Can Agile be used to Rescue a Troubled Project? March 2013

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1 Can Agile be used to Rescue a Troubled Project? March 2013 Scope of this Report Can Agile be used to rescue a troubled project? The answer is simply, it depends. Projects run into trouble for a variety of reasons. A typical pallet of problems that agile can help address includes the following: Poor Planning Poor Scope Management Not Managed Well Poor Communications Poor Quality Interestingly, all these possible reasons come back to people issues. The reason is that people issues tend to cluster around behaviors caused by poor facilitation, poor communication or poor expectations management. Why use Agile as a tool? Agile projects are successful three times more often than non-agile projects CHAOS Report from the Standish Group When applied, Agile principles create an environment of involvement, strong change control, selforganization and short feedback loops. Agile reflects the application of an empirical process model. Inspection Transparency Adaptation In simple terms, a cycle of inspection facilitated by transparency followed by adaptation helps drive selfcorrection. Another example of an empirical model is the Shewart Cycle of Plan-Do-Check-Act 2013 David Consulting Group Page 1 of 5 v1

2 popularized as the Deming Wheel. These types of models are at the heart of all continuous improvement. The use of Agile will facilitate identifying issues and making the changes required to deliver value. Using Agile techniques require the organization to accept a number of principles like transparency, short feedback loops and the ability for teams to mold the processes they use to do work. If Agile principles clash with the corporate culture to the point that they could further injure the project, don t use agile. Fortunately we rarely see these attitudes get in the way of saving critical projects. The Process 1. Assess a. Collect information. b. Determine if the project is really in trouble? c. Determine if the project is too far gone? 2. Plan a. Organize / reorganize teams b. Build commitment 3. JumpStart a. Get everyone moving in the same direction at once! 4. Coach a. Follow up restart by helping the teams do the right thing in the right way. 5. Celebrate a. Feedback that the project is moving in the right direction not just at the end but as change is accomplished. Assess Shakespeare wrote to be or not to be but when deciding whether a project requires intervention, we might paraphrase the quote a bit to say to act or not to act. In each case we need to decide whether a project warrants or needs intervention. Not all projects we viewed as troubled are in bad enough shape to require an intervention and by intervening we might waste resources or a learning opportunity. For example, does a project that is two weeks behind schedule after a year and with an estimated duration of an additional year of duration warrant an intervention? What if the implementation date has been committed to in the marketplace? All of the indicators of a project under duress need to be interpreted as part of entire organization and at the same time through the lens of known set of tolerances David Consulting Group Page 2 of 5 v1

3 Assessment can be done using a variety of methods. Each method has its own set of strengths and weaknesses. The overall strength in using a method (any method) is that the results become less about opinions and feelings and more about facts. There are three basic forms of assessment: model, process and quantitative. Model CMMI IT-CMF Cobit Quantitative Dates Defects Cost Productivity Effort Budget Process Satisfaction Change Management SDLC When assessing most troubled projects, an assessment using a quantitative model will provide the fastest and the least controversial feedback. An example of a basic, yet serviceable, set of project management tolerances that can be assessed against the performance of all projects would include the following categories: Budget Calendar Quality Satisfaction Technical Incompatibilities The definition of each tolerance includes a range that helps reject false positives. Most of the quantitative measures provide better information when denominated by size (e.g. function points) however using tee-shirt sizing ranges can provide some of the value of a more rigorous technique. A systems view of the organization and a set of tolerances will act as a filter to identify troubled projects that bear scrutiny and then possible intervention. The applications of filters should not be viewed as absolute but as a tool to facilitate the required conversations and information gathering. The final step in the assessment process is determining an overall direction for the course of action. We suggest that if an intervention is required that there are only two possible strategies. The first is to reset the project (build on what has occurred using new techniques and team structures) and the second is to blow it up and start over. Again a set of criteria should be leveraged to lessen the passion around the 2013 David Consulting Group Page 3 of 5 v1

4 decision process. In good lean fashion we suggest keeping the list as simple and binary as possible. Note: As with any human decision there will be nuances driven by the conversations needed to develop answers for the criteria. The following table shows an example set of criteria: Criteria Is there a coherent vision of the projects goal? Does an external estimate to complete indicate that humans can actually deliver the project? Can the organization afford what is required to deliver the project? Action Include other criteria as needed. However, recognize that trying to turn around a project that is either not feasible or is not pursuing a coherent goal will generally lead to throwing good money after bad. Plan the Intervention Teams are a central component of any agile implementation. Using Agile as a tool to rescue a project (or program) will require ensuring stable and proper constituted teams exist. The concept of a matrixed team with dynamic membership has run its course along with the manufacturing model that spawned it. Karl Scotland has described concept of a capability team. The Capability Team is formed around organizational capabilities that deliver implementable functionality; things which will enable the business to make an impact. The focus is on the flow of value the team can deliver. These teams can stay together for as long as the capability is important, building knowledge about all aspects of what they are building, and how they build it. The fixed or capability team provides a focus that is needed for most projects (get the work done and then move rather than random activity) and even more so for projects you are trying to turn around. JumpStart sm The goal of the Jump Start sm Process in restarting or turning around a project is to radically rearrange how a project is being run through an accelerated agile adoption. The process provides an environment 2013 David Consulting Group Page 4 of 5 v1

5 where individual teams quickly learn and apply agile methods to transform their projects with agile. The process includes: One-on-one coaching Show how by doing then transferring knowledge Immediate process feedback Just-in-time training Coach withdraws as team gains confidence Providing all teams and all team members with a set of techniques built on a common understanding and built from hands on training, starts to build a central core of shared experience required for a team to gel. The JumpStart provides a line in the sand that say, before we were this kind of a project and now we are different. Transformational Coaching After starting the project on a new track effort is needed to keep it on the straight and narrow until the new set of behaviors becomes muscle memory. A coach provides a constant addition of energy into the process so that the team does not revert to old behaviors. Think about any sports team you have practiced on. The coach s role is a support role outside of the three standard Scrum roles. One of the primary roles of coach (as opposed to the manager) is to provide training and feedback so the players and teams improve. Celebrate Change is difficult and those changing will require feedback to continue to change. Feedback needs to include both positive and negative components to be effective in the long term. Celebration is a component of the positive feedback. Celebrate getting the project moving in the right direction; don t wait for the end of the project or a release to provide positive feedback. Conclusion Unfortunately there is not lack of troubled projects. Whether we read the litany of reasons projects fail in the Chaos Report or just reflect on the project that are going on in our own shop; they are around us. Some or all of these projects could fail and become the next big train wreck that is talked about around the coffee pots in hushed tones. The real issue is that we rather that none of these projects fail therefore we have a bias toward action. Sources David Consulting Group Page 5 of 5 v1