Agile Project Management

Jim Highsmith

Chapter 1
The Agile Revolution
 Ultimate customer value is delivered at
the point-of-sale, not the point-of-plan
The key … opportunity, uncertainty, and risk resides in
the proposed product – not in the approach to project
management.
“Build quick, but don’t hurry”
John Wooden
Do the right things, but learn how to do them quickly.
Strip away the overhead, the non-value-adding
activities.
Anyone who practices ad hoc development under the
guise of Agile Methods is an imposter
Not linear thinking, prescriptive processes, and
standardized practices!
Development processes must change from anticipatory
to adaptive….
Project management must change!
What is needed… mobility, experimentation, and speed.
… and geared to business objectives
 Agile Business Objectives
1. Continuous innovation
Innovative ideas are not generated in structured, authoritarian
environments but in an adaptive culture based on the
principles of self-organization and self-discipline.
2. Product adaptability
Lowering technical debt (improving the ability to adapt)
3. Improved time-to-market
The iterative, feature based process improves time to market
in three ways: focus, streamlining, and skill development
1st: Constant attention to product features and their prioritization
reduces overall workload
2nd: Concentrates on value-added activities, elimination overhead and
compliance activities
3rd: Focus is on selecting the right skill for project team members and
molding them into productive teams
 Agile Business Objectives
4. People and process adaptability
Team must be adaptable… its members comfortable with
change
Learning and adapting is an integral part of delivering value to
customers
5. Reliable results
Production processes are designed to be repeatable
A repeatable process is one in which doing the same thing in the same
way produces the same results.
One that is reliable delivers regardless of the impediments
thrown in the way – reliability means constantly adapting to
meet a goal.
 Agile Business Objectives
5. Reliable results (continued)
Exploration processes are not repeatable
Because of the uncertainty surrounding requirements and new
technology, known, completely pre-specified results are not possible
… but a releasable product that meets customer goals and business
requirements as they become known … can be delivered.
To deliver a valuable product to a customer within some
targeted boundaries, when change and deadlines are
significant factors, then reliable Agile processes work better.
 Agility Defined
“Agility is the ability to both create and respond to
change in order to profit in a turbulent business
environment.”

“Agility is the ability to balance flexibility and stability”

Highsmith (2002)

“In high-performance teams, “the leaders managed the

principles, and the principles managed the team.”
Carl Larson and Frank LaFasto (1989)
 Key values for agile leaders:
A traditional project manager focuses on following the plan with minimal
changes, whereas an agile leader focuses on adapting successfully to inevitable
changes

• Delivering value over meeting constraints

(Value over Constraints)
• Leading the team over managing tasks
(Team over Tasks)
• Adapting to change over conforming to plans
(Adapting over conforming)

The core value of an egalitarian meritocracy runs deep in the agile movement.
It is surely not the only core value that can produce products, but it is a core
value that defines how the majority of agilists view themselves.
 Two Sources of Agile Values
Principles, or “rules” .. affect how tools and practices
are implemented.
Practices are how principles are acted out.
They help in making product decisions and evaluating
development practices.
Agile values:
1. Manifesto for Agile Software Development
Developed with software development as the focus
2. Declaration of Interdependence
Developed with the project leader as the focus
 The Declaration of Interdependence
Agile and adaptive approaches for linking people, projects and value
We increase return on investment by making continuous flow of value our focus.

We deliver reliable results by engaging customers in frequent interactions and shared

ownership.

We expect uncertainty and manage for it through iterations, anticipation, and adaptation.

We unleash creativity and innovation by recognizing that individuals are the ultimate source
of value, and creating an environment where they can make a difference.

We boost performance through group accountability for results and shared responsibility for
team effectiveness.

We improve effectiveness and reliability through situationally specific strategies, processes

and practices.

©2005 David Anderson, Sanjiv Augustine, Christopher Avery, Alistair Cockburn, Mike Cohn, Doug DeCarlo, Donna
Fitzgerald, Jim Highsmith, Ole Jepsen, Lowell Lindstrom, Todd Little, Kent McDonald, Pollyanna Pixton, Preston Smith
and Robert Wysocki.
 Agile Manifesto
We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping
others do it. Through this work we have come to value:

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on
the left more.
Kent Beck James Grenning C. Martin
Mike Beedle Jim Highsmith Steve Mellor
Arie van Andrew Hunt Ken Schwaber
Bennekum Ron Jeffries Jeff Sutherland
Alistair Cockburn Jon Kern Dave Thomas
Ward Cunningham Brian Marick
Martin Fowler
© 2001, the above authors
This declaration may be freely copied in any form,
but only in its entirety through this notice.
 Principles behind the Agile Manifesto
We follow these 12 principles:

1. Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and

continuous delivery of valuable software.

2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile

processes harness change for the customer's competitive advantage.

3. Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple

of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.

4. Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the
project.

5. Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment

and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.

6. The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and

within a development team is face-to-face conversation.
 Principles behind the Agile Manifesto
We follow these 12 principles:

7. Working software is the primary measure of progress.

8. Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors,

developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace
indefinitely.

9. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances

agility.

10. Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount of work not done--is

essential.

11. The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-
organizing teams.

12. At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective,
then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly
Traditional Iron Triangle of Project Management

• Rarely can you change 1 constraint without impacting the

others.
• Scope is typically the primary driver (assumes scope is
known early in the project)
• Cost and Schedule varied.
 Agile Triangle

This delivers
the value to
the customer

Scope

Scope

Cost
Cost Schedule

These are
The enablers

Constraints are still important but not the only driver!

 Agile Project Management Framework (APM)
Again…
“Production-oriented project management processes and
practices emphasize complete early planning and
requirements specification with minimal ongoing
change.
Exploration-based processes emphasize nominal early
planning, good enough requirements, and experimental
and evolutionary design with significant ongoing
learning and change.”
 APM Delivery Approach

Five phases…
Envision, Speculate, Explore, Adapt, and Close
Highlights of 3rd Annual State of Agile Development
(2008 Survey Results)
Teams practicing Agile Development are increasing and
getting more distributed
– 32% of respondents from development groups with over
250 people
– 76& of respondents from development with over 20 people
Agile development is delivering meaningful and
measurable business results. Respondents reporting
specific improvements greater than 10% include:
– Increased productivity – 89% of respondents
– Reduced Software Defects – 84% of respondents
– Accelerated time to market – 82% of respondents
– Reduced Cost – 66% of respondents