One of the ironies of the discussion on no-estimates is that the no-estimate proponents do in fact estimate. In a small way.
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Author Archives: Steven Thomas
Agile Programme Roles and Responsibilities
To go with my typical programme organisation I thought I’d describe the roles and responsibilities I expect on an Agile programme. Remember I’m interested in software delivery so I’m talking about programmes that have software development at the core. Non-software programmes would have a different mix of roles.
Some roles in an programme correspond to the roles in an project. The scale of responsibility is larger and emphasis on coordination greater but the nature of the roles is broadly similar. The Agile Programme Manager, Programme Product Owner and Technical Architect roles fit this mould, corresponding to Agile Project Manager, Product Owner and Technical Lead.
In addition a programme needs some roles that don’t appear at all in a project, in particular Programme Director and Business Change Manager. Again these roles are a result of the wider remit and increased communication necessary in a programme but also because of the focus on organisational transformation.
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What do I do when There is More Than One Product Owner
The product owner defines what the development team is meant to build and the order in which it is built. What should you do when the Product Owner responsibilities lie with more than one person?
The short answer, that works in simple situations, is get the business to pick one. However things are not always so simple and there are situations where you will need more than product owner. I’ll outline a few scenarios, both good and bad, which for the purposes of this post I’ll characterise as Many Kings, Pretender to the Throne, and finally Chief and Indians.
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Estimate To Inform Investment Decisions
Some people think estimating is “crystal ball gazing” (@agilemanager, 2 Nov 2012) leading to “bad decisions” (@WoodyZuill, 2 Dec 2012). I’m not one of them.
I don’t always estimate. Nor do I necessarily estimate everything. But I find estimating helpful when considering investment proposals. This is true whether picking the next user story or commissioning an entire project.
Admittedly estimating is not an exact science so I think George Dinwiddie (@gdinwiddie, 27 Feb 2013) summed it up nicely when he tweeted that “estimates turn the unknown into the unsure, based on someone else’s expertise”.
I believe that even estimates with caveats help the business make better investment decisions.
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The Scrum of Scrums is not Agile Programme Management
Today I bumped into an article Bryan Zarnett wrote for the Scrum Alliance. I read the article mainly because the title caught my eye in Google – Running the Scrum of Scrums: Agile Program Management.
This leapt out at me because of the claim that the Scrum of Scrums is the same as Agile Programme Management. It isn’t.
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Programme Organisation for Software Delivery
I thought I’d share the way I organise programme teams. I’m interested in software delivery so I’m talking about programmes that have software development at the core. Non-software programmes would have a different structure and mix of roles. I push Agile but the same organisation would work with a less nimble approach.
There is nothing mysterious or radical about my programme organisation. In fact it is entirely in keeping with the guidance from Managing Successful Programmes (MSP). If you didn’t know Organisation is one of the nine Governance Themes from MSP.
Although I tend to apply the same shape to all of my programmes I do adapt it to local conditions. The size of the team makes a big difference so I’ll show how I have organised large, medium sized and small programme teams. I’ll also take a quick look at a poor structure for a programme team – with role based teams – and explain why I don’t fancy it.
There are obviously other ways of structuring a programme team but this is what has worked for me.
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How to Juggle New Product Development with Operational Demands
You’ve got a product backlog as long as your arm but the system is live and operational demands keep landing on the developers doorstep. What to do?
Many development teams have to cope with operational commitments in addition to their new work. This is inconvenient but reality. Basically you need a mechanism to get operational work through the process despite high priority new development. There are a few mechanisms to enable this.
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Three Talents of Great Project Managers
During the last year I have spent a lot of energy on recruiting project managers. I was looking for something specific and although I spoke to a lot of project managers, some of whom came highly recommended, it took a long time before I found what I was looking for.
Having spent a fair bit of energy on this, I thought I’d write up what I believe makes a great project manager.
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Agile MSP Programmes with Rigid Projects. Ouch!
Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) is about programmes but it does have something to say about how to run the subordinate projects. And projects in MSP are not meant to be agile in any way. Although agility is encouraged for MSP programmes agility in the projects is viewed as a “disaster”. Given the people who use MSP are most likely to be using PRINCE2 this belief is perhaps not surprising. But it is not a belief I hold to.
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Speaking at the BBC Cardiff Kanban Meet Up
Aside
Tomorrow night I’m speaking at the BBC Cardiff Kanban Meet Up on the topic of “Delivering incrementally with Agile methods”.
I’ll be presenting material from three of my blog posts:
- Build Less, Start Sooner, Innovate Constantly
- Revisiting the Iterative Incremental Mona Lisa
- Pain Driven Development
Come along if you are in the area.