Extreme Project Management > Agile People Management

Agile adoption outside of software is nothing new--it dates back very close to the origin of today’s agile methods, predating the term “agile”. However, what is new and noteworthy is the rate and scale of non-software agile adoption being witnessed today. Now--as more companies than ever are exposed to agile methods in their IT practices--these methods are being employed beyond the regular IT domain.

As agile methods continue to gain in popularity and Project Management Institute events offer more and more agile content, the demand for agile-related offerings has increased substantially. Is this new certification offering a good idea, and what does it mean for you?

There is a huge difference between using Agile practices and being Agile. Here, a chief engineer discusses his organization’s strides in creating an Agile mindset and a customized approach to producing high-quality work in short time frames. The journey offers practical advice and techniques to those getting started or struggling with Agile transformation.

As a manger or coach, if you don’t change a pacesetter’s behavior you run a high risk of being held hostage by one person’s abilities--and pay a cost in team productivity. This article is about a pacesetter as a team member on an agile software development team. We will explain what a pacesetter is, why it’s a problem and the effect that a pacesetter has on agile software development.

At the heart of agile methods is the key tenet that teams and teamwork are better than individual contributions and effort. Here we explore the key factors and attributes of teams and teamwork for agile project management.

Agile says less is almost always better — less documentation, less process, less intrusion from management. So how can a “less is more” approach be applied to complex projects with larger teams? By creating sub-teams that still work independently, but do much more of one thing: collaboration.

Agile methods deliver many benefits in terms of their flexibility to cope with changing requirements and priorities. However, this adaptability and reluctance to be tied down on scope can create contract problems when trying to form supplier agreements or outsource work. Part 1 of our two-part series covers the challenges of agile contracting and offers some of the packaged solutions created so far.

How do we get team members to a state of wanting to proactively pull work from a backlog of features at a high pace? If they are not there already (and many might be closer than you think), then it will likely require some coaching and a little team motivation.

Despite this global recession, the competitive landscape keeps becoming more urgent and faster paced. You will be expected to keep managing new projects to keep your organization competitive--but will do so with less (and exhausted) resources, tight budgets and more scrutiny for success. How does one meet such challenges and succeed? One of the agile practices tailor made for such an environment is the Lean method.

There is lots of great information available on how to use agile methods for custom software development projects, but less so for package implementations. Commercial-Off-The-Shelf solutions make up a large percentage of the IT projects undertaken by companies each year, and many organizations are missing out on benefits that an agile package approach can bring.

As a manger or coach, if you don’t change a pacesetter’s behavior you run a high risk of being held hostage by one person’s abilities--and pay a cost in team productivity. This article is about a pacesetter as a team member on an agile software development team. In this installment, we discuss useful approaches to dealing with these sometimes problematic people.

A new agile procurement process--one that can operate in conjunction with and alongside an agile software development methodology--should significantly improve both the procurement of software vendor’s services and and successful delivery of software projects. This article will explore the underlying principles as well as map the reconciliation points required to harmonize agile development and procurement methods.

Agile team dynamics are crucial, but most people don't have the time they want or need to read about and practice these topics. Luckily, this list of the Top 10 Team Practices will remind you of some of the basic points.

Agile methods are powerful approaches that bring many benefits to how we undertake project work. However, they are not immune to misuse or failure. The following list of five common pitfalls is often seen in organizations switching to agile.

Are you helping others to keep you in the dark? If organizations want to realize the benefits of agile methods, managers need to act on the problems that bubble up from teams, deal with unexpected events on projects and proactively find and fix problems that derail projects.

Some managers are not accustomed to the management transparency that agile requires--it can push managers past their comfort zone. When that happens, the product and the project team’s process is at risk. Who better to fight for the team than an agile project manager?

Agile methods emphasize and encourage the creation of empowered teams, but is empowerment enough? No...but the good news is that agile teams are halfway there. The stepping stone to autonomy that empowered teams have is a huge leg up on those people caught in command-and-control hierarchies.

While there are advantages to keeping Stand-Up meetings focused and short, there is more to the process than the typical ritual. Here we present five key things you should keep in mind before and after each meeting.

The new PMI Agile Community is set to launch soon. To some people this may seem an unlikely alliance, but it will bring useful connections to many.

Managers can play an even more valuable role in organizations as teams become self-organizing and take on more responsibility. But if managers want teams to take more self-responsibility, they need to shift their focus from monitoring the day-to-day work of individuals and let teams grow up. Here are three common areas of confusion as managers and teams negotiate their new relationships.

A recent presentation drew this writer in with its promise of project management lessons. But it kept him there with its intriguing outlook with an unlikely connection: that the solutions offered for an individual with ADD to try and manage their “disorder” were often a direct match with agile practices.

We all want Subject Matter Experts, but what happens if we get Subject Matter Zeros? How does that impact your schedule, and what about team members who have “other project commitments”? Before you know it, that six-month schedule that looked pretty comfortable is looking like a fairy tale.

QA in an Agile environment is very different…are your teams ready? Here we look at how QA needs to evolve in order to best support Agile development practices.

Part 1 of this two-part series introduces the agile engineering principles and practices that, when implemented, enable some teams and their respective organizations to build high-quality software very quickly that will please customers. Organizations embracing these practices--when used in conjunction with agile and lean management practices--can gain delivery advantages on their competitors while managing lower maintenance and support costs in the long term.

Does the use of agile project management require new contract models in order to be successful? Can agile project management be used with traditional fixed-price contracts? Does agile project management require a new type of contract (and if so, what kinds)? Furthermore, wouldn’t a new type of contract discourage the use of agile PM?

There’s plenty of pressure to try to finish projects faster. Sometimes that pressure comes from outside the team, from our managers. When it does, the team can succumb to two common agile schedule games: “Double Your Velocity” and “Everyone Start Your Own Story.” If you face these games, you do have options before they destroy your project.

Agile practices are not intrinsically “value-adding” — they must be aligned to business needs and goals in order to provide true value. By measuring their agility based on compliance with a particular method, organizations may prevent their teams from adapting practices to suit projects with different characteristics and needs.

The next time you start a project, consider the obituary exercise. It might be just the right tool for giving the naysayer’s their voice--and then uniting the team around appropriate risk mitigation and avoidance strategies.

Does your PMO Produce Multiple Obstacles for your project or Promote Many Opportunities for success? PMOs often get a bad reputation on agile teams, but it need not be that way--they can also add tremendous support and be a great help.

It’s time for Agile to get beyond the “small team in a single room with a whiteboard” and address the “full puzzle” — value creation across the enterprise. Here, Scott Ambler discusses the community’s challenges moving forward, including scaling to the enterprise, certification ethics and software development bias.

The Critical Chain approach to executing projects has been compared to Lean, which also shares common ground with Agile-related techniques such as Kanban. Is there untapped synergy between Critical Chain and Agile methods? A recent conference helped to shine light on their similarities and key differences.

Although the role of the business stakeholder has evolved using agile as a methodology, the business need or pesky constraint typically remains for delivering functionality by a particular date. Hence, project success many times is still measured by delivering functionality by a pre-defined date to meet business goals. Here we offer some suggestions to try if your organization is using an agile methodology--yet expected to deliver a large-scale project that has the same constraints that have existed over time.

A rocket won’t overcome gravity's pull without the right trajectory and energy. Likewise, a project needs systems in place at launch to have a chance of soaring. In this excerpt, we set the stage for a successful liftoff, which requires a shared understanding of team roles and objectives. An agile chartering framework can help.

Ever stop to ponder all the different PM frameworks that have been developed over the years and which one you should be using in your organization? Is there really one best framework out there? The options are dizzying, so here we take a look at four of them in depth. What can they do for you? Remember, one size does not fit all...

Alistair Cockburn organized an event to celebrate and consider the Agile Manifesto 10 years later. It gathered 33 members of the agile community to discuss what agile has solved, what is unsolvable and what remains to be solved. Here, Cockburn shares his thoughts on what was (and wasn’t) accomplished at the event, and where Agile is headed.

Does the process of scaling Agile in large organizations destroy its value? What can be done when its principles clash with corporate culture? Applying simple rules that reinforce Agile values can sow seeds of change and produce far-reaching results. Let’s explore, including suggestions from Diana Larsen and Esther Derby.

There’s an insidious management problem when many teams transition to agile: when the project team is supposed to work on more than one project at a time. Is multitasking killing your agile project?

An anniversary event in Utah celebrates the Agile Manifesto, gathering five of the original authors and others to address future industry challenges.

The agile experiment has been a failure for many people. Is agile PM just a bad idea? An agile approach to executing a project can be extremely successful and can deliver benefits to customers, team members and the organization as a whole--but it needs to be conducted in the right environment.

The first decade of the new millennium brought agile software development to the fore. What was learned and what does the future hold? Agile innovator and observer David A. Thomas offers his opinions.

Organizations and teams must come to understand why they need agile before choosing a methodology or tool to implement it. A mandate alone will not work. It is the overarching goals, values and principles of Agile that must ultimately guide teams in the adoption and adaptation of its practices.

Agile Leadership Network board president Rob Mac Iver summarizes his highlights at the recent Agile2011 Conference in Salt Lake City, including the event's first Executive Forum.

This will be the first in a series of articles that will look to provide the background of issues involved with managing an agile software development project under a traditionally linear and sequential project procurement process. Software development has been deliberately chosen for the example industry since that’s the domain for which agile is most typically used, but for those using agile in other industry domains, the general issues and proposed solution should work equally well within your industry.

There’s going to be a lot more talk about Agile now that the Project Management Institute has introduced a new certification program for Agile Project Practitioners. Let’s clear up some initial confusion and look at what Agile is and is not, and why you should care.

Especially in agile programs, the program architect and the program manager work together to provide business value to the organization. It’s difficult, intense and fun...and full of some myths that need clearing up.

International Institute of Business Analysis and Agile Alliance seek feedback from users of new Agile Extension to BABOK Guide.

Are agile methods really as innocent as they appear, or really just a cover for some dodgy dealings? This exposé blows the lid off agile’s real motives.

Do you want to supercharge your team, but have been told that slapping is not allowed? You could try free energy drinks and subliminal messages in your PowerPoint slides, but finding out what people value is probably a better way to go. This article explores how better to align project objectives with personal objectives to increase team motivation.