1. The Project Manager and Modern Agile Projects
Alistair Cockburn Humans and Technology

2. Often things don’t go as planned
Often things don’t go as planned. Sometimes the original plan is the WRONG one! How do you know which is right? How do you know where you are? What do you do at the moment of crisis?
planned route to planned goal
route to planned goal
(1969 lunar landing)
Moment of crisis!
Another way of look at adaptation is by looking at your approach to the project. You can plan to go directly from point A to point B (the red dashed line). But this in reality never happens exactly as planned, so instead you use various project management mechanisms to ensure that you reach Point B (the green connected line).
With an adaptive process, you might not end up at Point B and that’s a good thing. Your customer has, through the experience of the project and collaborating with developers, realized that Point C is actually a better place to be. Without adaptation, there is a tendency to force something on the customer, even if it is clear that they really need something else.
route to better goal
(“Titanic” movie)
getting lost
route to worse goal (ship Wasa)

3. The 2005 “Declaration of Inter-Dependence” for agile-adaptive project-product managment
10 project Critical Success Factors and the role of the PM in even rabidly agile projects
How to find useful PM strategy ‘nuggets’ right under your nose
Using agile strategies in everyday situations

4. AgileManifesto.org (2001)
Individuals and interactions over Processes and Tools
Working software over Comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over Contract negotiation
Responding to change over Following a plan
“... while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.”

5. pmDeclarationOfInterDependence.org (2005)
We --
increase return on investment by making continuous flow of value our focus.
deliver reliable results by engaging customers in frequent interactions and shared ownership.
expect uncertainty and manage for it through iterations, anticipation and adaptation.
unleash creativity and innovation by recognizing that individuals are the ultimate source of value, and creating an environment where they can make a difference.
boost performance through group accountability for results and shared responsibility for team effectiveness.
improve effectiveness and reliability through situationally specific strategies, processes and practices."

6. The 2005 “Declaration of Inter-Dependence” for agile-adaptive project-product managment
10 project Critical Success Factors and the role of the PM in even rabidly agile projects
How to find useful PM strategy ‘nuggets’ right under your nose
Using agile strategies in everyday situations

7. Historically, “agile” is low-ceremony, light process and people-communication-intensive
“When you want your boat to go fast, it is easier to cut anchors than add horsepower.” -- Luke Hohmann
Common Practices
Delivery working product often
Colocate team members
Write schedule in bits of
paper hung on the wall
Lighten or dump the
heavy requirements document,
heavy project plan,
long status mtgs
Decentralized Control
(Revenge of the laborers)
“We don’t need no stinkin’ project managers tellin’ us what to do !”
(in actuality,
Reallocation
of Control)

8. Always, the players in the game are PEOPLE - and People are stuffed full of personality
Methodology
Ecosystem
Values
Values
Activities
Milestones
Jenny
Jim
Peter
Annika
Quality
Process
Teams
Tester
Designer
Documenter
Project manager
Products
Techniques
Roles
People
Standards
Tools
Skills
Personality

9. 10 Critical Project Factors.
Nourishment from Executive Sponsors
(decisions, money)
Community
(communication, amicability)
Focus
(known priorities, focus time)
Incremental
development
& Reflection
People
(abilities, motivation)

10. Amicability & Goal alignment
Amicability : Willingness to listen with good will
Low “amicability index” means people block the flow of information, intentionally or through not listening well.
“Amicability index” indicates how easily information passes from one part of the organization to another.
Goal alignment
Normal team
Aligned team

11. (communication, amicability) (known priorities, focus time)
Role of the Project Manager on modern projects: Pull in support, motivate team, block interrupts.
Sponsor(s)
Interruptions
Decisions $
Visibility X PM
Community
(communication, amicability)
Focus
(known priorities, focus time)
Nourishment from Executive Sponsors
(decisions, money)
People
(abilities, motivation)
Incremental
development
& Reflection
Communication
Amicability
Priorities
Focus time
Skills development
Motivation
Reflection
developers

12. The Project Manager’s timeline
Executing & Steering (& more Planning)
Initiating
Planning
Closing
Initiating
Mission statement (1-2 pages)
Project priorities chart
Planning
Project map (low-resolution PERT chart, no times)
Blitz planning technique
Allocation of people & times to project map (schedule)
Executing & Steering
Strategies to avoid & get out of trouble
Strong-visibility status charts (information radiators)
Pause, reflect, change (both process & plan!)
Closing - (retrospectives)

13. The 2005 “Declaration of Inter-Dependence” for agile-adaptive project-product managment
10 project Critical Success Factors and the role of the PM in even rabidly agile projects
How to find useful PM strategy ‘nuggets’ right under your nose
Using agile strategies in everyday situations

14. Create your own ‘nuggets’ by introspection into “short war stories with happy endings”
1. Identify a time when things got ‘better’.
2. Examine the story in slow motion and identify the turning point.
3. Locate the principle.
4. Find 2 more projects with the same principle and same type of positive shift.
5. Truth-in-advertising: Name the side effects and overdose effect.

15. Project management requires Detecting and creatively (avoiding) (getting out of) messes.
Osmotic Communication
Expert in Earshot
Cone of Silence
Early Victory
Early and Regular Delivery
Walking Skeleton
Incremental Rearchitecture
Sacrifice One Person
QA-Rotation
SWAT-fix team
Cross-specialized Team
Function / Component Owners
Pause, Reflect, Change
Timeout/Regroup
Part-Timers as Advisors
Process Miniature
Progress & Training Teams
Rejoining Streams
Short-horizon planning
Spare Leader Capacity
Spike
Gold Rush
Project 360°
Safe Solutioning Session

16. Write your ‘nuggets’ as ‘prescriptive medication’:
PRODUCTIVITY: Gold Rush
You can’t wait for requirements to settle,
so...
Action: Start design and programming immediately; adjust requirements weekly.
Requires: Good communications
Side effect: Manage communications, plan for rework!
Overdose: Rework holds up the project
Example:
Concurrent development (Winifred)

17. TEAM BUILDING: Walking Skeleton
Action: Connect the architecture together with simple “hello, world” function as 1st running code.
Build up both infrastructure & function from there.
Benefits: Early Victory, executing architecture,
Allows parallel development
Side effect: Must manage rework of infrastructure during function development
Overdose: Too simplistic: over-rework of infrastructure delays project
Examples:
NBO project

18. TEAM BUILDING: Early Victory
Action: Ensure the team delivers something as early as possible, even if only a Walking Skeleton.
Benefits: Team learns each other, process
Sponsor sees team working together
Side effect: Must manage expecations for early delivery
Overdose: Too simple = Not enough process exercised, not real confidence built
Examples:
Walking Skeleton

19. The 2005 “Declaration of Inter-Dependence” for agile-adaptive project-product managment
10 project Critical Success Factors and the role of the PM in even rabidly agile projects
How to find useful PM strategy ‘nuggets’ right under your nose
Using agile strategies in everyday situations

20. Agile techniques on non-sw projects
Kids’ Homework:
Walking Skeleton, Increments, Continuous integration
Book Publishing:
Colocation, Concurrent development
Building a basement under our house:
Daily stand-up, Revise the plan, Plan/Don’t plan ahead
Packing the House under Deadline:
Incremental by room, Burn-down chart

21. (communication, amicability) (known priorities, focus time)
Role of the Project Manager on modern projects: Pull in support, motivate team, block interrupts.
Sponsor(s)
Visibility
Decisions $
Interruptions X PM
developers
Communication
Amicability
Priorities
Focus time
Skills development
Motivation
Reflection
Community
(communication, amicability)
Focus
(known priorities, focus time)
Nourishment from Executive Sponsors
(decisions, money)
People
(abilities, motivation)
Incremental
development
& Reflection