Project Management - Using Agile Methodology

David looks at the advantages, project planning and pitfalls involved in using Agile Methodology for fixed cost software projects.

David Booth
Project Management and Consulting Manager
http://www.picnet.com.au

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Closed Caption:

hi my name is David and today we're
going to talk about project management
utilizing agile methodology for fixed
costs software projects with a
particular focus on the advantages of
the agile approach project planning and
simply for to look out for when managing
sets projects so before we actually get
into the agile software development
let's first clarify how software
development methodologies such as agile
feet within the broader project
management framework if we look at the
prints to project management methodology
we can see that the project management
exist at three distinct layers project
direction which is the responsibility of
the project board project management
which is the responsibility of the
project manager and the actual delivery
which the responsibility of the team
manages prince2 provides great data on
what to do at the directing and managing
levels but because it is a general
project management methodology
applicable to all disciplines it leaves
the actual delivery methods open so at
this delivery level is where the agile
software development methodology fits
I don't see a job as an alternative
project management method to print too
but rather as a compliment the prints to
him when it comes to software
development projects
apart from the obvious goal of
delivering the completed software on
time on budget with all the required
functionality i also like to invite
involved this dike stakeholder to the
system as much as possible during the
development process so that one they
truly feel they are part of the
development of the system to to draw
upon their in-depth knowledge of this of
the business and three to provide them
with the reassurance to the system
development is pregnant but is
progressing without going too much
technical data are agile software
development is where the development of
a software system is broken down into a
number of mini or micro projects each of
these many projects produces tested and
functioning features which are a subset
of the overall
system requirements the process is then
subsequently repeated until the system
is completed the advantage of these
automated approach to software
development over a more traditional
watermark for method is that it produces
a fully functioning system components
earlier which in turn allows the
stakeholders to review functional
components at an early stage of the
projects life and subsequently allows
change request to be made earlier on we
have adapted this agile project with
some traditional project management
methods and tools to ensure that the
constraints imposed by cost time and
functionality I still meant for this
particular method has been tailored to
suit the needs of an external service
provider like pick no I think you can
still be generally applied to any fixed
term software project that even if it's
developed in-house as the same
constraints applied to these projects as
well
typically when we develop a software
application on a fixed cost basis the
project follows three main stages the
analysis state the development stage and
acceptance stage here is an example of a
technical delivery plane for a software
project that i manage previously in this
plan you can see the main stages of the
project to keep off the project we have
the analysis stage I like down into too
much detail as this will be the subject
of another video but let's decide that
this is where we set the sky analyze the
business logic and to a lesser extent
analyze the functional requirements of
the system the system requirements
specification document is then produced
which has been reviewed by the customer
and amended and amendments made before
the customer can sign off and for the
start of any actual software coding our
development stages divided into a number
of phases depending on the size of the
project and the business requirements
deliverables at the end of each prize is
a piece of functioning software that
contains a subset of the four systems
functions at the end of each face the
customers given a period of time to to
review the software and provide
back in Cade areas such as business
logic functionality usability and
aesthetics this feedback allows us to
refine the application over the course
of development stage to make better use
of available time for a project we
normally overlap the customer review
process with the next development phase
so that when a customer is reviewing the
developed features the developed
features of one phase developers are
already starting the development for the
next iteration time is allocated at the
end of the second and subsequent
development phases to implement any
changes required as a result of the
customer review in this example project
we have to alterations of development
over a period of six weeks where we
increasingly add new features to the
developing system and to all of the
functional requirements have been
developed by doing these customers can
provide feedback to us on what they're
like and what they don't like about the
developed features an early stage and
hopefully pick up on any areas in
fundamental business logic which can be
rectified an early stage also by
delivering full function for fully
functioning portions of the system to
the customer they are provided with a
tangible object that can be that they
can interact with this has two
advantages
firstly it provides them with some
degree of peace of mind that the project
is moving forward and progressing and
secondly small requirement data is that
have been missed during analysis stage
will usually be reviewed revealed when
the key stakeholders of the system have
had a chance to actually interact with
the system now some people might say
that the during business analysis or
functional requirement should have been
documented but in most cases some of
these requirements are not merely
apparent even to the users and you don't
have a chance to use the system after
the final review and rectification a
cycle and after we are happy with the
functionality and quality of the product
the system has been handed over to the
customer to begin the acceptance stage
the acceptance stage normally consists
of a customer performing the UI team
followed by a short period
fixes in tweaking of the system on any
issues found during your a team once
this is complete the application is then
theoretically ready to be accepted by
the customer as well as using the agile
autoradio structure for my software
development projects we also utilize the
standard tools of project management
such as project status reports project
team meetings and change request
processes now I'd like to move on to
what are some of the potential pitfalls
when managing a project using this
approach the first and probably most
important paid for their project manager
must be aware of is making sure that the
stakeholders or customers in my case
understanding either I development and
review processes and they have the
resources available to do the review and
provide feedback when required during
the project this extremely important as
the autorité of improvement approach of
the agile method only works if feedback
is provided in a timely manner the
second pitfall to avoid is start
creating the problem of scope group is
particularly prevalent in software
projects and the agile method lends
itself a scope crib
however p.m. must totally control any
expansion of functionality and scope of
the project
this is not the size that all pro
changes to functionality should be
rejected that any expansion
functionality or project scope should be
weighed against the time and budget
constraints that if the customer insist
on scope expansions that will cause the
project 24 behind schedule and the
stakeholders must be informed of the
consequences and there must be a thought
process to document significant changes
in scope
thirdly try to set realistic mass times
for each development alteration are
generally consult with the development
team to see which function and functions
natural enemies are being developed
together and attendance at HR duration .
to be between two to three weeks in
length
lastly but not least is communication
with the stakeholder weekly project
status update reports and meetings are
goodbye to keep the stakeholders
informed of the progress of the project
also after h development cycle
I make it a practice to personally
demonstrate the newly developed
functions as well as any new fixes from
the last generation to the customer so
that's a short rundown of how i would go
about managing software development
projects and some tips on some potential
issues to look out for
I hope you've gotten something out of it
keep an eye out for more upcoming videos
on various topics and I'll see you later