{"id":800,"date":"2014-01-13T10:52:37","date_gmt":"2014-01-13T09:52:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leanmagazine.net\/?p=800"},"modified":"2024-03-15T15:18:50","modified_gmt":"2024-03-15T14:18:50","slug":"agile-project-manager","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/leanmagazine.net\/agile\/agile-project-manager\/","title":{"rendered":"The Agile Project Manager \u2013 the next stage in development"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In little more than a decade, Agile, Lean, Scrum and other modern methods have created amazing opportunities for the software industry to increase productivity, improve quality and, not in the least adapt to a changing environment. But what about the business environment to which the methodologies apply \u2013 have they kept up with these project management methodology developments?<\/em><\/h4>\n

Bea D\u00fcring, PMI Certified PM and Agile Coach at Softhouse, has almost 15 years of experience in project management consulting and examines this with a critical eye. She has seen many companies struggle with the same problems when adopting Agile methodology. Getting the development team started is just the first step. An equally important challenge is providing teams and this methodology a natural place in the business environment. This is where she sees a problem: “Other industries and fields are developing at lightning speed \u2013 why is project management so sluggish? Or to put a more fine a point on it: why have we let so many projects fail for so long?”<\/p>\n

Project-based thinking<\/h3>\n
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Bea D\u00fcring<\/strong> began experimenting with XP and Agile as early as 1999. She has been PMI certified since 2004 and has published and spoken at various international Agile conferences.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bea D\u00fcring believes that project management\u2019s heyday ended in the 1960s and that innovation has been at a standstill since. Many of the tools in use today such as Gantt charts, work breakdown structure and PERT originated in the industrial setting of the early 1900s. They work well in industries with a slow pace of change and sustainable long-term plans. Technology develops rapidly in the software industry, however, and the market goes through unexpected twists and turns. It requires a different way of thinking, and therefore new types of tools. Management in companies implementing Agile methods need to understand what a \u2018project\u2019 is. A good starting definition is to describe it as \u2018a temporary organization to interact with a company\u2019s permanent organization.\u2019 \u2018There are many companies that have not yet been able to grasp what project-based thinking and project management are all about. Management and support departments must learn to regard projects as a type of service delivery environment.\u2019<\/p>\n

The engine of the organization<\/h3>\n

There is often talk of the Agile delivery engine \u2013 that is, Scrum team activity hums steadily along delivering fresh, functional code ready for shipping. This metaphor is useful in explaining a project manager\u2019s role in an Agile organization. The Project Leader is the mechanic whose job it is to install the Agile delivery engine into the organization\u2019s vehicle and ensure that it remains finely tuned. The engine\u2019s primary task is to reach the organization\u2019s delivery targets. Its operations also need to be synchronized with the other components such as customer support, sales, external suppliers, partner, etc. \u2018In this context, it is time to define a new type of project manager \u2013 the Agile Project Manager. An Agile project man- ager understands how the Agile delivery engine works \u2013 that the concept is based on self-organization and undisturbed activity. In addition, he or she has the ability to manage business needs and goals, requirements, organizational models, contracts and overarching as well as \u2018roll-ing\u2019 planning methods,\u2019 says Bea D\u00fcring.<\/p>\n

The complexity level dictates<\/h3>\n

When is a \u2018regular\u2019 project manager enough and when is an Agile project manager necessary? It depends on the project\u2019s complexity. According to the Cynefin model, a project considered Complex demands an Agile project manager. \u2018In my experience of coaching Agile transitions, there is a need for an Agile project manager when the project and delivery engine is exposed to complexity factors \u2013 as in, for example, when several teams collaborate on a release from a number of international locations.\u2019 Requirements themselves may also lead to complexity such as when teams are faced with regulatory requirements or the need for extremely rapid alteration cycles. Other complexity factors are outsourcing and procurement \u2013 that is, the purchase of various services from multiple providers \u2013 or when a company starts too many projects at the same time resulting in staff having so much to do that nothing gets done. \u2018Several of these complexity factors exist in many of the companies we work with, and they have a cumulative effect. An Agile project leader can achieve great things in such messy conditions by designing a comprehensive project environment providing oversight and structure,\u2019 says Bea D\u00fcring.<\/p>\n

The Agile Project Manager<\/h3>\n

Where are these Agile Project Managers, then? The clich\u00e9d response is \u2018nowhere and everywhere\u2019. The international body PMI launched a type of formal certification in 2011, but specialized Agile project manager candidates can be found almost anywhere.\u2018It is up to the management implementing an Agile transformation<\/p>\n

to work with existing project managers. To what extent is their customer knowledge and experience applicable to this new para-digm? How do we create a system of \u2018do, learn, adapt\u2019 so that we can teach our- selves? How big is the need for external skill development?\u2019 It is important that the organization\u2019s Agile project managers be provided with diagnostic tools such as the Cynefin Model for their projects. \u2018From there, they can design the most suitable project life cycle and build in feedback loops for continuous improvement of the process. Of course, it is import- and to master the conventional toolbox and understand how to facilitate an Agile project environment. Both skills are necessary\u2019, said Bea. \u2018The decision anxiety that often per-meates Swedish company culture must be eliminated.\u2019<\/p>\n

A chance for Sweden to take the lead<\/h3>\n

There is great opportunity for Sweden to take the lead in introducing Agile methodology. Companies could strengthen their competitiveness. First, Agile reduces development costs since continuous improvement is built into the very concept. Second, Agile creates an environment of innovation. Bea D\u00fcring thinks Sweden has particularly good prospects for Agile methodology success: \u2018We are used to working in flat, network-based collaboration in Sweden. We are not so concerned with work-related hierarchy.\u2019 Agile is largely based on self-organization and cross-functional working groups. The compatibility is obvious. She sees a major obstacle to overcome, however: the decision anxiety that often permeates Swedish company culture. \u2018Many managers simply do not dare say \u2018let\u2019s do it\u2019. Instead of starting a process by testing it out, gaining experience and learning, they kick decisions down the road. One can see this behaviour amongst many teams. A symptom of this inability to make decisions is Swedish business culture itself \u2013 a forum of meeting after meeting which everyone is forced to attend. It causes a lot of frustration not in the least amongst guests from the foreign companies we cooperate with. We need to rethink this.\u2019<\/p>\n