If we hypothesize that neither Scrum nor Agile are project management, then what are they and what is their relationship to project management? Answering these questions requires defining several terms. I have previously defined Agile as sets of values and principles governing software product development methods given in a document Read more…
Both basic Scrum and 2nd generation approaches like SAFe and Smith/Sidky[1] make a number of assumptions about the type of work, team composition, location and stability, project governance and other factors. Examples include the expectation of a stable, experienced, co-located team of about 7 members, daily availability of a single Read more…
In the canon of Agile metaphors, we find this model of minimum viable product (MVP) and incremental development in solving transportation needs. The model suggests that it is better to create more quickly achieved products that meet minimal elements of the overall need than it is to build directly toward Read more…
When Scrum rituals are used without a deep understanding of their purpose, they can degenerate into hollow activities done for the purpose of following the form, but without creating their expected benefits. For example, I have seen many sprint retrospectives following the form precisely that produced nothing more substantive than Read more…
It is often true that the common understanding of the terms “Agile” and “Scrum” are conflated leaving the impression that the terms vaguely synonymous and can be used interchangeably as in the pictured web article below. This is unfortunate as it obscures the important differences between the practices and can Read more…
There is a lot to agree with in Leon Tranter’s Myths of agile: “there’s no documentation in agile”. And yet there is a new myth inside the debunking of the original myth. Among the many fine arguments supporting the use of documentation in Agile projects and advocating using Agile philosophy Read more…
While a popular conception is that Agile methodology opposes the creation of documentation, most mature Agilists disagree, including the originator of the Scrum approach. In Sutherland’s OOPSLA ’95 paper, the first to define Scrum, he describes a robust design and documentation phase called the ‘pre-game’ occurring prior to the beginning Read more…
I often use the process of chartering projects as an example of the application of pragmatic project management. Project charters are a commonly used tool for initiating a project that capture critical information needed to gain sponsorship for a project and to begin work. There is some variation in the Read more…
“Project management is simply the application and execution of structured, organized, common sense.” James T. Brown, PhD, PMP in The Handbook of Program Management While Dr. Brown captures the core of how I view project management and its associated methodologies, more specifically I think that project management methodologies are just Read more…