How to Start an Agile Project following a Hybrid Approach

By Linky van der Merwe

As a Project Management Professional and Agile Practitioner, the startup of a new project is one of the most important activities to lead. There is a good chance that if you start well, you will also finish well.

How do you start an Agile project if you are working in an enterprise organization with a mix of projects ranging from the traditional plan-driven (waterfall) projects to agile projects to a more hybrid agile approach?

The purpose of this article is to provide you with guidelines for starting an agile project as an Agile Project Leader. It is based on my own experience as a professional project manager who has made the transition to following an agile approach.

Hybrid Agile

Let’s first clarify what I mean by a hybrid agile approach. Hybrid agile approaches typically combine traditional (predictive) and agile elements. Whereas a blended approach combine two (or more) similar approaches. So, using a combination of Scrum and XP is a blended agile approach since they are both agile to begin with.

According to Mike Griffiths, in his article on Projectmanagement.com, called “Flavors of Hybrid Agile”, he explains that the goal of combining project approaches is to create something better suited for our current environment than using either a pure agile or pure traditional (predictive) approach. He promotes the argument of being smart about the tools we use and to choose the best approaches for the circumstances we face. I have to agree with being pragmatic about this and to apply our efforts where we have the most influence. In the end it’s about the results.

Agile Project Lifecycle

One example of such a hybrid agile approach that I have worked with before, is below.

You start with a phase called Inception and in the case of a really large program, there will be pre-work, sometimes called the Pre-Inception. As expected you will do analysis, developing, testing and deploying in every iteration during Development . You still do development, testing and test automation in every sprint, but instead of releasing to production, you will release to a test environment (sometimes called Acceptance).

You then have a phase for testing that a new solution will work end-to-end, called Stabilization. This is usually applicable in an IT environment where the new solution (system) needs to integrate with multiple existing applications. In normal Agile, a test iteration at then end, is also called a ‘hardening sprint’.

Once the end-to-end testing has been completed, it will be followed by user acceptance testing, also known as UAT, where end-users will test actual business like scenarios to ensure that the new solution is performing as expected. Only when UAT is signed off, the solution is deployed to production during the Deployment phase.

During the Inception phase, you will review the Business Case (in the case of a formal strategic project), confirm the scope, plan for the project (sprints), ensure team members are trained, elaborate the requirements and establish the infrastructure plan, including hardware, software and various environments to work within (development, testing and production environments).

Startup

Typically, there needs to be a Project Kick-off workshop where the Product Vision and Scope of Work is shared with all the stakeholders. On a high level the business requirements, the in scope work, the key stakeholders as well as the agile approach are presented.

Next is the Release Planning where the conditions of satisfaction are agreed, for example the expected timeline for the project, the scope including the Product vision and roadmap, the epics (and user stories), as well as the budget.

The release plan activities will include agreement on the scope, in other words which epics and user stories will deliver the scope. Next you want to gain consensus on user story estimates. Then you need to determine the team’s capacity for completing the work. The activities are explained very well in this picture, adapted from ‘Mike Cohn – Agile Estimation and Planning’

If you are used to looking at a project planning as a process, it will look something like this.

The Team

Another important step in the startup process, is the Team Formation which will consist of several onboarding activities.

With each team that will be part of the project, you want to develop a Team Charter in which the project team’s vision, the objectives, and the team member roles and responsibilities are covered. The team also needs to develop a Working Agreement to agree aspects like:

Rules of communication
Capacity of team
Calendar
respond times for mails, questions
Decision making methods
Interpersonal relationships, & conflict management approaches
How Change Control will be dealt with
Other relevant topics

The Process

Whatever agile approach has been decided on by the Management and Development teams, as fit for purpose based on the context of the organization, it needs to be documented as a process and explained and agreed with the overall team members.

The Tools

One thing that my experience has taught me, is that you need sufficient tools to support your agile process. Many people love Excel, but it certainly won’t be enough. Although it could be a good starting point, there are people who like to export data from electronic systems and use Excel to track the progress of the work. Try to stick to one system that will be the single source of truth, especially if coordination is required among multiple Development teams.

The tools can be as simple as physical white boards with stickies, so that the work in every sprint is visible and the stickies can be moved during daily standups. Impediments can also be clearly indicated so that action can be taken.

The tools can also be electronic task management systems with ‘whiteboards’ that allow for backlog refinement and boards that will make the work visible for teams to share and discuss. There are multiple good tools available in the market today and it’s up to the organization to find a tool suitable for their needs.

Ready, steady, go

At the end of Inception phase, the backlog will be ready and in a healthy state. This means that User Stories are adhering to the INVEST principle (Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, Testable), they have acceptance criteria, estimates and meet the Definition of Ready (DOR), based on what was agreed for them to be ready.

The Product Owner(s) will work with the teams to prioritise the work and it will be an ongoing refinement process before every sprint. Feedback will be provided and based on the inspect and adapt principle of agile, there will be continuous improvement in every sprint.

This is a very short synopsis of what it entails to start an agile project successfully. The aim is to give guidance and to provide a logical sequence of steps to be taken. As always, every project is unique, every organization is different, and as an Agile project leader you need to take your context into consideration to decide on the best approach for your situation.

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June 18, 2020June 18, 2020 Linky

What is the State of Agile adoption today?

By Linky van der Merwe

The 14^th annual State of Agile report has been published by Digital.ai, formerly known as CollabNet VersionOne. The report documents the experiences of more than 1,100 IT and business professionals across a range of industries and roles worldwide. With 40,000 participants contributing over 14 years, the State of Agile report is the longest running and most widely cited Agile survey in the world and provides global enterprises with comprehensive data to benchmark and guide their Agile practices.

Key findings

Notable findings from the 14^th annual State of Agile report, completed in December 2019, include:

60 percent of respondents have increased speed to market
Risk and compliance continue to trend upward, as the value of identifying and measuring technical risk prior to deployment increased by 54 percent and the importance of automated audit compliance and governance across control points increased by 10 percent over last year.
A significant shift in Agile techniques occurred, as product road-mapping increased nine percent while release planning decreased 11 percent. Drivers for this change may include a general increase in continuous integration/continuous deployment and better-defined program increment planning.
The Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe^®) continues to be the most popular scaling method cited by respondents, increasing 5 percent over last year and outpacing the number two choice, Scrum@Scale, by 19 percent.
55 percent are planning to implement Value Stream Management (VSM) a combination of people, process, and technology that maps, optimizes, visualizes, measures, and governs business value flow from idea through development and into production.

Interesting demographic analysis is showing that companies with more than 20,000 people were more likely to be practicing Agile for at least five years. While companies with less than 1,000 people continue to mature quickly and are increasingly embracing a broader view of business agility by applying Agile principles to areas of the business outside development, IT, and operations.

How COVID-19 affected Agile adoption

In mid-May 2020, Digital.ai conducted a brief supplemental survey of respondents to learn how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their Agile adoption. The findings reveal:

55% say their company plans to increase the use of Agile in the next 12-14 months. This is an increase of 13 percent over the original survey completed just five months ago.
43% of organizations say their momentum for Agile adoption has increased over the past 90 days, with 15 percent saying it has increased significantly.
33% say they increased or expanded Agile adoption in the last 90 days to help manage distributed teams.

To find out what the survey reveals about Agile methods and practices, Agile benefits, scaling Agile, Agile Project Management tools, success and metrics as well as Devops and Value Stream Management, please download the 14^thState of Agile Report here.

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August 1, 2018August 2, 2023 Linky

5 Tech Tools for Agile Project Management

By Brian Thomas

Agile is taking the project management world by storm, and for good reason. Traditional methods of project management that rely on rigid timelines tend to break down when things change. On the other hand you have the Agile project management system that’s actually designed to handle change. With Agile, teams can easily adjust to any issues, setbacks, or new priorities that might arise throughout the process. Change happens all the time, even within Agile itself, so it’s best to make sure your team is prepared for it.

Using the Agile framework and being prepared for when things go awry is great, but you’re going to need to leverage technology to keep everyone on your team in the loop. Check out the top tech tools to keep your agile project on the right track!

Trello

Trello is a good option for getting your whole Agile team on the same page. One of the great things about Agile is that it encourages face-to-face team engagement, which often leads to the use of physical whiteboards. Since Trello functions similar to a classic whiteboard, it makes keeping your physical documentation up with your project management tool simple and effective. Once in Trello, you’re able to set up boards for you and your team. Within each board you can create lists, and then nest individual tasks underneath those lists. The flexibility Trello provides for users makes it perfect for Agile.

Asana

If you’re looking for a project management solution that’s simple and to-the-point, then check out Asana. Asana is an easy-to-use task management system to track progress on all of your team’s projects. Similar to Trello, you can set up task sections for your backlog, current sprint, complete, and any other grouping you might need.

Proggio

Instead of centering your Agile team around the tasks that need to be done, Proggio puts the focus on the actual team members themselves. Proggio makes it easy to visualize workflows to see what tasks need to be done, when they need to be done, and most importantly, who’s responsible for doing them.

Proggio’s ability to visualize how the team is functioning as a whole helps the team members understand why the work they’re doing is important and help the team build momentum to operate efficiently.

Proofhub

ProofHub is a comprehensive project management and collaboration tool designed to streamline workflows and improve team productivity. It offers a wide range of features, including task management, document sharing, team collaboration, time tracking, and more. It has been trusted by thousands of businesses and teams worldwide.

Binfire

Binfire is another Agile project management software tool that allows teams to seamlessly collaborate on projects and tasks in a simple and concise manner. Much like Trello and Poggio, within Binfire you and your team can use visualization tools such as a digital whiteboard to map out your systems and processes. However, with Binfire you can also utilize additional types of charts, markup PDFs, and chat on your team message board among other features.

Drag

Last but not least is Drag. Drag is a free chrome extension that lets you turn your gmail inbox into projects and their accompanying lists of tasks. If your team works within a single email account, such as the company’s “info@company.com” email, it’s perfect for organizing your gmail inbox into its own Agile system. Or if you’re just a big Agile fan and you want to turn your own personal inbox into an Agile workspace, you can do that as well!

There are many more great tools out there to help Agile teams maximize the efficiency of their workflows.

Find a great resource of curated and reviewed project management tools that is best to use for different industries such as creative, design, marketing, developers and other areas! Click here.

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About the Author:

Brian Thomas is from Enlightened Digital, a digital magazine dedicated to the top tech and business news, updates and analyses from around the web – your guide to everything at the cutting edge of technology.

April 3, 2018 Linky

A Visual Guide to the Scrum Methodology

By Simon Buehring

What is Scrum?

Scrum is an agile development framework used for managing product development. Like all other agile frameworks, Scrum boasts flexibility, team collaboration and iterative delivery.

This visual guide was developed to help you understand how the Scrum Methodology works. You can even download an A0 size version of the poster and print it to display in your office!

1) Select Scrum Team

One of the most difficult parts when creating a project is figuring out roles and responsibilities. Begin by identifying the roles people will take for the project.

The three roles on a Scrum team are:

a) Product Owner

The Product Owner should be someone with authority, availability and vision. They represent the customer and continuously communicate the priorities and vision to the team.

b) Scrum Master

The Scrum Master acts as a facilitator between the Product Owner and the Development Team. The Scrum Master will also work to remove impediments that may inhibit the Development Team reaching the sprint goal. The person does not, however, provide day-to-day directions or give instructions to the Development Team.

c) Development Team

The Development Team are self-organized and responsible for developing the product.

Do:

Train or orient your team on Scrum and agile development so that they know the roles they are playing once the sprint starts

Don’t:

Force anyone to take on the role of the Scrum Master. This role is important to the entire Scrum process and an unwilling person might not give enough dedication to the project

Top Tip:

Pick a strong Scrum Master. The Scrum Master plays a highly important role in the Scrum process. They ensure that the entire team are focused and have everything they need to get the work done. The Scrum Master is also responsible for removing obstacles that might keep the group from performing optimally or from reaching the deadline. Overall, the Scrum Master determines the success of the whole team.

2) Sprint Planning

Once the roles have been identified, it’s time to start planning the sprint. The whole team decide on a sprint length together, overseen by the Scrum Master. Sprints are typically 2-4 weekly cycles.

The Product Owner creates a product backlog which is essentially a ‘prioritized wish list’. The backlog is owned by the Product Owner, but everyone can add to it. The product backlog contains a list of user stories.

User stories serve as a guide for the team to show why they are working on something. They speak from the end user perspective and can look something like this:

As a	I want	so that
Music lover	uninterrupted music streaming from my device	it doesn’t use up storage space while letting me play music on the go
Music streaming app user	to receive recommendations based upon my current playlists	I can hear new bands that are suited to my taste

The Product Owner presents the highest priority user stories from the product backlog to the Development Team.

The Development Team decide on what they are able complete for the sprint and break user stories into tasks, estimating the effort and transferring them to a sprint backlog.

It is essential that the Scrum Master and Product Owner provide a set of acceptance criteria for each user story. Acceptance criteria is what determines whether the user story is complete. It can also be referred to as the “definition of done”.

The table below shows two user stories with two sets of acceptance criteria.

As a	I want	So that	Acceptance criteria
Music lover	A small-sized streaming app with no adverts	it doesn’t use up storage space and interrupt my listening experience	1. App allows user to stream music without downloading 2. App size is 60MB or under 3. App offers premium subscription with no ads
Music streaming app user	to receive recommendations based upon my current playlists	I can hear new bands that are suited to my taste	1. Radio feature created based upon user’s playlists 2. Daily “Have you heard..” notification to be sent to users

Do:

Work on high priorities first
Break down each user story into small and manageable tasks

Don’t:

Bite off more than you can chew. Make sure that no one in the team is committing to more than what is feasible to do in the set timeframe

Top Tip:

Use INVEST to prioritize your user stories. INVEST stands for: I-independent, N-negotiable, V-valuable, E-estimable, S-small, and T-testable

3) The Daily Standup

To make sure that everyone is in sync, the team must meet every day to discuss what they worked on the previous day, what they will work on today and identify any impediments. To make sure that time is used efficiently, the meeting should be time-boxed into a maximum of 15 minutes. The Scrum Master oversees the meetings and makes sure that the team focuses on the subject at hand.

Do:

Use burndown charts to track your progress. A burndown chart shows you how much work remains in your sprint and whether you are on schedule
Keep the meeting short and concise. Make sure that everyone is speaking straight to the point
Answer questions like: What have I done since the last Scrum meeting? What do I plan to do before the next meeting? What are the issues I need help with?

Don’t:

Bring up topics unrelated to the user stories you’re working on from the backlog

Top Tip:

Don’t cancel a Scrum Meeting, even if you are busy or if the attendance is poor. The Daily Scrum meeting is an essential component to a Scrum project. When you cancel one, it becomes easier to cancel others and this disrupts the team’s focus.

4) Sprint Review

By the end of each sprint, the Development Team should deliver a potentially shippable product increment. In other words, the product increment should be in a useable condition. No incomplete work should be presented during a sprint review.

During a sprint review, the team present what they have accomplished during the sprint. They demonstrate the functionality of the product increment to the Product Owner and customer. The purpose of the sprint review is to get feedback from everyone on the product increment. After the feedback is shared, the next set of product backlog items can be discussed.

Do:

Let everyone provide feedback and suggest new ideas
Make changes to the product backlog when necessary

Don’t:

Use the sprint review as a signoff or user acceptance meeting

Top Tip:

Don’t forget to focus on the end users. Make sure to fully involve them during the sprint review. It may seem difficult collaborating with your customers because of the fear of making changes or hearing criticism, but it is easier to hear everything sooner rather than later.

5) Sprint Retrospective

During a sprint retrospective, the team evaluate the whole sprint. The two main questions that are asked are “what went well?” and “what can be improved in the next sprint?”

Do:

Make a list of what to start, stop, and continue

Don’t:

Point fingers or blame. Try to be constructive instead

Top Tip:

Get creative! Play games and keep people moving. Engage in mentally stimulating activities and help to break down tension

6) Product increment

The product increment is the output of all the product backlog items completed during the sprint (plus any previous sprints). It must be fully functional, in a useable condition and meet the allocated acceptance criteria or definition of done. The Product Owner decides whether to release the product increment.

Interim delivery

During an interim delivery, the product increment is tested by the customer. If the product is incomplete, the Development Team return to the product backlog to prepare for another sprint. This cycle repeats until all user stories are completed to the Product Owner’s satisfaction.

Do:

Remember what was discussed during the sprint retrospective and apply it to the next sprint

Don’t:

Dwell on past mistakes. Move on and learn from whatever went wrong during the previous sprint

Top Tip:

It’s easy to get caught up in preparing for the next sprint, but don’t forget to celebrate achievements and good results from the previous sprint. This gives you some room to breathe and get pumped up for the next cycle
Practice makes perfect! If you are new to Scrum, you might not get everything right at the beginning. Learning takes practice and the more you do, the better you will be at using the technique

Final delivery

Completing a project takes several sprints. Once all the user stories are completed to the Product Owner’s satisfaction, the product is ready for final delivery to the customer.

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About the Author:

Simon Buehring is the Founder and Managing Director of Knowledge Train.

May 17, 2016February 23, 2018 Linky

Advantages and Disadvantages of Agile vs Waterfall

By Kevin Lonergan

Agile and Waterfall are two very different project management methods. They both have clear pros and cons. Some people argue that you can mix the two but others say: “you can’t be half Agile” and I have a lot of sympathy for this view.

Waterfall projects cascade through a series of phases with a requirements phase very near the start. Developers then take this ‘statement of requirements’ and go through design and development. Waterfall projects are usually delivered in a ‘big-bang’ way.

Agile is different. For more on Agile, read the Guide to Agile Project Management.

Agile does not attempt to define requirements in one go. Instead, Agile produces the deliverable on an incremental basis and confirms the detail of the requirements around each increment.

Agile encourages many practices that are really useful on projects, like:

face-to-face communication
constant involvement of users in the project
close co-operation between developers and users

Some of these things could potentially be used on virtually any project but not every project can produce the end-product incrementally.

To read the full article that expands on these statements and provides a detailed explanation of the most important pros and cons, read the Comparison of Agile versus Waterfall methods.

July 7, 2015February 23, 2018 Linky

Guide to Agile Project Management

The traditional methods used in the practice of project management are hindered by a number of drawbacks, which become more pronounced when trying to satisfy the needs that more complex projects often demand.

This article looks at how Agile Project Management aims to address these shortcomings with a more flexible and interactive model which allows an adjustment to requirements and scenarios in a more bespoke way, allowing the user more creativity and a greater level of control.

If you are still investigating the use of Agile at your organisation, read “A closer look at what Agile project management is” for an overview of Agile principles, the stages, roles etc.

For an in-depth look of the Agile project management approaches, benefits and challenges, I recommend the Agile Project Management Guide from Simplilearn.

As you will read, one of the founding principles of the system and fundamental differences between Agile and traditional project management is the fact that it focuses on people, relationships and working software as opposed to processes and tools.

Please let us know in the comments what you think and feel free to share the Guide.

June 25, 2015February 23, 2018 Linky

Are you Considering Agile Project Management?

By Linky van der Merwe

If you are considering to adopt an Agile Project Management approach, to manage projects more efficiently, you would want to be clear on the trends, the benefits and the challenges that you can expect.

When starting out, I would recommend that you read my article:

“A Closer Look at What Agile Project Management is”

It will help you to understand what Agile Project Management is, to discover the 12 Agile Principles, the 7 Stages of an Agile project, the roles, the Organisations and Certifications available, as well as Products to use to become Agile certified.

You should think about developing your organisation’s capability to use an Agile approach as a long term strategy. It is not a quick fix. Plan for your migration to a more Agile approach.

Also have a look at the Agile Report from Software Advice with research on agile project management software features that most drive efficiency, identifying features that are most beneficial for companies, their employees, and overall project success. It provides the trends found among software users implementing Agile project management solutions in 2015.

Key Findings

Some key findings from the Agile Report include:

90% of respondents cited both workflow tracking and story mapping as the most efficient functionalities
89% of respondents cited activity streams as the most used agile features
49% of project managers cite difficulty training as the top challenge of agile software

Agile – Lessons from real Software Users

Find below the summary of the Agile Report based on a survey of project managers on what functionality and features of agile project management software have the greatest impact on a team’s efficiency. Before you make an investment in this software, learn more about how your peers are using these tools so that you can make a more informed purchase decision.

Software Advice UserView: Agile Project Management Report 2015 from Software Advice

July 28, 2014February 23, 2018 Linky

Project Management Life Cycle – Why We Need To Think Beyond Waterfall Versus Agile

By Bryan Burrow

Often when there is a discussion about project management life cycles, it quickly and inevitably comes down to talk about “Waterfall versus Agile”. That’s a real concern, because the selection of project life cycle is a crucial one. Let me explain why I believe that the over-promotion of “Agile” by comparing it with Waterfall is not just wrong, it can positively be dangerous.

When people talk about “Agile versus Waterfall” they mostly mean “Iterative versus step-by-step”, which is not quite the same thing.

When they talk about Waterfall and its disadvantages when compared to Agile, the concern is about the “one-step-at-a-time”, linear nature of the Waterfall approach. What they often don’t know, is that there are other life cycle models besides these two. There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach.

There are circumstances where a Waterfall approach may be the right approach for you.

The main drawback with Waterfall is that a change in requirements midway through the project means going back to square one. However, there are times when you may want, or even need, to impose such a level of control over all or part of your project.

Agile Methods

The most common Agile method is Scrum, but it’s not the only one. There are other Agile methods, including Crystal Clear, Extreme Programming, Feature Driven Development and Test Driven Development. Your choice of Agile approach should depend on your circumstances.

Any Agile approach is pretty much dependent on giving users autonomy and the freedom to design what they believe is right. If your organisation can’t provide that freedom, under the direction of a product champion or key user, then none of these approaches are likely to deliver the results you want.

Agile does not eliminate the need for Analysts or Designers. With the advent of Agile methods some people have questioned the need for Business Analysts, Systems Analysts and Designers. The switch away from more formal methods doesn’t replace the need for Analysts or Designers; it just changes how they do their job.

Agile is a software development method, not a project management method.

Agile as a Long Term Strategy

If think you can use Agile safely for your entire project you’re in for a very rude awakening, especially if you’re running a project that:

involves a mix of software, hardware and services
requires procurement of third party products and services or
involves multiple suppliers where they are using different project methods.

If you’re new to Agile and think you’ll master it in one go, you’re wrong.

You should think about developing your organisation’s capability to use an Agile approach as a long term strategy. It is not a quick fix. Plan for your migration to a more Agile approach.

Tips for Agile

So, if you are intent on using Agile, what should you do? If you are planning to use Agile, here are five tips that will help you to do so safely:

#1: Decide whether you’re ready to use Agile at all.

#2: Develop your Agile adoption strategy.

#3: Decide which parts of your project could best benefit from an Agile approach.

#4: Start small.

#5: Review and improve.

So the next time the subject of Project Management Lifecycle comes up in conversation, you’ll know that there is more to life, and to the success of your project, than Agile versus Waterfall.

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About the Author: Bryan Barrow works with Project Management Office (PMO) Managers, Project Directors and organisations that need to deliver more of their projects on time and within budget, so that they achieve their strategic objectives. Bryan’s new Guide to organising and planning project kick off workshops is now available. Visit bryanbarrow.com for more information.