Agile practices for waterfall projects : shifting processes for competitive advantage

361 Pages·2013·14.184 MB·English

by  Davis, Barbee

Agile Practices
for Waterfall
Projects
Shifting Processes for
Competitive Advantage
Barbee Davis,
PMP, PMI-ACP, PHR
Copyright © 2013 by Barbee Davis
ISBN-13: 978-1-60427-083-9
Printed and bound in the U.S.A. Printed on acid-free paper.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Davis, Barbee.
Agile practices for waterfall projects : shifting processes for
competitive advantage / by Barbee Davis.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-60427-083-9 (hbk. : alk. paper) 1. Project management.
2. Teams in the workplace. I. Title.
HD69.P75D385 2012
658.4’04—dc23
2012030919
This publication contains information obtained from authentic and highly
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indicated. Reasonable effort has been made to publish reliable data and informa-
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reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the
prior written permission of the publisher.
PMI-ACP®, PMBOK®, PMP®, CAPM®, PgMP®, PMI-SP®, and PMI-RMP®
are registered marks of the Project Management Institute. Prince2 is a registered
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contents
Preface ..............................................................................................................ix
About the Author .............................................................................................xi
Chapter 1: Why Agile Now? ..............................................................................1
Three Current Project Questions ........................................................................3
Project Management Certifications ....................................................................5
The Genesis of Project Management ..................................................................6
The Need for Change ............................................................................................8
References .............................................................................................................10
Chapter 2: What Is Agile? ...............................................................................11
“Big Agile” and “little agile” ................................................................................11
Iterative and Incremental Development by a Dedicated Team .....................13
Embracing Change ..............................................................................................14
Working Closely with Your Customer ..............................................................16
References .............................................................................................................17
Chapter 3: Where Did Agile Ideas Originate? ...............................................19
Frederick Taylor ...................................................................................................19
Frank and Lillian Galbraith ................................................................................21
Henri Fayol ...........................................................................................................22
Henry Ford ...........................................................................................................23
Henry Gantt ..........................................................................................................24
Winston Royce .....................................................................................................25
Peter Drucker .......................................................................................................25
Eliyahu Goldratt ...................................................................................................26
Abraham Maslow and Douglas McGregor ......................................................27
James Reddin ........................................................................................................29
Hirotaka Takeuchi and Ikujiro Nonaka ............................................................29
iii
iv Agile Practices for Waterfall Projects
Sakichi Toyoda, Kiichiro Toyoda, and Taiichi Ohno ......................................30
References .............................................................................................................35
Chapter 4: What Are Agile Practices and How Do They Work? ...................37
Find Errors Early .................................................................................................41
Prototyping ...........................................................................................................43
Early Customer Involvement .............................................................................45
Agile vs. Waterfall ................................................................................................48
Plan, Do, Check, Act ...........................................................................................49
References .............................................................................................................53
Chapter 5: What Are Some More New Agile Concepts? ................................55
Favor the Simple Over the Complex .................................................................55
Phase-to-Phase Relationships ............................................................................58
The Non-Software Agile Process .......................................................................59
User Stories ...........................................................................................................62
Progressive Elaboration ......................................................................................67
References .............................................................................................................70
Chapter 6: Should My Projects Be Agile? .......................................................71
Waterfall Process Candidates .............................................................................74
Agile Candidates ..................................................................................................75
The Agile Evaluator .............................................................................................77
Hybrid Products ...................................................................................................80
The New Marketing Strategy .............................................................................82
The Google Car ....................................................................................................83
Hybrid Medical Devices .....................................................................................85
The New Product or Service Measurements of Quality.................................88
References .............................................................................................................90
Chapter 7: How Does an Agile Team Get Started? ........................................91
Create Team Operating Rules ............................................................................91
Select Techniques to Reach Consensus ............................................................93
Confirm Initiating Processes..............................................................................95
Planning Agile Work ...........................................................................................96
Iterative Development and Risk.........................................................................97
The Agile-ish WBS ..............................................................................................98
Moving User Stories Into Iterations ................................................................101
Chapter 8: How Do Agile Teams Estimate? ..................................................107
Team Estimates ..................................................................................................107
The Fibonacci Sequence ...................................................................................108
Contents v
Planning Poker ...................................................................................................111
Team Estimation Game .....................................................................................113
Dog Estimates .....................................................................................................115
T-shirt Sizes ........................................................................................................115
Selecting Tasks....................................................................................................115
Tracking Agile Progress ....................................................................................116
Daily Agile Stand-up Meetings ........................................................................119
References ...........................................................................................................122
Chapter 9: What Agile Tools Are Important? ..............................................123
End-of-Iteration Practices ................................................................................123
Velocity ................................................................................................................124
Social Loafing .....................................................................................................129
Interacting with Traditional Teams .................................................................132
Getting Started with Agile ................................................................................133
Iteration Time Breakdown................................................................................136
References ...........................................................................................................138
Chapter 10: How Does Agile Scale to the Enterprise Level? .......................141
One Backlog—One Team .................................................................................141
One Backlog—Mixed Teams ............................................................................143
One Backlog—Many Teams .............................................................................144
Multiple, Independent Product Backlogs .......................................................144
Separate, But Cooperating Teams ...................................................................146
Collocated Teams ...............................................................................................146
Chapter 11: How Do I Work With Distributed Teams? ...............................151
Distributed Teams ..............................................................................................151
Casual Conversations ........................................................................................154
Story Cards .........................................................................................................155
Time Zones .........................................................................................................156
Language .............................................................................................................156
Communications Tools .....................................................................................158
Work Tracking Tools .........................................................................................160
Remote Daily Stand-ups ...................................................................................160
Travel ...................................................................................................................161
The Lone Expert ................................................................................................161
References ...........................................................................................................162
Chapter 12: What Do I Use for Agile Documentation? ...............................163
Earned Value Method .......................................................................................163
Agile Earned Value ............................................................................................165
vi Agile Practices for Waterfall Projects
Software Documents .........................................................................................169
Burndown Chart with Scope Changes ...........................................................171
Burnup Chart .....................................................................................................174
Cumulative Flow Diagram ...............................................................................174
References ...........................................................................................................176
Chapter 13: What Needs to Change in My Own Skill Set? ..........................177
Self-managed Teams ..........................................................................................177
Collocated and Dedicated Teams ....................................................................178
Facilitation Skills ................................................................................................179
Sales Skills ...........................................................................................................180
Coordination Skills ............................................................................................181
Collaboration Skills ...........................................................................................181
Team Building Skills ..........................................................................................182
Conflict Resolution Skills .................................................................................182
Training Skills .....................................................................................................184
Group Decision Making Skills .........................................................................184
Social Styles Skills ..............................................................................................185
Servant-Leader Skills .........................................................................................192
Millennium Management Skills .......................................................................194
Process Tailoring Skills .....................................................................................199
References ...........................................................................................................200
Chapter 14: What Needs To Change In My Business Skill Sets? .................201
Six Changes to Embrace ...................................................................................201
Cost of Failure ....................................................................................................203
Aligning Projects to Strategic Objectives .......................................................205
Maximizing Revenue Streams and Flexibility ...............................................208
Handling Cancelled or Deferred Projects ......................................................211
Agile Budgeting and Forecasting .....................................................................212
Actively Seeking New Technology ..................................................................214
Documenting Team Authority .........................................................................218
References ...........................................................................................................220
Chapter 15: What Shifts in Business Will Affect Me? ..................................221
Common Team Workspaces ............................................................................222
Design That Matters: Junkyard Incubators ....................................................225
Microsoft Research Division: Space Design ..................................................226
Steelcase, Inc.: Furnishings Design .................................................................226
Skype: Virtual Space Design .............................................................................227
Explicit and Tacit Knowledge ..........................................................................228
References ...........................................................................................................231
Contents vii
Chapter 16: What Changes Are Needed in My Organization? ....................233
Authorization .....................................................................................................234
Resource Management ......................................................................................235
Communications ...............................................................................................236
Metrics .................................................................................................................236
Contracts .............................................................................................................237
High-level Involvement .....................................................................................244
Cost Accounting and Other Reports ..............................................................245
Team Member Reactions ..................................................................................247
Radical Management Shifts ..............................................................................247
The Growing Importance of Intangible Assets .............................................249
A Need for PMO Refocusing ...........................................................................249
A Change in Human Resources Practices ......................................................252
References ...........................................................................................................254
Chapter 17: What Are Scrum, XP, and DSDM? ...........................................257
Software Development ......................................................................................257
Scrum ..................................................................................................................259
Extreme Programming......................................................................................264
Dynamic Systems Development Method .......................................................270
References ...........................................................................................................275
Chapter 18: What Are Lean, Kanban, Crystal, and Other
Agile Practices? .............................................................................................277
Lean Manufacturing ..........................................................................................277
Kanban ................................................................................................................278
Toyota Production System ................................................................................283
Lean Software Development ............................................................................284
Rational Unified Process ..................................................................................284
Crystal Methodologies ......................................................................................287
Feature Driven Development ...........................................................................288
References ...........................................................................................................290
Chapter 19: How Do I Jumpstart Change? ...................................................293
Choosing a Pilot Project ...................................................................................293
Train the Product Owner .................................................................................294
Sell Up, Down, and Sideways ...........................................................................294
Talk the Talk .......................................................................................................297
Learn the Change Process ................................................................................298
References ...........................................................................................................300
viii Agile Practices for Waterfall Projects
Chapter 20: Who Has Made Agile Work? .....................................................301
CH2M Hill’s Rocky Flats Project .....................................................................301
Boeing’s 787 Project ...........................................................................................303
The Kauffman Performing Arts Center Project ............................................307
AccuRev Agile Sales Team ................................................................................308
GVK’s Mumbai, India Airport Project ...........................................................308
The Sydney Opera House Project ...................................................................310
References ...........................................................................................................312
Chapter 21: Parting Advice ...........................................................................315
Glossary .........................................................................................................321
Index ..............................................................................................................333
Preface
As a project manager, I am aware that many organizations are facing a crisis,
and they are looking to us in the project management profession for solutions.
However, often the very creativity and innovation that we, and our teams, could
bring to address these business challenges are suppressed with heavy documenta-
tion, rigid rules, and a disenfranchisement of us as true business partners.
As I traveled the world speaking on this topic, I witnessed the frustration that
comes from project managers wanting to be able to help their organizations suc-
ceed, but not knowing how or where to start. I believe that answers to speed to
market, employee retention, product innovation, and financial viability challenges
will come when an Agile mindset is embraced throughout a business entity.
However, with the heavy emphasis on more traditional/Waterfall processes
found in most modern corporate structures, it is difficult to find a thread to pull to
unweave the blanket of excessive methodology that is weighing down our projects.
Within these pages, I’d like to share with you what I know, and more importantly,
what I have learned from hundreds of project professionals who successfully
turned their companies around.
At the project level, we seldom believe that we have the power to transform
the entire organization, and perhaps we can’t. However, there are ways for you
to start changing your own project teams and your own thought processes to
have better success on a daily basis. In this book, I present both the concepts of
Agile and detailed, practical ways that you can use them with a traditional team.
Through an understanding of how Agile can help you and your team, you can
garner increased results, which can then be used to get others in the organization
interested in making a larger commitment to this paradigm shift.
I was a part of the PMI Agile pilot program when I was preparing to take my
certification test and had trouble finding more than bits and pieces of information
to use in my studies. So, contained within this book, I included a clear story of
what Agile is, when it is appropriate to use it on your projects, and all of the terms
and concepts you will need to understand to sit for your PMI-ACP certification. I
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