BUSS230 Introduction to Project Management

Week 7.5

Table of Contents

Week 7 Lecture: Organizational Structures.2

Lesson 1: Agile versus Traditional Project Management Concepts.2

Lesson 2: Agile Project Management4

Lesson 3: Agile Management in Use.7

Lesson 4: Quality in Project Management10

Wrap-up.14

Lesson 1: Agile versus Traditional Project Management Concepts.

Stemming from the lessons covered so far in this course, we have learned about the five process groups that make up a traditional project management system. To review, the process groups relate to Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring & Controlling, and Closing. These groups provide for a systematic creation and delivery of a project to the customer. However, it may be possible to use another management methodology in accomplishing the same project. This is called Agile Project Management. This management style is not intended to replace the traditional methodology but to enhance or streamline projects that may not need all of the traditional oversight.

Please watch the following 3-minute video to gain a better understanding on Agile versus Traditional Project Management concepts presented by Knowledgehut.As you view the presentation, please focus on the following:

• Change responsiveness
• Customer focus
• Team control rational
• Project metric comparisons
• Customizable control focus

Agile Project Management Vs Traditional Project Management

This video provided a general overview in comparing an Agile versus a Traditional project management methodology.From the presentation, Agile is better adapted in handling project changes as they occur. Customer focus is key in using Agile. Agile provides for a fluid team control rather than a rigid top to bottom hierarchy from a Traditional aspect. Customer satisfaction is the only success metrics with Agile as opposed to numerous Traditional metrics. Finally, Agile project process flow is easier to customize/change in meeting various project needs as opposed to the set Traditional process flows.

As you can see, Agile provides for a more responsive project management system than the Traditional project management system.However, using Agile would depend on the proposed project scope. Agile Project Management will be discussed further in the next lecture segment.

Lesson 2: Agile Project Management

As previously discussed, Agile Project management is a project development system that focusses on several factors in meeting the end user needs.Agile excels over a traditional approach on handling changes, customer focused, fluid teamwork, success driven metric, and project adaptability. So, how does Agile function in comparison to the traditional project driven methodology?

To understand what Agile Project Management is, please watch the following 8-minute video presented by Devin Deen from Project Manager. As you watch the video, please focus on the following:

• What is Agile Project Management
• Where/who developed Agile
• What is a story, backlog and task
• Sprint & Sprint planning
• Scrum & Scrum meeting
• Sprint Review and Sprint Retrospective
• Burndown Chart

Agile Project Management: Scrum & Sprint Demystified

This video provided a high-level overview on Agile Project Management. Agile is most effective when the end user may not fully know exactly what they want, priorities change constantly, and a cross-functional project team is available. A team of Japanese gentlemen named Nanaka and Takeuchistarted research around 1986 while studying manufacturing and restaurant supply chains projects. They theorized using a rugby style metaphor as an approach in completing the projects were deemed more successful with project completion. Later in the U.S., Sutherland and Schwabformulated this concept into Agile Project Management at a business conference. Basically, Agile is organized into a story on what you want to achieve, a backlog on requirements to meet the story, and tasks are assigned functions to complete the backlog.To accomplish these tasks, the sprint is scheduling these tasks into short bursts of time. In a sprint planning meeting, the priorities are set with the user based on the backlog. Using these priorities, a scrum is the project team to work on the sprint. They will meet up in a scrum meeting on a regular basis to discuss and coordinate the sprint progress. The sprint review is to show accomplishments and project status to the end users. Finally, the sprint retrospective enables the scrum to meet at the end of a sprint and sprint meeting to gain a feedback on positive or negative perspectives for future sprint activities.The burndown chart reflects a visual timeline on sprint completions and time remaining.

Lesson 3: Agile Management in Use

As you can see, Agile Project Manager is a very adaptable system to meet user changes in completing a project. Project tasks can be broken down into smaller sets so that the cross-functional scrum team can complete these tasks in a short burst of time or sprint. As it was discussed, a final team sprint retrospective was completed to review any task issues. So how would this Agile project management system actually function? What are the roles of the key players in this system?What are the interactions between the Product Owner, Stakeholders, and the Agile team?

To gain a better perspective on these questions, please watch the following 16-minute video on how Agile management is used by Henrik Kniberg. As you watch the video, please keep an eye out on:

• The overall Agile process flow model
• Understanding key terms (i.e. Overflow, Work-In-Progress, Queue/Backlog, Prioritization, and Backlog grooming).
• Why/how to say "NO"
• Why communication is important with Agile
• Consider Risk analysis, Value, Long/Short-term perspectives, Feedback loop, and Expectation Trend Lines

Agile Product Ownership in a Nutshell

This video provided a practical example on how Agile Project Management flows from the Product Owner (PO) viewpoint. In this situation example, the PO establishes/coordinates a perspective vision of a project with the stakeholders. The user stories are then developed and sent in as inputs to the Agile scrum team. The scrum team processes these stories by using sprints to create a set output of stories to the stakeholders (Work-In-Progress limit). Stories that are not selected for the sprint are left in the queue. As the stakeholders develop additional stories (overflow), a backlog in the queue continues to build for the PO to prioritize and manage.At some point in time, there may be a decision situation where the PO may deny accepting stakeholder inputs or opt for backlog grooming to cancel existing stories from the queue. One main factor in the entire process is effective communication with everyone associated with the project. Open communications enable everyone to understand and guidance for the project. Communication, coordination, and feedback allow the PO and team to perform effective value and estimating of stories while splitting-up of larger stories is known as backlog grooming.Additionally, there are certain decisional trade-of factors for the entire project team to consider such as risk analysis, knowledge/customer value management, long or short-term thinking, balance decisions to build the right thing, build the thing right, or build it fast, and new/old product development decisions.Finally, the PO must also consider realistic expectations management providing stakeholder story completion forecasts using output and time factors.

Lesson 4: Quality in Project Management

Up to this point, we have discussed the various methodologies used to effectively design and implement a project plan. Another key aspect to consider is how efficiently a business or office operates internally. A Project Manager should not only understand the processes needed to produce a project product, but how much quality of work the project team is producing.This is where LEAN, Six Sigma, or a Lean Six Sigma combination would benefit in project management operations.The LEAN concept enables a PM to look at the workflow processes of the team to find wasted time, efforts, or materials for improvements. The Six Sigma process provides for analytical studies to determine statistical probabilities in finding deficiencies. Lean Six Sigma combines both of these quality processes to find the most efficient process in completing project management tasks.

To gain a better perspective on these three quality processes, please watch the following 36-minute video on how these aspects form a Lean Six Sigma management structure furnished by KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc. As you watch the video, please keep an eye out on:

• The history and LEAN processes.
• The history and Six Sigma processes.
• What is Lean Six Sigma and who are the key players?
• What is the DMAIC cycle?

Introduction to Lean Six Sigma Methodology

This video provided a practical example on how a LEAN, Six Sigma, or Lean Six Sigma methodologies can benefit your project management process.The LEAN methodology originated with Fredrick Taylor in the 1890's to conduct for time studies and standardize work processes. Then in the 1960's, Taiichi Ohno revolutionized the auto manufacturing system that later became the LEAN Manufacturing process in the U.S.

To understand LEAN factors, it is categorized into:

• non-value-added waste (i.e. motion, waiting, inventory, rework, transportation, over-production, & over-processing)
• value-added essential activities (i.e. activities needed to complete the process)
• non-value-added but needed business processes (i.e. activities that need to be completed but do not add value to the process such as submitting for permits).

In identifying these LEAN factors, a Value Stream Map was presented in creating a workflow process chart from the beginning to the end of a particular function. This map will aid with understanding the existing processed used and may help with identifying wastes for process improvements.

The Six Sigma methodology uses statistics to reduce variations and eliminate defects. In 1924, Walter Shewhart introduced statistics to quality control which led to Bill Smith introducing Six Sigma concepts to Motorola for minimizing work process defects. Then in 1995, Jack Welch expanded the Six Sigma into a business-strategy focus to detect variations (range difference between a statistical mean and data points used) and eliminate defects (product/process measurement outside of defined specifications).

In defining what Six Sigma is, the sigma level is measured based on Standard Deviations from the process average or mean to a specific target or limit. Each sigma level corresponds to the number of allowable defects or defect free percentage per one million opportunities. Finally, Lean Six Sigma combines both process tools in providing an overall business management improvement methodology.

In using Lean Six Sigma (LSS), the overall business benefits on shifting from a problem-solving reactive position to a proactive problem prevention stance provides for faster processes, higher quality, increased customer satisfaction, cost savings/sales increases, and improved employee morale/skills.The LSS process team would use the DMAIC (Define scope, Measure existing performance, Analyze waste root causes, Improve solutions to fix the waste, and Control to maintain/update the new performance) cycle in applying the LSS evaluations on business processes. The key players for LSS are:

• Sponsor - supports/finances the LSS execution
• Champion - leads, identifies, prioritizes the process
• Black/Green Belt - leads, teaches, or mentors LSS teams
• Process Owner - overall responsible for the process under review
• Team Members - assist Black/Green Belts with the LSS

Lastly, LSS is applied when there is a business process problem, the processes operate frequently, process solutions are unknown, a root cause is unknown, or when data is available to complete the LSS evaluation.

Wrap-up.

Agile Project Management is an effective method in product development. Compared to the traditional form of project management, the main focus for Agile is to satisfy what the customer wants. Agile was developed to meet the customer needs even with an environment of constant change adaptability or user uncertainty on what actually is required. In using Agile, stakeholder insertions into a queue are inputted to a scrum team (cross-functional personnel) that develops/completes the owner stories or tasks in short sprints (bursts of task completions in a short time period) to provide an output product. Based on the amount of stakeholder inputs and remaining stories, the scrum continues until all of the stories are completed for the project. Effective communication is vital to ensure that all project participants are aware of the project progression and provides assistance towards project completion.

Additionally, understanding the quality improvements on workflow processes can increase the project team efficiency or business in completing the required tasks. The overall goal is to reduce unwanted waste through time spent completing tasks. The use of LEAN, Six Sigma, or the combined Lean Six Sigma methodologies identify and formulate which tasks can be illuminated or minimized for overall workflow improvement.

This week we covered the Agile Project Management process along with the most popular project management frameworks: LEAN, Six Sigma, and Lean Six Sigma. For your initial discussion post, reflect back upon your lecture and the resources provided to answer these prompts:

• Compare and contrast two key aspects on how Agile Project Management differs from a Traditional Project Management system.
• If the Project Manager for a new home builder, evaluate whether you would use an Agile or a Traditional Project Management system. Explain your selection.
• Describe the fundamental project management concepts, techniques, and frameworks we have covered throughout this session.