Agile approach
- Agile methods offer several benefits including faster time to market, more business value and improved stakeholder satisfaction.
- For planning, agile does not recommend heavy upfront planning.
- Instead, it recommends an initial high-level plan which is re-visited on several occasions throughout the project.
- Agile methods work well where there is uncertainty in the environment and the results are driven by people rather than process.
- Heavy-weight methods canvass formality and discipline in order to work the intricacies of the project.
- In opposition, agile methods favor creativity, improvisation, and nimbleness to negotiate with project hazards.
- In addition, agile methods welcome change and alternately adapt to the new conditions.
- Heavy methods are more pessimistic at handling change and try to get all things worked out in the first instance.
Agile common frameworks or methodologies
- Common frameworks or methodologies used within agile include: scrum, extreme programming (XP), lean software development, crystal, feature driven development (FDD), dynamic systems development method (DSDM), agile unified process (AUP). [Agile Software Development: The Cooperative Game – 2nd Edition. Alistair Cockburn.]
Agile failures
- The top 12 causes of agile failure (failure modes) according to Aaron Sanders :
- 1. A checkbook commitment doesn’t automatically cause organizational change or support.
- 2. Culture doesn’t support change.
- 3. Culture does not have retrospectives or performs them poorly.
- 4. Standards and quality are lost in a race to project closing.
- 5. Lack of collaboration in planning.
- 6. None or too many Product Owners.
- 7. Poor project leadership or scrum master that doesn’t place trust in the team and allow it to be self-organizing and self-disciplined.
- 8. No on-site agile promoter or coach.
- 9. Lack of a well built, high-performance team.
- 10. Accrued technical debt if strict testing standards are not upheld.
- 11.Culture maintains traditional performance appraisals where individuals are honored and the team aspect is lost.
- 12. Reversion to the traditional or ‘old-way’ of doing business occurs because change is hard.
- [Coaching Agile Teams. Lyssa Adkins.]
More informations at PMI-ACP exam
Updated : 13/10/2021