Its an Agile World: The Case of Olivedale Hospital This isnt what I need! objected the admissions officer at Olivedale Hospital. Sune sighed, But this is the software you asked us to create for you. I dont care what I said at the time; this system wont work for us the way you have it set up. Youll have to fix it. But any fixes are going to set this project back at least four months, Sune warned. Why dont you work with it for a while and get used to the features? Im sure youll find that it works fine. Sunes attempt at reassurance just set off an even more negative response from the admissions officer; Look, we needed the registration screens in a different format. I cant read this one. And on top of that, its missing the medical aid check function. But you didnt ask for any of those features last April when we developed the specifications for the system. At the time, I didnt know they were available. Since the emergent of COVID-19, we got new information and some new government regulations. Youll have to make big changes before I can authorize our staff to switch over to this system. As Sune reflected on this conversation later, she realized that this had become a recurring problem at the hospital. As head of the IT department, Sune was responsible for upgrading and adding multiple new reporting and information system functions to the hospitals software on an ongoing basis. It seemed as if the plan for every new effort was met by clients with initial enthusiasm and high expectations. After the preliminary scope meetings, members of the IT group would head back to the department and work over several months to create a prototype so their clients could see the system in use, play around with it, and realize its value. Unfortunately, more often than not, that sequence just didnt happen. By the time the programmers and system developers had finished the project and presented it to the customer, these hospital staff members had forgotten what they asked for, didnt like what they received, or had a new list of critical features the IT representative had to immediately include. Later, at the lunch table, Sune related the latest demonstration and rejection meeting to some of her colleagues from the IT group. To a person, they were not surprised. Thulani, her second-in-command, shrugged, It happens all the time. When was the last time you had a department act happy with what we created for them? Look at it o the bright side - its steady work! Sune shook her head, No, theres got to be something wrong with our processes. This shouldnt keep happening like this. Think about it. Whats the average time of one of our software upgrade projects? Five or six months? Thulani thought a moment, Yes, something like that. OK, Sune continued, during your typical development cycle, how often do we interact with the client? As little as possible! You know that the more we talk to them, the more changes they ask for. Its better to just lock the specs up-front and get working. Anything else leads to delays. Sune objected, Does it really delay things that much; especially when the alternative is to keep developing systems that no one wants to use because its not what they asked for ? Thulani thought about this and then looked at Sune, Maybe this is a no-win situation. If we ask them for input, well never hear the end of it. If we create a system for them, they dont like it. Whats the alternative?

a. The Olivedale Hospital case appear to infer that, when the project scope and/or technology are not fully known, things become much less predictable. Do you agree or disagree? Motivate and support your answer by relating to the case study. (5)

b. Reflect on the limitations and concerns associated with agile project management that will most likely lead to conflict between Sune and Top Hospital Management regarding the rollout of projects if she migrates to Agile Project Management. (10)

c. Why are user stories and system features critical components of an effective Agile development process? Substantiate and support with critical information from the case study.