Project Management

Please login or join to subscribe to this thread

Are you a fan of Agile Project Management?

linkedin twitter facebook   Estimating  
avatar
Naricar Perez Quezon City, Philippines
Do you think Agile Project management is the new trend now in managing small and complex projects?
Sort By:
< 1 2 >
avatar
R. Max Wideman Mr.| AEW Services Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
Wayne, while it could be a step in the right direction, I don't know how you have found it, but in my exposure I have found that senior executives, especially CFOs are distinctly uncomfortable with the idea. They even have dfficulty with the idea that estimates should be expressed in ranges . . .
Max
avatar
Wayne Mack Retired| Retired South Riding, Va, United States
Max, I think you will find that C-Level executives might be more receptive to this message than one level down (department heads, etc.). The hot term in business today is "Agility" and often times IT and software development departments are viewed as part of the problem.


Remember where the CFO came from. The Accounting Department is not run as a project-based organization. The Accounting Department does not rely on estimates, yet I would probably guess the CFO feels he has more control over costs in Accounting than in software development. You can go back and make the same argument concerning sales, marketing, human resources, and even the old mainframe computer maintenance departments.


The business case is that their is a need to deliver small efforts quickly. Return on investment begins to be realized much earlier and the sunk costs of an out and out failure are mcu lower. The recurring costs are predictable and working at smaller increments allows adjustment based on real world realities.

There is a strong business case to be made for the value of an agile development approach as well as the argument that it reflects the current business practices in most departments. It will involve a cultural change and most of the objections will coming from department heads and senior leaders in those areas.

avatar
Donald Hennington New York, Ny, United States
Gartner has said that the majority of projects fail. The failures are rarely a function of development methodology. The most common cause is failure of the team to identify what it is is they're supposed to be delivering. Manage the deliverables and the methodology to make them reality will be obvious. Some may require traditional methods - other can accommodate agility. Your biggest enemy is rigidity.
avatar
Steve Alexander Program Lead Mesa, Az, United States
I believe agile methods have advantages. There is no perfect process; depending on the business and the project one could be better than the other.

I am a scrum master as well as product owner and I see an advantage in agile for our software development. It improves teamwork and communication. Everyone is responsible for the outcome.
< 1 2 >

Please login or join to reply

Content ID:
ADVERTISEMENTS

"We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it - and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again, and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one anymore."

- Mark Twain

ADVERTISEMENT

Sponsors







Vendor Events

See all Vendor Events

Newsletters

Jun 3: The Career Problem Facing New PMs
May 20: Your PM Career as a Project Life Cycle
May 13: The Big Lie After Layoffs

See all newsletters