ADAPT and CONTROL

The governance framework or agile governance model is used in conjunction with a standard Agile processes, such as Scrum. They work in two specific ways:

• They provide a wrapper for an Agile project by clarifying the processes that occur outside of development iterations (sprints). This includes providing clear criteria for the successful completion of project initiation and proper validation of the decisions and plan.
• They shift the emphasis of specific parts of the standard Agile process and highlight particular principles and techniques that need governance or support governance.

The ADAPT and CONTROL framework includes techniques for effectively controlled programmes:

• Project initiation for uncertainty management
• Incremental strategy development
• Just-in-time architecture and design
• Input and output document definitions and standards
• Risk identification and management

Additionally ADAPT and CONTROL includes the definitive approach to planning, tracking and reporting in Agile, which provides:

Estimation, planning and tracking

Based on the standard Agile approach, ADAPT and CONTROL utilises the product backlog, relative estimates, velocity and burn-up charts to provide incremental plans, iteration plans, milestones and measure variance.

Variability in resource availability and output

Projects will always be subject to resource changes, be this ramp-up and ramp-down, holidays, sickness or natural attrition. Equally the output of the team will change as the project progresses. ADAPT and CONTROL takes account of these variances in both planning and reporting. This is particularly important in early iterations when an extrapolated low velocity would have a negative impact on team morale.

Uncertainty and Risk Management

Incremental projects can carry uncertainty, which is removed as the solution is delivered. If uncertainties are not removed at the appropriate rate then standard Agile metrics become invalid indicators of progress. Our approach provides metrics for the measurement and tracking of functional and non-functional uncertainties.

Stakeholder visibility and control

Highly productive, focused Agile project teams are empowered to make strategic decisions quickly and efficiently. These can often have significant impact on the overall solution. It is essential that stakeholders beyond the immediate team have appropriate visibility of decisions and can provide direction and control, even where the outcome is positive. ADAPT and CONTROL provides clear reporting of change at strategic level to enable stakeholders to understand the project evolution and make informed decisions.

Change control and issue management

Importantly ADAPT and CONTROL enables a balance between the demand for control and the requirement for responsiveness of incremental delivery. An initial baseline is created against which the team can implement change within defined tolerances. Where change falls outside of these the change management process is invoked. This is essential for stakeholder control and visibility. Within the change management process, all changes are subject to value-based review.

Commitment to milestones

Unlike other approaches, ADAPT and CONTROL enables project teams to plan delivery milestones, make firm commitments and report against variances to plan. Using a number of planning techniques the approach provides the level of confidence expected of waterfall-based projects without lengthy up-front analysis and design.

Clear non-technical reporting metrics

The reporting metrics within the approach are clear and concise and are presented through reporting templates which can be read and understood by non-technical staff.

The ADAPT and CONTROL approach builds upon standard Agile backlog management principles and therefore does not create additional unnecessary overhead for the project team. The tracking can be applied through of-the-shelf planning tools including Mingle and RallyDev.

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