Recently people at work have been asking my advice on how to run post implementation reviews of major programmes so I thought I’d write up my thoughts. I believe there are two types of post implementation review and I recommend doing both. The first type happens in Project Closure and the second happens after the project has finished, i.e. Post Project.
Continue reading
No battle plan survives contact with the enemy
Field Marshal Helmuth Graf von Moltke
Life is what happens to you
while you’re busy making other plans
John Lennon
Agile Project Planning tells us what we expect to do, but, to paraphrase the quotes above, plans often turn to custard. The job of the Agile Project Manager is to guide the team to successful delivery despite the challenges the world throws at the project. This article is about monitoring the project against the plan and intervening when we notice things going off track. In particular it covers Traditional Project Monitoring & Control, Agile versus Traditional Monitoring & Control, Agile Project control, Agile project metrics, Agile Project Reporting, and Agile Project Monitoring.
Continue reading
Agile Project Closure is about handing over to the operations team, tidying up any loose ends, reviewing the project, celebrating, and going home.
Continue reading
The Agile Post-Project phase is not really concerned about the project that preceded it, but is instead concerned about the product that resulted. It is a good idea, but in my experience uncommon, to check that the product meets the business need for which it was created. Often this can only be done some time after the project ends, say 3-6 months. The Product Owner is responsible for organising the review and accountable for the results.
No battle plan survives contact with the enemy
Plans are nothing, but planning is everything
Field Marshal Helmuth Graf von Moltke
I believe that Agile Project Management provides certainty of delivery. Planning is what lets us answer the question “When will you be finished?”. Planning is, however, just the start of the process. As Moltke pointed out planning is more important that the plan because once you start the project you’ll find the plan is wrong and you have to adapt. All plans need revisiting and you will have to use Agile Project Control, Agile Change Management, and Agile Risk Management to get the promised certainty of delivery.
Continue reading