Do you have any advice or feedback on a semi agile project whose scope is not complete in Jira but the budget will not change.
The roadmap remains abstract while a detailed schedule is expected.
Thank you Saving Changes...
Assuming "something" which minimally meets stakeholder needs can be delivered within the fixed budget, you'd focus on delivering MBIs in a logical sequence until either you run out of money or your stakeholders feel that no further enhancements are needed. This is achievable when the team has some confidence that the cost constraint is realistic, less so when the project is very unique or complex...
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1 reply by Hicham MOULINE
Jul 07, 2021 4:51 PM
Hicham MOULINE
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Indeed, I initiated a phased roadmap. Each phase builds a part of the product and the following phase completes it. However, until all user stories have been created and costed, the detailed schedule is not yet visible.
Assuming "something" which minimally meets stakeholder needs can be delivered within the fixed budget, you'd focus on delivering MBIs in a logical sequence until either you run out of money or your stakeholders feel that no further enhancements are needed. This is achievable when the team has some confidence that the cost constraint is realistic, less so when the project is very unique or complex...
Indeed, I initiated a phased roadmap. Each phase builds a part of the product and the following phase completes it. However, until all user stories have been created and costed, the detailed schedule is not yet visible. Saving Changes...
Many times it is difficult for customers to clearly explain what is good enough, but they are never hesitant to tell you when you didn't meet their expectations.
Can you help them better define the scope? I would expect a clearly defined problem statement at a minimum, some type of quality attributes that describe what differentiates a good solution from a poor one (not necessarily measurable KPIs at this point), a high level description of the solution approach, and a high level WBS to show how that translates to work.
That may give you the customer's wish list, so you need to need to review with them to establish the must have requirements, vs. desirable objectives. That way you can at least focus on the critical few items if you aren't certain you can achieve everything on your fixed budget.
You can estimate what it takes to deliver the critical few, and can then see what you have left (if anything) to work on the objectives after the requirements. Saving Changes...
Marek RudnickiPMO, Program Management, Project Management, Business Development| FreelancerPoland
... and dot forget to plan risk contingencies (money), still within the given budget. e.g assume your real budget is even lower. Saving Changes...
Shivanjali BhutkarBringing Technology and Business togetherNa, Ca, United States
Critical requirements vs nice to have needs to be defined. Also in critical requirements not all may be possible in given fixed budget, so create list what minimum is possible within your budget. Do keep buffer for handling unknowns. Saving Changes...
Teodora TodorovaIT Project Manager| INDUSTRIA TechnologySofia, Bulgaria
I recently worked on such a project - we had a fixed budget and also a timeline (the results of the project were supposed be ready for a certain event) and what the customer knew was really at the high level, more like a concept.
I completely agree on what was written above and would add only one additional element - manage the stakeholder expectations.
It is true that the must haves are the most important and you should start there but what happens if the must haves are so many that you can't fit into the fixed budget?
In my opinion in such cases the customer should be ready to de-scope as much as needed. And the project team should be very transparent what could be achieved and what not - it happens that the development of an element starts and it is more complex that anticipated, that means we can complete this one but won't be able to complete another. The customer should be ready to support these types of decisions. Saving Changes...
Peter RapinSubject Matter Expect; Project Delivery| Independent ConsultantOntario, Canada
It is important to know why the budget is fixed. This may allow you to find more effective ways to meet your client's basic requirements. Maybe the 'fixed budget' is a problem that needs to be solved and an effective solution can only be found knowing all the facts and constraints. Saving Changes...
Dear colleague,
If the project is fixed budget-based, the plan develops using adapting-scope functionalities. Indeed, the scope evolves during project execution according to emerging information coming from the feedback of clients-stakeholders, changes, new prioritization, etc. So, it is crucial to define the priorities defined on the roadmap to update the release planning and the functionalities deliver in each iteration. Therefore, the contract should draft using an agile approach to adapt the functionalities and the deadlines according to the budget approved by iteration or duration of the time settled. (Time and material contract). Saving Changes...
