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Brett Wakeman is one of the award winning project managers at Carsales.com. He delivered projects and solutions at a rate and quality which resulted in accelerated revenue for the company. I had the honour to interview him for my blog last weak. The topic on our mind was Agile Project Management.

During our interview we discussed the following:

• Definition of agile project management.
• What are the key concepts of agile project management?
• Is it difficult to adopt agile project management?
• What kind of friction did you encounter in implementing this?
• Does it address the top three hurdles of IT?
• How comfortable are you with this methodology?
• What are the strengths of this methodology?
• What are the weaknesses of this methodology?
• What would you do differently to make it more effective?

Here is his response to the above subjects in my words:

Definition of agile project management.

Agile project management is the ability of the project manager to change to meet the business needs. In this methodology you may never use a Gantt chart. Instead you will use your own custom tools to help you deliver your projects (mentioned later). Delivering a project means delivering a solution. The project manager must be flexible and yet have rigid control over the project(s) from end to end.

What are the key concepts of agile project management?

Two of the principle concepts in agile project management are scrums and sprints.

Scrums

Scrums are daily stand up meetings where the project stakeholders discuss achievements from the last period or iteration, the goals for the next period or iteration and road blocks along with issues with the project.

Sprints

Sprints are project meetings that take place at every small release points over the course of the project.

We must note that the  scrums are used more frequently than the sprints. Scrums are used in most agile projects. Sprints are used in agile projects that are longer in duration.

We must also be careful not to get too married up with the methodology itself. We must always adjust according to the project, deliverables and time frame. Sometimes we may even have to make compromises by reducing the amount of paperwork and processes.

Is it difficult to adopt agile project management?

Yes it is difficult in most cases. A great culture change is required. Usually the traditional waterfall methodology takes precedence.

However you can always bring that shift in culture through:

• providing great communication all round
• building a steering committee to drive a product and a project
• articulating and educating the stakeholders about the facts concerning the project; this involves putting down in simple terms the dependencies of the project on technologies and resources
• simplify communication via a Burndown chart:
  • this is a list of requirements or tasks for a project
  • project manager reviews this chart everyday
  • project manager conducts simple analysis on the chart and provide comprehensive report to the stakeholders or business
  • constant evaluation of the chart is necessary

What kind of friction did you encounter in implementing this?

No friction was encountered. As mentioned earlier it is the cultural mindset that makes all the difference. The businesses usually only understand the traditional waterfall model. However if you are able to clearly explain to them what you are doing and also manage their expectations properly then you are on the wining team.

Usually senior executives want Gantt charts. However if you articulate to the business the benefits of having a Burndown chart then surely they will accept it over Gantt charts. The business needs to understand that the Burndown chart will clearly show them visually whether an item can be delivered on time.

Does it address the top three hurdles of IT?

No it does not address the top three hurdles of IT. The business analysis aspect of an agile environment may resolves two of them. However something it does solve is the hurdle of scope creep. You will notice both good scope creep (features that benefit the product significantly) and bad scope creeps (features that are of relatively less priority for the product). Both types of scope creeps must be handled properly.

How comfortable are you with this methodology?

Very comfortable. You must believe in delivering a product that serves the needs of the business. You must be flexible enough to adjust a lot aspects of the project. You must always prioritize the requirements.

What are the strengths of this methodology?

The strengths are:

• there is always room to move within the project
• deliver solutions close to the original requirements for the project
• lot flexibility in terms of process compromise
• clear visibility of project’s progress for the stake holders
• sprints are good for bigger projects
• minimal marketable features are delivered
• prioritize items to release

What are the weaknesses of this methodology?

The weaknesses are:

• since there is flexibility, stakeholders tend to make changes any time they want (therefore must always evaluate the impact)
• too much change dilutes the product (much educate stakeholders of this)

What would you do differently to make it more effective?

I would:

• always make sure that I find the right balance in any methodology I use
• provide great communication all round (extremely important)
• ensure satisfaction of business but with proper negotiations concerning requirements
• always provide verbal updates and provide meeting minutes along with progress reports (if necessary; enough to keep the business up-to-date)
• ensure effective dealing with people (people management skills come into play)