The Agile Project Management Declaration of Independence

November 21, 2008

When most of us think of agile, we immediately think of software development. But really, there’s no reason why agile methods can’t be applied to work in other industries, provided there is enough work to fill multiple iterations. Considering that fact, I’m reminded that agile has more to do with project management than it does development: Software is simply the industry where this type of iterative, incremental development has made the biggest impact.

I recently learned when reading up on the Agile Manifesto that, after it was written in 2001, a group including original signatories Mike Cohn, Alistair Cockburn, and Jim Highsmith attempted to expand the Agile Manifesto to include management practices. Four years later, they published the agile project management “Declaration of Independence,” which outlined managerial practices that enable agility. Looking at the list, it’s clear how, even in a few short years, these principles have become part and parcel with agile development.

Here’s the full list of six practices (from Alistair Cockburn’s website):

“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.”

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Timeboxing

November 21, 2008

One of the characteristics of all agile methods of project management is timeboxing — the practice of limiting activities to a particular amount of time. As I’ve mentioned, my team uses Scrum and its processes employ timeboxing to great effect. Of course, the basic idea is that timeboxing prevents teams from getting too hung up on requirements gathering (“analysis paralysis”) and forces them to get to work. If you’ve never worked in an agile environment, then this might sound a little chaotic. I can imagine a traditional project manager wondering how a team is supposed to proceed without first creating a detailed plan. Scrum — or any other agile method, for that matter — doesn’t endorse moving forward without a plan. Frankly, that would be impossible. But it does tell developers not to worry about identifying every possible requirement for a project before getting started. In Scrum, you develop incrementally, so the requirements scope can be defined as development progresses. Again, the value of timeboxing is to simply force a development team to commit to a starting point — usually, just some basic functionality. As they continue to develop, the rest of the requirements will begin to surface.

How does Scrum use timeboxing? On a macro level, the Scrum work cycle is made up of sprints, which are repeatable increments of time. For my team, sprints last two weeks. When each work cadence is capped at a particular time (such as two weeks), the team (in conjunction with the Product Owner) is forced to make decisions about what it can accomplish in that time. Of course, that means that some functionality will have to be developed in future sprints; not everything can be done at once. But again, the idea is to get the team moving toward sprint goals as quickly as possible.

Probably the best example of timeboxing in Scrum is the daily standup meeting, in which team members come together for a quick check-in. Each team member has one minute to report on what they accomplished since the last meeting, what they’ll be focusing on until the next one, and what impediments stand in their way. Even if a team member hasn’t delivered a full report, at the one-minute mark, he or she must stop speaking to allow the next team member to deliver an update. To enforce the timebox, many teams use a timer or a talking stick. But, again, the goal is to help the team maximize its time by curtailing superfluous speculation and spurring action.

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Agile Conference 2008

November 4, 2008

Here’s an interesting video I reposted from the Agile Journal website: an interview at the Agile 2008 conference in Toronto between Agile Journal reporter Patrick Egan and Victor Szalvay, co-founder of Danube Technologies, Inc. and Product Owner for the ScrumWorks Pro agile management tool. It only clocks in at about five minutes, but, in that time, Patrick and Victor cover a lot of ground. Topics discussed include agile adoption trends; the evolution of agile tooling solutions; common challenges organizations face when adopting agile; and how Danube uses Scrum to manage all their projects, from budget forecasting to marketing.

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