In the shifting horizons of modern and dynamic business environments, the distinction between planning and execution is diminished. In such situations if the project manager focuses more on planning part and less on execution, he is setting himself up for disappointment and annoyance.
In the agile arena, the project manager’s role is moved from planning to execution. While executing the project, crucial decisions are made that determine project’s result. It does not mean that the areas of project definition and planning are ignored, just that their focus is shifted to decision-support during project execution rather than making them all up-front.
Here is the equation of agile project management:
Agile Project Management = (Uncertainty + Unique Expertise) X Speed
Uncertainty, Unique Expertise and Speed are the key factors in an agile project. Let’s examine each factor one by one.
Uncertainty: Project uncertainty is the #1 driver for the qualifying “agile” as project management methodology. Two types of project uncertainties are out there.
- Internal: Internal uncertainties are more or less in control of the project manager. Here are some examples of internal uncertainties
- Technical obstacles
- Changes in project plans
- Schedule
- Scope
- Resources
- Decisions
- External: External uncertainties are not very much under the control of the project manager. Here are some examples of external uncertainties:
- Changing customer requirements
- Competition
- Changes in the industry specific business environment,
- Changes in the business strategies
Unique Expertise: Projects which are based on the innovation generally make use of unique expertise. Companies like Google which has exhibited enormous growth in the web based search field have used their people’s unique expertise at its best. There is no substitute of such people’s strength and they are just not interchangeable with another resource or person as in classic project management. Making optimum use of the unique expertise is a key success factor in an agile project.
Speed: Speed of execution is the multiplying and final factor of agile project management methodology. An important thing to understand is that “speed” does not mean “fast” but “quickness” in agile!
Completing projects at the speed of light is the universal desire of management all around the world. The dynamics of the urgency are often driven by the financial security or by the level of competition. The tool speed becomes really instrumental while fighting with the competitors.
In the practical world, a perfect project plan never becomes reality. As the pressure increases to move faster, planning decisions are made with less and less information. The essence of project management is constantly growing and changing to meet the many varied needs of projects and agile seems to be a good answer to that.
Focus of agile is more on “What” rather than “How” and, the “Agile what” is much more than what a project manager usually does. It includes understanding business drivers, developing the right project management infrastructure and fostering a supporting project management environment. It is not “All or Nothing” kind of methodology. There are ways where classic project management and agile can be combined and something new is created which makes the most sense.
This is just a start of agile thinking and it will go further. Any ideas or thoughts on this subject are most welcome.
See Also:
{ 1 trackback }