Are you facing the challenge of writing a business case? A business case explains why your organisation will invest time and resources into a project. Without a rock-solid business case your project is unlikely to get a return on investment.
Below is a short video giving you a checklist of questions to ask before you submit your business case for approval.
Here’s the checklist of 10 questions to ask yourself before you submit your business case to your sponsor for approval.
Have the reasons for the project been specified and are they consistent with any corporate strategies?
Has the preferred business option been stated?
Has it been explained why the preferred business option was recommended?
Are the benefits clearly identified and justified?
Have both the project timescales and the benefits realization timescales been identified?
Is it clear how and when the benefits will be realized?
Have both the project costs and the ongoing operational and maintenance costs been specified?
Have the funding arrangements been specified?
Has the investment appraisal used the organisation’s recommended standard?
Have the major project risks been stated, together with any proposed responses?
A good business case helps you or your organisation take sensible decisions about committing time and resources to a project or activity – make sure you get it right.
It’s only in recent years that I started working on Agile projects following the Scrum approach. And what a journey it has been so far! Challenging that traditional way of working mindset of being a PMP (Project Management Professional) for 14 years working mostly on ‘waterfall’ type projects.
You find yourself facing common struggles while going through the motions of changing your mindset which really is essential for successfully adoption an agile approach.
Companies who provide consultation and training around Agile, realise that teams are faced with many challenges when making the transition to Agile. At Knowledge Train they have published an e-book with stories from Industry experts who shared about their challenges with Agile and the solutions they use to overcome it.
Below is an Infographic with some of the most common challenges!
Please click on the Infographic to reach the article where you may download the e-book: “The Challenges with Agile”.
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.
Agile management frameworks are growing in popularity across many industries. Scrum is an agile framework that helps teams manage product development. The core principle behind Scrum is the understanding that customers can often change their mind about what they want at any stage of a project. For some teams, this can generate a lot of rework particularly in the later stages of development, which wastes time and money. Scrum manages this by delivering quickly in increments, gaining feedback early and adapting the product as necessary.
As with all agile frameworks, Scrum encourages team collaboration, frequent communication and continuous improvement. You can download an A0 size poster version of the graphic to print and display in your office!
If you’re interested to learn how Scrum typically works, take a look at the graphic below designed by Knowledge Train.
It is no surprise that many organizations are adopting agile methodsto manage their workflow. Kanban is one of the methods under the agile umbrella. Once understood, embraced and adopted successfully, you can expect significant improvements to your workflow and team collaboration.
The principle behind the Kanban method is to decrease and manage blockages in workflow, which can disrupt the entire team. It is a beneficial choice for teams that deliver frequently and for software development teams, even allowing teams to deliver daily if required. It is a very visual management method which usually revolves around the use of a whiteboard, coloured sticky notes and markers. Working like this allows the entire team to view the work progress and easily spot problems if they arise.
If you’re interested to learn about how Kanban works, take a look at the graphic below designed by Knowledge Train.
Today I would like to share this very informative Infographic from Knowledge Train on the Definition of Portfolio Management.
As per the PMI definition:
Portfolio Management is the coordinated management of one or more portfolios, a component collection of programs, projects, or operations, to achieve organizational strategies.
In order to cope with the more complex and unpredictable world we live in today, you need portfolio management.
Visit the blog listed below for an interesting article about portfolio management.
Today I would like to share an Infograpic from Knowledge Train, a PRINCE2 training provider. It is about the popularity of PRINCE2 as the preferred project management qualification of choice.
The most recent annual figures released by APMG-International for 2012, show the number of PRINCE2 examinations taken globally rose 5% compared with 2011. The figures show more than 144,000 people sat PRINCE2 examinations in 2012 compared with 136,000 the previous year. By the end of 2012, more than 1 million candidates had taken PRINCE2 exams since 1996.
In fact, the total number of exams taken in 2012 was the highest on record, and also saw record numbers of candidates take both Foundation and Practitioner examinations.
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Are you facing the challenge of writing a business case? A business case explains why your organisation will invest time and resources into a project. Without a rock-solid business case your project is unlikely to get a return on investment.
