Topic Teasers Vol. 54: The Agile Project Manager

Have a question you would like to submit as a potential Topic Teaser? Send a message to Barbee Davis today!

 

I’ve been a project manager here for 15 years, but the teams are going agile and I’m concerned that I won’t still have a role to play in the organization, or even a job! I’m too young to retire. Short of retraining as a ScrumMaster, what value could I be to the organization as it does agile projects?

A. You may have to make your own suggestions to management to define a new role, but it could be a promotion of sorts if they would allow you to act as an Agile Project Manager.

B. As you mentioned, the ScrumMaster is the most important position for the agile team. If you refuse to retrain, perhaps you may need to move to another department, or even to another company with a more traditional approach to projects.

C. There is absolutely no difference between a ScrumMaster and a project manager. Just be willing to change your title and continue to do what you have always done to run a project. It’s just learning a few new names for things.

D. There is a new certification, the APM-STL, which stands for the Agile Project Manager-Senior Team Liaison. This person acts as a company representative between all agile internal teams and all corporate customers. While the training and testing price is very steep, it would be an excellent choice for your career moving forward.

(scroll down for answer...)

&…

Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.