Managing the Plan


The agile project manager cannot lose sight of his project plan, but he also doesn't have to obsess over it. We know that the plan is in a nearconstant state of change and that it needs to be maintained, but we also know that that's not our number-one priority. If we devote the bulk of our time to chasing the changing plan, we diminish our value to the team and will be (subconsciously) reverting to classic PM techniques in an agile environment. In the classic paradigm, control is very important for the project manager, and, in order to have control, you need a solid plan—thus the need to maintain an up-to-date plan. In the agile project, we spend more energy on information absorption and analysis, rather than constantly updating the plan.

In managing the plan for the agile project, the project manager needs to rely heavily on her facilitation and information manifold skills. Technical team members are often experts in a fairly small area, and they do not always see the bigger picture. This doesn't mean that they are not interested in the overall project, just that they may not have the bandwidth to stay abreast of everything in the project while still driving the part that they own. In fact, when presented with the "big picture" implications of various project alternatives, I've found that most technical people can readily assimilate the information and provide thoughtful feedback. These team members want to understand the entire scope of the project because it puts the project in a business perspective, and it enables them to understand the complexity and value of making the project successful. It is also helps them prepare for the inevitable course changes in the project down the road, because they always have the overall picture in the back of their heads.

Agile Strategy

Maintain a "big picture" view of the whole project (the technical and business sides) and keep it in front of the team. This provides a medium for soliciting high-level input from team members, as well as the opportunity for encouraging deeper engagement by individuals because they can see how their contributions fit into the larger picture.

One of the more frustrating project management duties is collecting the information necessary to track progress against the plan. This basically involves determining whether tasks have been completed as planned or are on track to be completed as planned, and if not, why and what is being done about it. In most cases, team members do not voluntarily come forward to report their individual status to the project manager. This results in one or both of the following scenarios. First, the project manager must follow up with each individual and ask about the status of their tasks. This never seems to be very comfortable, especially when tasks are behind schedule, and it certainly is not efficient for the project manager. Second, the project manager can call a meeting with the whole team at once, to review the status of all open tasks. This is more efficient for the project manager but highly inefficient for the team members. Valuable time during team meetings should be reserved for critical discussion, analysis, and brainstorming that can benefit from the synergy of the whole team and not be wasted on mundane status collection activities. This seemingly basic project management activity can seriously bog down a project if not handled properly. Creating a status collection process during the project definition stage, discussing it with the team, and including it in the project communications plan will go a long way toward increasing agility.

Agile Strategy

Define, discuss, and gain up-front agreement on a mechanism/practice that sets expectations regarding how and when individuals will report on the status of their tasks. You'll gain across-the-board efficiency during project execution as a result.




Agile Project Management(c) How to Succeed in the Face of Changing Project Requirements
Agile Project Management: How to Succeed in the Face of Changing Project Requirements
ISBN: 0814471765
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 96
Authors: Gary Chin

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