Network Diagrams


Network diagrams (see Figure 7-4) work well for agile projects because they can convey the overall project landscape without much detail, which is what we need at the outset of an agile project. Focusing on the details is effective for a relatively predictable project, but is often a waste of time when operating in an environment of constant change. If a project reaches a decision point and goes one way instead of another, then the effort to define and estimate details along the unused pathway is wasted. Because we know that much of our plan (prepared as a network diagram) will not be used, details in the agile project are worked out only as the certainty of taking a specific pathway is solidified, thereby minimizing wasted planning effort.

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Figure 7-4: Network diagrams provide a high-level view of a project, especially when there are multiple pathways and decision points, without going into great detail.

Combining Network Diagrams and Gantt Charts

In the classic project, the up-front planning effort focuses on identifying project details along the primary path, and so the project manager's main duty after completion of the plan is managing the project execution. That's not necessarily the case in an agile environment. The agile project still needs to do detailed planning to be successful; it's just not all done in the initial planning effort. Up-front agile planning revolves around identifying pathways and decision points, but the details evolve as the project progresses and uncertainty diminishes. While the network diagram lays out the high-level plan, the Gantt chart can be put into play to document the details of a specific pathway (see Figure 7-5).

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Figure 7-5: Gantt chart overlaid on a network diagram.

In the agile project, the advance planning effort can be reduced to a high-level end-to-end plan (network diagram), plus a detailed plan (Gantt chart) looking out to the foreseeable horizon. The detailed part should consider two dimensions. The first is related to the uncertainty at hand. For example, only provide detailed plans leading up to a critical decision point so the team doesn't waste energy planning to go down one road only to later find out that it's a dead end. The second dimension is related to time. For example, you may decide to always have a detailed plan looking three months out no matter what, so that other team members, support organizations, and management can make their plans accordingly.

Agile Strategy

Create your project plan in two parts: a high-level, end-to-end network diagram, plus a commitment-based Gantt chart leading to foreseeable milestones.

This leads us to a critical concept regarding planning for agile projects. You need to make planning a normal part of managing the project. Plans must be constantly updated based on the latest information that becomes available throughout the project's duration. Another way to think of planning for agile project management is that it is a constant but low-effort activity, rather than the traditional high-effort up-front activity (see Figure 7-6).

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Figure 7-6: The approach to planning in an agile versus classic environment.

As further illustrated in Figure 7-7, the overall effort allocated to project planning (the area under the curve) may be very similar to the classic methods that you are probably more familiar with. It's just that your efforts are allocated differently over the course of the project.

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Figure 7-7: Planning effort over time using agile and classic planning methods.

Agile Strategy

Plan to make planning a continuing effort throughout your project, rather than a single, large effort up-front.

The project manager leads the planning activity, and his key challenge in this area is to show the project team the value of planning in an agile environment. Your team needs to understand what to expect if you want their buy-in and support for the process. Management also needs to understand this new paradigm so that they can make decisions in the proper context. An up-front discussion with the entire team on how the planning process will be tuned for agility is critical.




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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