Elizabeth Larson, CBAP, PMP, PMI-PBA, CSMCEO, Watermark Learning

@e_larson

Elizabeth Larson

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1. Myths2. Where we fit in an Agile/Scrum environment3. Providing value as organizations adopt Agile

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o Break into small groupso Introduce yourselves

a. Are PMs/BAs needed on Agile projects? 

b. If so, why and how?

Who are you?

PMs/BAs on Agile Project

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Section 1Agile Myths

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Which is not described in the Agile Manifesto:

1. Light documentation is valued more than comprehensive documentation.

2. Individuals and interactions are valued more than process and tools. 

3. There is value in following a plan on Agile projects

1. Light documentation is valued more than comprehensive documentation.

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Individuals and interactions over process and toolsWe value:

Working software over comprehensive documentation Customer collaboration over contract negotiations Responding to change over following a plan

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more. 2/2001

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1. Customer satisfaction through early and continuous delivery of valuable software

2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in development3. Deliver working Software frequently (weeks rather than 

months)4. Business people and developers must work together daily 

throughout the project.5. Projects are built around motivated individuals…trust them 

to get the job done6. The most efficient and effective method of conveying 

information to and within a development team is face‐to‐face conversation.

Customer satisfaction = quick

No PM needed

Collocation is required

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7. Working software is the primary measure of progress.8. Agile processes promote  sustainable 

development…maintain a constant pace indefinitely.9. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good 

design enhances agility.10. Simplicity‐‐the art of maximizing the amount of work not 

done‐‐is essential.11. The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge 

from self‐organizing teams.12. At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become 

more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

No BA needed

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#1 Leadership Styles

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Command & controlis authoritative in nature and uses a top‐

down approach to leadership

stephenjgill.typepad.com/.../commandandcontrol‐leadership‐vs‐peoplecentered‐leadershi...

Traditional

Agile servant leaders

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Approved requirements are frozen

Project plans don’t change

Concrete 

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#2 Changes

5% to research change requests

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Elicit

Model

TestEach requirement 

InitiationAnalysisDesignDevelopmentTestingPost‐implementation ReviewImplementations

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Project management and business analysis needed!

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Section 2Where We Fit in on an Agile/Scrum Project

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Which is not true about the Agile PM/BA

1. There is no PM role on a Scrum team1. There is no BA role on a Scrum team

3. The BA is pretty much the same as the PO3. The BA is pretty much the same as the PO

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Scrum MasterProduct Owner

Dev Team

Business Analyst

The 3 Scrum RolesWhat Are They? What Do They Do?

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Product Increment

blue – artifact  green –event  yellow ‐ process

Sprint Retrospective(process)

Product Backlog User Stories (ordered)

Business Need

Business CaseProduct Vision Daily 

ScrumBurndownBurnup charts

Review(product)

Sprint1‐4 weeks

Sprint Planning

Sprint PlanRelease Plan

Product Roadmap

Prioritization Process Estimating

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Product Increment

blue – artifact  green –event  yellow ‐ process

Sprint Retrospective(process)

Business Need

Business CaseProduct Vision Daily 

ScrumBurndownBurnup charts

Review(product)

Sprint1‐4 weeks

Sprint Planning

Sprint BacklogProduct Backlog User Stories (ordered)Prioritization 

Process

Release Plan

Product Roadmap

Estimating

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Initiating

Planning

Executing

Closing

Monitoring/ Controlling

Where Does Agile Fit In?

Back 

Vision

Resource Capacity

Sprint

Roadmap Complete Sprint

Daily Scrum

Burndown/burnup

Review

Retrospective

Estimating

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Where PMs and BAs Are Best Suited

You can’t be a PM on 

Agile

I’m an Agile PM 

What Role in Your Organization?

Title vs Role vs the Work

But I can do PM work!

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Advantages and DisadvantagesPM as Scrum Master

Scrum Master

Roadblock Remover

Scrum Practices

Delivery Owner

Coach

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PM as Product OwnerAdvantages and Disadvantages

PO

Business decisions

Ordering user stories

Product review

Estimation process

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Where Do PMs Fit?

Business need/casePerformance reportingHandling contracts/contractorsCoordinating activitiesRemoving impedimentsProtecting the teamManaging risksHandling team conflictEtc.

Do or consult on

Agile PM Doing PM work

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•Consistent practices•Create metrics•Compliance • Inflow of new projects•Agile health‐check•Coaching•Transitioning to Agile•Work with other groups

©https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=Agile+Project+Manager&l=anywhere

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BA as Scrum MasterAdvantages and Disadvantages

Scrum Master

Roadblock Remover

Scrum Practices

Delivery Owner

Coach

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BA As Product OwnerAdvantages and Disadvantages

PO

Business decisions

Ordering user stories

Product review

Estimation process

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Product Owners Need

Availability

Ability

Authority

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Product Owner

Makes product decisions

Decision Maker

Influencer Helps ensure right decisions

Business Analyst

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Where Do BAs Fit?Part of the team doing BA work

Business Analyst

Business NeedBusiness CaseRecommend prioritizationRefine backlog/modelingFacilitate requirements eventsProduct StrategyProduct Roadmap

Acceptance criteria

Testing resultsDemo & retrospective

UX

User Stories

Do or consult on

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Section 3Providing Value As Organizations Adopt Agile

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Which is not true about Agile adoption

1. Organizational change is considered the biggest impediment to Agile adoption

2. Organizations who prefer a disciplined approach to their projects are better off not adopting Agile

3. Agile works best when there are dedicated development teams 

2. Organizations who prefer a disciplined approach to their projects are better off not adopting Agile

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Digital transformation

Business/project agility

Commitment

Strategic Partner/Trusted

Advisor

Large projects

Scaling Agile

Framework

Dedicated resources Organization 

change

Automated tools

Digital trust

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Ending Discussion: What’s Our Future?

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1. Myths2. Where we fit in an Agile/Scrum project3. Providing value as organizations transform

So, where do you fit in?

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Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose, Tony Hsieh, 2013.Attributions 

www.intuit.com/2020

http://www.Yentarchs.com/blog/so‐you‐think‐you‐can‐devops.html mcronin March 2016

https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2016/article/what‐is‐the‐gig‐economy.htm

Forbes, 09/09/13, Jason Nazar

https://www.forbes.com/sites/michakaufman/2014/02/28/five‐reasons‐half‐of‐you‐will‐be‐freelancers‐in‐2020/#2cba8a2b6d39, Forbes, Micha Kaufman, 2/28/14

https://www.canada.ca/en/innovation‐science‐economic‐development.html

https://www.gartner.com/doc/reprints?id=1, Avoid Failure by Avoiding a Toolchain that Enables DevOps, David Paul Williams and Thomas E. Murphy, March,, 2016, Gartner StudyThe Story of the Lost Child: The Neapolitan Quartet, Elena Ferrante, 2015.

https://projectmanagementinsight.com/agile‐business‐case/July 22, 2014

http://www.scaledagileframework.com/epic/

http://www.plutora.com/blog/what‐is‐enterprise‐devops

http://www.datascienceassn.org/content/how‐top‐10‐industries‐use‐big‐data‐applications

https://hbr.org/2017/06/if‐your‐company‐isnt‐good‐at‐analytics‐its‐not‐ready‐for‐ai?referral=00563&cm_mmc=email‐_‐newsletter‐_‐daily_alert‐_‐alert_date&utm_source=newsletter_daily_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=alert_date&spMailingID=17404749&spUserID=MTg5OTExODEzNjMzS0&spJobID=1040538221&spReportId=MTA0MDUzODIyMQS2

https://www.mountaingoatsoftware.com/articles/the‐roles‐of‐the‐project‐management‐office‐in‐scrumhttps://www.scrum.org/resources/blog/agile‐pmo

https://www.scrum.org/resources/blog/what‐scrum‐says‐about‐estimates

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https://singularityhub.com/2017/03/31/can‐futurists‐predict‐the‐year‐of‐the‐singularity/#.WUwl7WgrI2w. It was 2045, but has been predicted downward to 2045 and even as early as 2020 or 2039.

http://aiimpacts.org/category/ai‐timelines/predictions‐of‐human‐level‐ai‐timelines/

HRB June 7, 2017. Nick Harrison & Deborah O’Neill – need good processes that support analytics. Need these in place before trying to do anything fancy. 

http://www.datascienceassn.org/content/how‐top‐10‐industries‐use‐big‐data‐applications

https://hbr.org/2017/06/theres‐no‐such‐thing‐as‐big‐data‐in‐hr?referral=00563&cm_mmc=email‐_‐newsletter‐_‐daily_alert‐_‐alert_date&utm_source=newsletter_daily_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=alert_datespMailingID=17370649&spUserID=MTg5OTExODEzNjMzS0&spJobID=1040155447&spReportId=MA0MDE1NTQ0NwS2

http://www.datascienceassn.org/content/how‐top‐10‐industries‐use‐big‐data‐applications

http://www.entarchs.com/blog/so‐you‐think‐you‐can‐devops.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/janakirammsv/2017/04/03/5‐ways‐machine‐learning‐has‐influenced‐the‐modern‐cloud/#683e02c3113a

https://www.sas.com/en_us/insights/analytics/machine‐learning.html

http://pagilista.blogspot.com/2010/10/agile‐business‐case.html

https://vigornotrigor.wordpress.com/2014/08/26/critical‐thinking‐vs‐creative‐thinking/

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Woman‐Owned Business Going strong for over 26 years Master’s Certificates from Auburn University

Auburn University

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