been used, and have failed repeatedly, in real applications." For this reason, nearly all modern development processes areincremental. They all focus on a short loop between the end users and the developers. The sooner developers can put something before users and get their feedback, the sooner needs can be clarified, sharpening the focus of remaining work. This fundamental motivation has been the driving force behind the recent move towards agile methods, which can be grouped into these categories: Feedback from working software Show users actual working software at an early stage, and then improve on it using their feedback. Feedback from model-building Create working models that in turn generate user questions. Incremental development Produce something tangible in every cycle. Iterative working Discover requirements as a part of the job is itself.

Principles of Project Relationships Traditional project management theory makes these assumptions: Rigid procedures are needed to regulate change. Hierarchical organizational structures are means of establishing order. Increased control results in increased order. Organizations must be rigid, static hierarchies. Employees are interchangeable "parts" in the organizational "machine." Problems are solved primarily through reductionist task breakdown and allocation. Projects and risks are predictable enough to be managed through complex up-front planning.

In the context of agile methodologies, these assumptions would fail. Creating a productive project environment in which agile methodology can be successfully applied is dependent upon commitment to a number of relationship principles. Communication with and among project team members and stakeholders, internal and external, must be constant. The project team needs relevant information, in a timely manner, from each of its members to complete and improve the project, and to understand the needs and expectations of project outcomes. Since change is constant in an agile project, constant communication is the only means of maintaining the connections among all the participants. Going dark for any significant amount of time is simply not

feasible. Project communication management involves planning, information distribution, performance reporting, and formal project close-out. Directness defines the approach in identifying critical success factors of the project in terms of the simplest possible solution. All project activities must contribute a measurable value to the project management process. The project manager and the stakeholder are responsible for identifying and measuring the value of any project management artifact. This can be best accomplished by asking, "Is there value in this specific task, artifact, or deliverable to the project in hand?" Feedback is used to understand whether the project is on track. Because agile methodology is a dynamic environment, continuous feedback is a primary tool for defining and sustaining agility. Confidence is essential when making important decisions and changes in the direction of the project. Changes to the project and to the agile methodologies utilized must be managed. Dealing with the consequences of change or discarding the outcome when a decision is proven inadequate requires confidence. Involvement needs to happen with stakeholders, project participants, and customers in the project. As Pascal said, "We must learn our limits. We are all something, but none of us are everything." They all have their area of expertise and add value to the project. An effective approach is to make an assumption that everyone involved has equal value and therefore should be treated with respect. Creating Successful Agile Environments Based on the identified principles there are several additional key elements that provide the basis for agile project management. These techniques, which also can be used in traditional software development methods, improve project performance. Unlike traditional project management, agile management needs to be more hands-on and interactive. What you see is what you do. Cards-on-the-wall is a project planning technique. Cards identifying individual tasks are affixed to a wall. The tasks are linked with string to represent precedence. This collection of cards and string represents a network of tasks: the project plan. An implementation of this might be to use colors to represent activities in the project. A color might be selected to represent features: features that were designed, developed, tested and in production one color; features that were designed, built, tested but not yet put in production (but ready to go) another color. The team in this scenario is able to visualize where they stand with each feature set. Visual control is a valuable technique for all projects, since it ensures that every member of the team views the project the same way. Location, Location, Location. All the key team members preferably should be co-located, including the customer/end-user, preferably in a single room. This tactic increases the quality of communication and coordination. If developers are used to traditional methods, working independently and rarely interacting with the customer until the solution is fully developed, this may represent a significant cultural change. Collaboration becomes a significant responsibility for the project manager, who must ensure everyone is working well together, and that the assigned developers truly can work in this manner. Be adaptive or be extinct. Because of the nature of the project, the team must be adaptive. This can make some team members nervous, especially those who crave structure. Because of this dynamic environment, the project manager needs to be seen as a leader, not a taskmaster. Rather than setting rigid instructions for the entire project team to follow, the project manager acts as a team facilitator fostering collaboration, working relationships and the establishment of ground rules. Lessons learned in one phase need to be incorporated into the next so that they can be adapted for a successful project.

When competing, hoard your knowledge, but when collaborating, share it! Collaboration among all team members to deliver the results, capture candid feedback, and implement learning on the next iteration of the solution is one of the most important aspects of project management in agile methodology. For a successful project, constant feedback and improvement is required. After the project manager completes the initial planning, the project teams collaborate on the design, development, testing, and reworking of each incremental build. This constant collaboration with the customeris what promotes project success. Tackle one thing at a time. Allowing a team to focus on only one feature at a time greatly reduces complexity. The business analyst and project manager ensure the next feature in the backlog is truly the next priority, based on business value and risk. This approach prioritizes high-risk components or core infrastructure first; everything else follows. This is building from the core out, adding functionality based on time and resources. A manager dictates, a leader inspires. The project manager removes any barriers hindering the core agile teams interacting with the client management, the IT management, and key stakeholders to ensure they know the project's status. The business analyst manages the business benefits of the project and continually focuses the agile team on the business need. The greatest successes are born of failure. Following the principles of Kaizen, which translates to continuous improvement, the team holds a lessons-learned session after each cycle, rather than at the end of the project, to determine what they can do better on the next iteration. Learning and adapting how the members are working together improves team performance. Conclusion In traditional project management, the teams strive to finish the project on time and under budget, often losing sight of the overall benefits the entire effort is intended to bring the organization. Agile management techniques foster an adaptive product cycle that encourages ongoing improvement and enhanced value.