Project Managers And their changing role in the Agile World

Graham Dick graham.dick@moreagile.co.uk +44 7717437478

© More Agile 2015

Project Management Command and Control

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PM Responsibilities Command and Control View

Inward Towards The Team •  Get the right resources •  Identify and manage risk •  Create a WBS •  Schedule the work •  Record progress information •  Monitor budget spend •  Manage issue resolution •  Identify necessary training •  Assign tasks and actions •  Incorporate change into plans

Outwards Towards Stakeholders •  Obtain plan approval •  Negotiate the budget •  Match resources and schedule •  Receive and manage change •  Report progress •  Report budget spend •  Escalate critical risks •  Escalate significant issues •  Meet management demands •  Deliver the project

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Collaborative

Self Organizing

Empowered

Servant Leader

Teams Take On Responsibilities “Agilista” Popular Front Seizes Control

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PM Responsibilities Responsibility becomes Accountability

Inward Towards The Team •  Get the right resources •  Identify and manage risk •  Create a WBS •  Schedule the work •  Record progress information •  Monitor budget spend •  Manage issue resolution •  Identify necessary training •  Assign tasks and actions •  Incorporate change into plans

Outwards Towards Stakeholders •  Obtain plan approval •  Negotiate the budget •  Match resources and schedule •  Receive and manage change •  Report progress •  Report budget spend •  Escalate critical risks •  Escalate significant issues •  Meet management demands •  Deliver the project

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•  Get the right resources •  Identify and manage risk •  Create a WBS •  Schedule the work •  Record progress information •  Monitor budget spend •  Manage issue resolution •  Identify necessary training •  Assign tasks and actions •  Incorporate change into plans

Responsibility = Doing Work; Accountability = The Buck Stops Here

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The Organization is Not Agile How to make the project fit?

The Project Manager carries the responsibility for – actively works to manage –the relationships with other parts of the organization. This is the value-adding aspect of Project Management. Management is needed because of the lack of effective continuing collaboration between parts of the organization.

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Defining the Interface Outward to Stakeholders, Inward to Team

Project Manager •  Outward looking responsibilities •  Inward looking accountabilities •  Appointed by stakeholders •  Static across the project •  Communicates

•  Outward to Stakeholders •  Inward to Iteration Lead

•  Should be a member of the team •  Can’t collaborate if outside

Iteration Lead •  Inward looking responsibilities •  Appointed by the team •  Should change regularly •  Communicates

•  Outward to Project Manager •  Outward to Product Owner

•  Is a member of the team •  Collaborates as a team member

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Outward Accountability Who Has Accountability for Delivery?

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Collaborative

Self Organizing

Empowered

Servant Leader

In the Agile world the whole team has accountability for

delivery

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Project Management Evolves As the Organization Becomes More Agile…

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Increasing Agility Adaptive Management Becomes Essential

Adaptive Management §  Agile organization context §  Continuing adaptation §  People focused §  Management set vision and

goals §  Delivered by self-organizing

teams §  Balance flexibility and rigour §  Motivate staff §  Increase discipline §  Achieve high performance

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Talk about Culture

Leadership (style, values, habits)

Strategy (goals, success measures, rewards)

Structure (roles/responsibilities, organisation)

Processes (policies, operations, value chain, business processes)

People (values, beliefs, attitudes, norms, habits)

Culture

Introduction to ICAgile – Ahmed Sidkey Feb 2014

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Talk about Culture

Leadership (style, values, habits)

Strategy (goals, success measures, rewards)

Structure (roles/responsibilities, organisation)

Processes (policies, operations, value chain, business processes)

People (values, beliefs, attitudes, norms, habits)

Change

Culture

Introduction to ICAgile – Ahmed Sidkey Feb 2014

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Supporting the Agile transition from a people perspective

Adopt coaching/mentoring/facilitating behaviours •  Role-model “agile behaviours” – be the servant leader

•  Agile Behaviours - listening, questioning, clarifying, self management, manage through others, power of teams

•  Agile values & principles – model environments in which it is safe to fail, safe to innovate, safe to be curious …

•  Ensure clear guiding vision (both for Agile & projects) •  Support concept of slack •  Ensure necessary information is available •  Respect the team’s decisions whilst holding them

accountable for adopting Agile – let them loose within the ‘strictures of agile’

•  Be aware of knowledge worker’s motivation/drivers intrinsic (autonomy, mastery, purpose) rather than extrinsic

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Supporting the Agile transition from an organisational perspective

•  Address impediments •  Support functional managers to evolve into mentors &

developers of craft •  Centres of excellence, communities of practice etc

•  Interact with PMOs and SLTs to address project metrics •  Make them agile friendly … over time J •  Exploit agile transparency and empiricism

•  Interact with SLT & HR to evolve People management •  From assessing and monitoring tasks to continued value

delivery & supporting learning •  Individual measures move to emphasise those that support

team performance: supporting collaboration, info sharing, developing t-shaped skills, self organising behaviours

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Summary

•  Agile change is a real, positive change for Project Managers

•  Move to Agile forces PM role to evolve •  Less command and control •  More stakeholder management

•  Driven by key Agile principles •  Collaboration •  Self-organization •  Empowerment •  Servant leadership

•  Constrained by organizational relationships – so not for all

•  Help the move to Adaptive management

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Contact More Agile

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Graham Dick e: graham.dick@moreagile.co.uk m: +44 7717 437478 @grahamcmdick, @More_Agile www.moreagile.co.uk