ToolboxforITpresentsanewentryintheseriesofPopularQ&A,whichareacollectionofadapted discussiongroupmessagesonaparticularITtopic. ThisinstallmentcomesfromtheProjectManagementMethodology&Frameworkgroup. Waterfallvs.AgileMethodologies Ireneasks:HowdoesagiledevelopmentfitintoProjectManagement,PRINCE2methodologyor PMBOK?Inthepast,IalwaysusedtheWaterfallmethodinmyprojectmanagement.Itgives meabigpictureoftheprojectscopeanddeliverables.Basedonthescopeanddeliverables,it willbeeasiertoassignresourcesandestimatetheprojectcost.UsingtheAgiledevelopment method,howdoyoumanageyourprojectintermsoftimeandcost?Coulditendupwiththe deliverablesdonotmatchtotheoriginalscope? LevAyznerreplies:IsuggestthattoalleviateembracingAgile,ormakethatoldWaterfallmethodas efficientasitcangetconvertingitintoastreamofmightyflows,onemayneedtograsp(1)breakdown structuretechnique,analysisofdependenciesbasedonunderstandingtheconceptsofcouplingand coherence;(2)understandingofolderiterativedevelopment,andmodernincrementalandincremental delivery;(3)Agileprinciplesbeforeanyagilemethods.

YoumayfindthatgoingfromtraditionaltoAgile isnotarevolution;it'sanevolution.Thequestionofmanagingaprojectintermsoftimeandcostmay becomeamatterofaspecifictechnique,whichcouldbeacquiredinthecorrespondingtrainingcourse. ArjitSarbagna replies:Agilecouldworkinmanyways.Butthesimplestdefinitionwillbeitallowsfor quickandshortiterationofdeliverables.Itcouldwellbeplannedjustthewayyouwouldhaveplanned alargeproductdevelopmentontraditionalwaterfallmodel,butitwillhavechangesintermsofitsshort iterations(typicallysprints)."Coulditendupwiththedeliverablesdonotmatchtotheoriginalscope?" Well,definitelynot!WhileworkingonAgileitallowsshortiterationquickerturnaroundand stakeholdersgettoseetheprototypemuchfasterthanwaterfall(ingeneral).Havingaworkingmodel attheearlystageofdevelopmentallowsquickidentificationifatallworkhadshiftedits direction. RichardTuckerreplies:Eachsprintisaminiwaterfallprojectwithscope,duration,risks,etc.WithAgile youdon'tdefineandbaselineallofthescopeandscheduleasPMBOKasksofyou.PRINCE2'sstaged planningiseffectivetoAgile,whichhasbeenwrittenabout(andpublishedinprintform)usingthe DSDM"variety"ofAgile.However,thegovernancethatPRINCE2definesforManagingaStagemaybe toorigorousforshortdurationsprints.Thisiswheretailoringthemethodologyiscritical. ArneFallareplies:MyexperienceisthatyoucanuseAgile/Scrumincombinationwithother methodologies.Inmylastprojectthatwasabiginfrastructureproject,standupmeetingswerethepart thatIused.BeforethatIwasaprojectmanager/scrummasterforaCMSprojectwithfrontend development.ForthisprojectIuseScrumwiththeproductowner,ScrumteamandScrummaster.In

additiontothisIusedsomesteeringdocumentsrelatedtowhatyoufindinPMBOK.Dontgetstuck withonemethodology!Think,WhatdoIneedtosucceedwithmyproject?Regardingyourlast question:itallstartswiththecontractormandatethatyouhave.IfyouuseScrum,theriskis transferredfrommoneyandtimetofunctionality.Therisk,fortheproductowner,isthatsomeniceto havefunctionalitywillnotbeimplemented. AaronPorterreplies:OneofthekeyrequirementsofScrumishavingadedicatedteam;ideally,your personnelresourceswouldnotchange.Ifyoucometoapointwhereyoufindyouneednewresources (personnelornonpersonnel)youeitherfindachampion(someonewithauthorityanddecisionmaking power)whocanmakeithappenorworkwithyourproductownertoselectdifferentuserstoriesto workon. DonBlackreplies:Theimportantthingistohavestandardizedprojecttemplatesforeachtypeof lifecycleincludingthePMlifecycle.Usethetasksfromtheselifecyclestobuildyourprojectscheduleand makesurethatyoukeepaneyeonthechangesyoumaketotheWBSinyourschedule.Ifitis warranted,makethesamechangestoyourstartingtemplatessothatyouhaveabetterstartingpoint forthenextproject.Thekeyisnottolosetheknowledgegainedeachtimeyougothroughthisiteration (applyingtheconceptofiterativedevelopmenttoProjectTemplatesandMethodologies).Weusea productfrom6DTech(www.6dtech.com)calledProjectCatalysttocapturethemethodologyand deliverablesalongwiththerolesandresponsibilities.Overtimetheknowledgebasedoesreallybuild up.Rememberthatwhateverapproachyoudefine,youshoulddefineyouriterationsinaproject scheduleandinsomesenseitisawaterfallastheonlywayyoucandefineitisinasequentialmanner. TheconceptofAgileanditerationsiscapturedintermsofhowmanyiterationsyouwillneedtogo through.Thisisdeterminedbythetaskyoudefineforreviewandapprovalinordertoproceedtothe nextstage. IanRichardsreplies:NotagreatfanofAgile,butthismaybebecauseoftheprojectsIhavebeen exposedtoo.Ihavefoundthatitiseasytostartbutverydifficulttocomplete,hencecostoverrunsand incompletefunctionalityarerife.Waterfallallowsmuchmorecontrol,andstagestobeplannedin sequence.Testingagileprojects,andintegrationofagileprojectstoprogramsofwork,canbedifficult duetolackofdocumentationandfirmspecificationsearlyinthepiece. KrisBassreplies:Myexperienceisthatprojectmanagement(e.g.PRINCE2)istheumbrellafor governanceofaprojectandthattheactualapproachwithinaspecificprojectrangesfromwaterfallto agile/iterative.So,startwithsomeprojectmanagementchoiceforgovernanceandthenalignthe approachwiththecontext.Makesurethatyourownskillsmatchwhatisneededtorealizetheproject. IfyouareexperiencedinWaterfallandnotAgile,stayclosetoyourskillset.