Responsive Strategy: How Agile Can Help
Nothing makes a project manager reach for the requirements specification like the announcement that the corporate strategy is changing. Suddenly, all of those carefully documented assumptions about the direction the company is moving in are cast in doubt. When this happens on a regular basis, it can feel like going three rounds with a prize fighter; you’ll never know where the next surprise blow is coming from.
One project where I encountered this scenario involved developing data transfers for the sale of government-owned assets. Every day or two, a bidder would approach with a new proposal that would result in a shift in project direction as the company angled toward the best possible outcome by a fixed deadline.
These changes were more than simple scope changes; they affected the fundamental operation of the company going forward. Teams worked around the clock to deliver a constantly changing outcome.
One project where I encountered this scenario involved developing data transfers for the sale of government-owned assets. Every day or two, a bidder would approach with a new proposal that would result in a shift in project direction as the company angled toward the best possible outcome by a fixed deadline.
These changes were more than simple scope changes; they affected the fundamental operation of the company going forward. Teams worked around the clock to deliver a constantly changing outcome.
The data transfer project was ultimately successful thanks to heroic efforts on the part of the delivery teams. The insane pace was only sustainable because there was a defined end date. Had this scenario persisted for much longer without some of the corrective action suggested above, I have no doubt that it would have ultimately been a failure.
Matching Agile Techniques to Adaptive Strategy
In an ideal world, strategy acts as a guiding light, providing long-term direction to the company’s goal toward delivering on an overarching mission. Projects in this environment are stable; limited changes are managed through a defined change control process.
At the other end of the spectrum is the adaptive strategy that is constantly changing. Here, the executive revises the strategy on a regular basis to meet changing conditions.
At the other end of the spectrum is the adaptive strategy that is constantly changing. Here, the executive revises the strategy on a regular basis to meet changing conditions.
Unexpected changes to the company strategy occur for many reasons, but are usually associated with needing to respond to an unexpected threat or opportunity. Adaptive strategy is usually adopted in highly dynamic environments, where the external environment is rapidly changing due to advances in technology, changes in government regulation, competitor movement or some other external factor. This means the company regularly takes stock of the strategy’s effectiveness and adapts the strategy when it is not working.
Agile project management techniques can be a good solution to dealing with unstable or poorly understood requirements. The process of progressive iterations that elaborate a solution can help crystalize strategic assumptions by testing them against a real baseline. The agile principle of being able to fail early and often provides rapid evidence-based feedback on the effectiveness of strategic choices. This sounds like a good approach to dealing with a variable strategy, and it often is.
However, agile is no silver bullet. Like all real-world solutions, it has its limits.
Agile project management techniques can be a good solution to dealing with unstable or poorly understood requirements. The process of progressive iterations that elaborate a solution can help crystalize strategic assumptions by testing them against a real baseline. The agile principle of being able to fail early and often provides rapid evidence-based feedback on the effectiveness of strategic choices. This sounds like a good approach to dealing with a variable strategy, and it often is.
However, agile is no silver bullet. Like all real-world solutions, it has its limits.
When to Use Agile (or Not)
Consider the following diagram. If we consider how variable the strategy is along one axis and how well-understood requirements are along the other, we can see that there is a zone of stability at one end. This is the territory of traditional waterfall projects; requirements are relatively fixed with few changes (which can be managed through a traditional change management process).
Beyond this is the territory of agile, where requirements are not well understood, and change is frequent. Even this process has its limits when there is so much uncertainty that chaos is the inevitable result.
Projects that are heading into chaos have one or more of the following as defining characteristics:
There is no clear long-term strategic outcome associated with the project. These projects tend to have a high number of iterations that follow the perceived outcome, which is then later adapted for the next perceived outcome.
Another version of this pattern is when management continually reacts to short-term conditions without considering the long-term strategic view. This is sometimes jokingly referred to as “management by crisis.”
Weak stakeholder buy-in leads to a lack of feedback. Agile works best when feedback is frequent and detailed. A lack of feedback around changing strategy leads to the kind of unpleasant surprises that can stop a project in its tracks.
User stories keep changing. Being agile does not mean you can change everything and anything. User stories should be a stable baseline from which to express solutions that meet that need.
The project lacks a defined governance structure. Changing strategic direction means the project has to make choices about the direction of its requirements. A governance structure delivers these decisions when they are needed.
The external environment is changing rapidly and there is no easy way to control the impact on the project.
If you are faced with delivering a project that has such a high chance of failure because of the uncertainty, then it’s time to reach out to the decision makers in the organization and get their buy-in toward the project. This can be difficult when the executives in question are focused on overcoming the bigger strategic challenges, but it is up to you to gain an understanding of how your project is going to solve these challenges.
This is also the time to have honest conversations about the likelihood of failure. Presenting an unrealistic picture of success does your stakeholders no favors—and may be detrimental to your career if you fail.
Beyond this is the territory of agile, where requirements are not well understood, and change is frequent. Even this process has its limits when there is so much uncertainty that chaos is the inevitable result.
Projects that are heading into chaos have one or more of the following as defining characteristics:
There is no clear long-term strategic outcome associated with the project. These projects tend to have a high number of iterations that follow the perceived outcome, which is then later adapted for the next perceived outcome.
Another version of this pattern is when management continually reacts to short-term conditions without considering the long-term strategic view. This is sometimes jokingly referred to as “management by crisis.”
Weak stakeholder buy-in leads to a lack of feedback. Agile works best when feedback is frequent and detailed. A lack of feedback around changing strategy leads to the kind of unpleasant surprises that can stop a project in its tracks.
User stories keep changing. Being agile does not mean you can change everything and anything. User stories should be a stable baseline from which to express solutions that meet that need.
The project lacks a defined governance structure. Changing strategic direction means the project has to make choices about the direction of its requirements. A governance structure delivers these decisions when they are needed.
The external environment is changing rapidly and there is no easy way to control the impact on the project.
If you are faced with delivering a project that has such a high chance of failure because of the uncertainty, then it’s time to reach out to the decision makers in the organization and get their buy-in toward the project. This can be difficult when the executives in question are focused on overcoming the bigger strategic challenges, but it is up to you to gain an understanding of how your project is going to solve these challenges.
This is also the time to have honest conversations about the likelihood of failure. Presenting an unrealistic picture of success does your stakeholders no favors—and may be detrimental to your career if you fail.
Measuring Success
Let’s assume your project exists in this space of high variability, and you have ensured it has none of the structural weakness described above. In these cases, it’s possible to deliver great outcomes, but it will require you keeping tight control over the project. There are several ways you can measure your progress:
Listen at every opportunity for signs of approaching instability. All advance knowledge is useful in this space. Your team members may raise issues in your daily stand-up meetings; your stakeholder committee may give you insights into the broader picture; and if you have the confidence of a senior stakeholder, make use of one-on-one sessions to learn what you can.
Measure the performance of the project. Agile project managers often track sprint cycles and time to deliver stories; some track outcomes delivered. These are lag indicators based on what has already happened. They can’t tell you what is going to happen but can show trends over time that may indicate that the project is not progressing despite a lot of work being done.
Estimate possible outcomes using more advanced statistical analysis. One way of looking ahead in uncertain times is to use techniques such as Monte Carlo analysis or critical chain project management to develop a probabilistic view of the likely outcomes for the project. These advanced techniques introduce a probability to each task in a project, resulting in an overall view of when—and if—a project will deliver.
In highly variable environments, it pays to spend time thinking about potential changes in strategic direction and how these may affect your project. Statistical techniques allow you to examine possible future scenarios and predict the likelihood of successful outcomes.
Listen at every opportunity for signs of approaching instability. All advance knowledge is useful in this space. Your team members may raise issues in your daily stand-up meetings; your stakeholder committee may give you insights into the broader picture; and if you have the confidence of a senior stakeholder, make use of one-on-one sessions to learn what you can.
Measure the performance of the project. Agile project managers often track sprint cycles and time to deliver stories; some track outcomes delivered. These are lag indicators based on what has already happened. They can’t tell you what is going to happen but can show trends over time that may indicate that the project is not progressing despite a lot of work being done.
Estimate possible outcomes using more advanced statistical analysis. One way of looking ahead in uncertain times is to use techniques such as Monte Carlo analysis or critical chain project management to develop a probabilistic view of the likely outcomes for the project. These advanced techniques introduce a probability to each task in a project, resulting in an overall view of when—and if—a project will deliver.
In highly variable environments, it pays to spend time thinking about potential changes in strategic direction and how these may affect your project. Statistical techniques allow you to examine possible future scenarios and predict the likelihood of successful outcomes.
Moving Forward
In today’s fast-changing complex environments, many projects are faced with continual change, often from the company’s need to adapt strategy in order to survive. Agile approaches can help with this, but only if basic project controls are in place.
Ensuring you and your stakeholders understand the risk—and making certain that you constantly track the stability of your outcomes—will go a long way to ensuring you succeed in this challenging environment.
Nguồn: projectmanagement.com
Ensuring you and your stakeholders understand the risk—and making certain that you constantly track the stability of your outcomes—will go a long way to ensuring you succeed in this challenging environment.
Nguồn: projectmanagement.com
.jpg "Three-month course")
.jpg "Six-month course")
.jpg "MS Project course")
.jpg "Primavera course")
.jpg "Request Course")