Guidance to the governance of

Agile Project Management

Directing Agile Change

Why we need a Guide for Governance

of Agile Project Management

Growingly popular topic in P3M

Guide produced in response to requests

Mythology about Agile scares the Board

Help to explain the change in mind set needed

Who is it for?

Those involved in governance of all change initiatives

All Boards

– Organisation, Society, Programme and Project

Influencers of the Board

– E.g. assurers, portfolio managers

Sponsors

Stage gate reviewers

Programme and Project Managers

Iterative Delivery

Collaborative Behaviour

Decisions at the work face

New measures of progress

Agile - The Essential Difference

It’s a different mindset

Discipline is still required (business case, requirements,

configuration, etc.)

A Fad? - No

Agile is not the only way

Not just for software

Agile only works for small projects

Need to adjust existing governance processes

The Myths

More listed in guide

Some Principles

Waterfall vs Agile - how to decide

Directing Change is a valid basis for PM

Governance

Incremental delivery

Collaboration

Just Enough Definition

Learn as you go

Core Principles of Agile

Faster development and Change

Constant focus on the

goal

Collaborative working

Flexibility

Delegated decision

making

Value people more

than process

High Level

Satisfy the customer - Produce outcomes that

result in benefits – incrementally / regularly in order of

priority

Value driven and time box where possible

Clear roles and responsibilities

Enough definition to get started

Embrace changing requirements with

robust change control

Sustainable environment for success

Empower the team to make rapid decisions

Collaborative behaviours based on Trust

and quality communications

Simple keep it simple

Reflect, learn and adjust at regular intervals

‘Fail early’ if results disappoint

Key Roles and Techniques

Key Roles (major transformation)

Business (Programme) Sponsor

Business Visionary (or Product owner)

Programme Manager

Technical Co-ordinator or Business Architect

Project Manager or Scrum Master

Business Change owner / lead

Agile Coach

Business Process Analysts

Tools / Techniques

DSDM Atern

SCRUM

Lean

KanBan

MoSCow

Timeboxing

When to Consider Agile

Traditional Factors Agile

Tends to be top-down Leadership Tends to be bottom-up

Centralised Control De-centralised

Hierarchical Decision making Delegated and team based

Learnings captured at end.

Intolerance to mistakes

Learning Continuous improvement and learning

through testing / using. Tolerance of

mistakes where lessons learnt

On Outputs at each stage Focus during project

delivery

On incremental delivery of Outcomes and

prioritised Value / Benefits at each release

date (time box)

Some staff part time alongside other

projects

Resourcing Dedicated staff in close knit teams

Directed Team operation Self-organising and collaborative. Rigorous

Engagement

Driven by standard business meeting

timetable

Business Control Driven by project need

Scope and functionality tends to be

fixed

Objectives Time and / or cost are fixed

Dealt within project deliverable via

change control

Major Changes to

outputs

Dealt with outside current release –

changed functionality included in

subsequent releases

Assumed to be predictable – narrow

range of options desired

End Outcome Evolving – range of outcomes allowed

Progress to time, cost, quality Performance

measurement

Delivery of prioritised benefits at each

release

Guided by agreed TOR Strategic Guidance Focussed by the vision

Governance differences

Leadership not Direction

New Behaviour is paramount to improve

Organisational Culture

Agile Training is essential

– Board, PM, Sponsor and team

The team is driving and making decisions

Thinking not management rote

Some Hints and Tips

Behaviour & Culture

Board

– Support strongly, stay back, set clear objectives

– Empower

Project Sponsor / Product Owner

– Engage, embrace, enjoy (and dedicate time as part of team)

Project Manager / Delivery Lead

– Delegate, collaborate, remove blockages

– Build and empower the team

The Lists in the Guide

Not a check list!! Comply or explain?

– To your own satisfaction, this is Guidance not a

Recipe

Your choices matter

– As a Board

– As a Sponsor

– As Project Manager

– As an independent reviewer

Communicat

e for Buy-in

Empower

Action

Create Short-

term Wins

64 5

Don’t Let

Up

Make it

Stick

7 8

Increase

Urgency

Build the

Guiding Team

Get the

Right Vision

2 31

“Eight Steps of Change”

5 Kotter, John P. and Cohen, Dan S. The Heart of Change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press

Engaging and enabling

the whole organisation

Creating a

climate for change

Implementing

and sustaining

change

Treat Agile like any other major

transformation of the business

Paperback: 246x189mm, 2016

Publisher: APM

Author: APM Governance Specific Interest Group

ISBN 978-1-903494-60-8

Publication date: September 2016

Price: £15.00

Discount: 10% off for APM members

APM members should contact Turpin Distribution on

+44 (0)1767 604951 to receive their 10% discount

Details

Paperback: 246x189mm, 2016 Publisher: APM Author: APM Governance Specific Interest Group ISBN 978-1-903494-60-8 Publication date: September 2016 Price: £15.00 however if the following promotional code is entered “APMEVENT20” you will qualify for 20% discount. Details and the hyperlink will be given in the webinar survey. Please not that the members 10% discount rate is not valid in addition to this offer.

Where to get it

This presentation was delivered

at an APM webinar

To find out more about

upcoming webinars please visit

our website

www.apm.org.uk/events