The way I see it Agile Programme Management weaves together three threads: Transformation, Alignment and Adaptation. These threads are present in traditional approaches to programme management however an Agile approach subtlety changes each and increases the focus on Adaptation.
In this, the first post in a new series on Agile Programme Management, I’ll explain the three threads within Agile Programme Management.
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For the last couple of years I’ve been running a lean startup within the BBC. No really, I mean it. It is indeed possible to have a successful lean startup inside a large publicly funded corporate. It is all about your outlook.
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Personally I think good governance is essential for successful delivery, either within a programme or project, or part of on-going product development.
The recent publication of Governance for Agile delivery: Examples from the private sector July 2012 by the British National Audit Office suggests the UK government is also very interested in Agile and how it can be used to deliver value. But within the constraints of good governance.
However the term “governance” is rarely used along side “Agile”. As a agile programme manager I thought I’d try to answer the question “What is Agile Governance?”
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Jim Highsmith proposed two simple strategies for successful software development: Build Less, Start Sooner.
Jim’s observation is genius, but I would add “Innovate Constantly”.
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So your boss comes to you mid-sprint and demands a new oscillating-email-ingest-engine. Right now. Nothing else is higher priority.
Scrum says “Say no”. I think the discussion is more nuanced.
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Last year I wrote a series of blog posts for the Project Research Institute of Athabascau University in Canada. As I mentioned before the PMI’s aim was to introduce their relatively mainstream audience to an Agile perspective. My aim was to show how the principles and practices of Lean-Agile Software Development offer creative solutions to general project challenges.
The PMI has now published all of my posts, including:
Some people view programme management as simply the management of multiple projects (see for example Johanna Rothman: Defining Program Management and How Agile Helps).
Although programmes often comprise multiple related projects this definition, for me, misses the real point. As I see it programme management involves three things: building capability, rolling it out and, most importantly, delivering business benefit.
Ever since I read "Made to Stick" by the Heath Brothers I’ve been a keen collector of success stories about my programme.
As the programme manager I have to report on the progress of my team. Risks, Issues, Budget, Milestones, Financial Benefits, Reach, etc, etc. Lots of numbers and facts. Terribly significant and rather dull.
So, to spice things up, I also report on success stories.
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I was recently asked to write a series of blog posts for the Project Research Institute of Athabascau University in Canada. The institute wanted to expose their audience, mainstream project managers, to an Agile perspective. I relished the opportunity and readily agreed.
My aim with my PMI series is to show how the principles and practices of Lean-Agile Software Development offer creative solutions to general project challenges such as governance, uncertainty and complexity, under estimation and empowerment. My first post for the institute tackles this head on and I argue that Lean-Agile relevant to all project managers” simply because Lean-Agile offers a new slant on these problems. I am not advocating the wholesale adoption of Agile by all project managers. Merely to offer up a different perspective to that of main stream project management. Armed with this perspective project managers from other domains may be better placed to face their own challenges.
The first couple of posts have already been published and the rest of the series will appear over the next couple of months. If you want to follow the series on the PIR site then have a look at my blog at Athabascau. Otherwise I’ll also post updates here.
A senior manager in the operations area of my organisation recently commented:
There is no such thing as agile infrastructure
That got me thinking. I can imagine that adopting an agile approach to infrastructure might be inappropriate in certain circumstances, for example military or medical domains.
On the other hand my current programme needed a completely new infrastructure stack and I found a considerable amount of agility was possible through that exercise. To my way of (probably simplistic) thinking any changes needed from the infrastructure are to provide either more capability or faster capability. With that in mind I’ve found it is possible to architect for agility and deliver the infrastructure in an incremental and iterative manner.
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