Breaking the addiction to process : an introduction to agile project management.

130 Pages·2011·1.74 MB·English

by  Elizabeth Scanlon Thomas

Breaking the Addiction to Process
An Introduction to Agile Project Management
Breaking the Addiction to
Process
An Introduction to Agile Project
Management

ELIZABETH SCANLON THOMAS
Every possible effort has been made to ensure that the information
contained in this book is accurate at the time of going to press, and the
publisher and the author cannot accept responsibility for any errors or
omissions, however caused. No responsibility for loss or damage
occasioned to any person acting, or refraining from action, as a result of
the material in this publication can be accepted by the publisher or the
author.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private
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and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored
or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with the prior permission
in writing of the publisher or, in the case of reprographic reproduction,
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terms should be sent to the publisher at the following address:

IT Governance Publishing
IT Governance Limited
Unit 3, Clive Court
Bartholomew’s Walk
Cambridgeshire Business Park
Ely
Cambridgeshire
CB7 4EH
United Kingdom

www.itgovernance.co.uk

© Elizabeth Scanlon Thomas 2011
The author has asserted the rights of the author under the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this
work.

First published in the United Kingdom in 2011
by IT Governance Publishing.

ISBN: 978-1-84928-177-5
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PREFACE
More and more IT companies are turning to Agile
methodologies because the traditional type of waterfall
project development is not working.
Old ways of working can be adhered to as a substitute for
thought. For example, in PRINCE2® methodology, there’s
an emphasis on getting certified and becoming familiar
with the thick tomes and multifarious processes that must
be followed. This is naturally attractive to government
projects and other environments, where there’s a temptation
to just follow the book and assume that things will come
out fine. But if this approach is good, why do so many
government projects overrun deadlines and exceed their
budgets?
However, there is a another way – and it’s called Agile.
You’re probably reading this book because your company
has decided to use Agile and you need a quick
understanding of the subject or you’ve led a failed project
and you’re looking for a different way to approach future
projects. Or perhaps you’re a project leader who wants to
try a more innovative approach to your work.
Becoming an Agile company starts with changing the way
you and your corporation think about software
development. Because that includes breaking the addiction
to old-fashioned processes (hiding behind spreadsheets and
slides, for example), you can think of this book as a sort of
12-step guide to help you change your mind-set.
Welcome to the flexible world of Agile. You’ll never look
at project development in the same way again.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elizabeth Scanlon Thomas is a documentation manager at
Nokia. She has a BA in English Literature from Stephens
College in Columbia, Missouri, and has studied at
Cambridge University and done post-graduate work in
English and Linguistics at New York University. Elizabeth
started out in advertising and marketing, worked as an
associate editor for a business magazine then moved into
writing for IT. In addition, Elizabeth has had columns
published in the Chicago Tribune and freelance articles in
other magazines. She is a member of the Nokia Agile
Community and the London Agile Community. She lives in
Reading with her husband and two children.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you to Kelly Waters and Steve Borthwick for
sending me original material to use. Also thanks to my
husband for editing and proofing the manuscript.
Thank you also to the following reviewers: ir. H.L.
(Maarten) Souw RE, IT-Auditor, UWV; Varinder Kumar,
Information Security Officer, ISMS and Infrastructure
Management, IRIS Business Services Limited, India; and
Antonio Velasco, CEO, Sinersys Technologies.
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CONTENTS

Introduction....................................................................11
Clinging to the old ways ................................................ 12
Why do projects fail? .................................................... 14
There’s a better way to run projects ............................... 16
Breaking the addiction to process .................................. 18
Chapter 1: Satisfy the Customer Through Early and
Continuous Delivery.......................................................25
The failure of traditional project management ............... 25
Welcome to the flexible world of Agile......................... 30
Delivering in increments ............................................... 32
Chapter 2: Welcome Changing Requirements.............38
No plan survives contact with the enemy ...................... 39
This is the way it used to happen ................................... 40
Planning in an Agile world ............................................ 41
How is Agile planning implemented?............................ 42
Tasks are estimated collaboratively ............................... 48
It’s essential to get the backlog right ............................. 51
Why we went Agile ....................................................... 52
Chapter 3: Deliver Working Software Frequently.......56
Produce code increments during a sprint ....................... 57
How much work has your team done? ........................... 59
Sprint retrospective ....................................................... 62
Transitioning a company to Agile ................................. 63
Chapter 4: Business People and Developers Work
Together Daily................................................................65
A continuous conversation ............................................ 65
Collaborative management ............................................ 67
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Contents
Chapter 5: Build Projects Around Motivated
Individuals........................................................................73(cid:1)
Engineers choose their own work...................................74(cid:1)
Giving up control............................................................75(cid:1)
Management must be serious about Agile......................75(cid:1)
Chapter 6: Convey Information via Face-to-Face
Conversation.....................................................................78(cid:1)
Jargon Blitz.....................................................................78(cid:1)
The Agile answer to death by PowerPoint®....................79(cid:1)
Where does the scrum fit in the Agile world?................81(cid:1)
The location of teams......................................................85(cid:1)
Chapter 7: Working Software is the Primary Measure
of Progress........................................................................88(cid:1)
Measuring results............................................................88(cid:1)
Not so many bottlenecks in Agile...................................90(cid:1)
Ways to implement the new approach............................91(cid:1)
Chapter 8: Maintain a Constant Pace Indefinitely.......94(cid:1)
Projects don’t have to be perfect.....................................95(cid:1)
Managing time in Agile mode........................................97(cid:1)
Shorten the time between planning and delivery............98(cid:1)
Chapter 9: Give Continuous Attention to Technical
Excellence........................................................................100(cid:1)
Test-driven development..............................................101(cid:1)
There might still be last-minute panic..........................102(cid:1)
Other areas need continuous attention, too...................103(cid:1)
Chapter 10: Simplify – Maximise the Amount of Work
Not Done.........................................................................106(cid:1)
Minimal engineering.....................................................107(cid:1)
Remove activity that adds no value..............................108(cid:1)
Reduce bureaucracy......................................................110(cid:1)
Chapter 11: Teams Self-Organise................................112(cid:1)
The office is a social environment................................113(cid:1)
Don’t manage like it’s 1959..........................................114(cid:1)

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