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APR
What is (and what isn't) Agile?
12 APR 2011 | Posted in agile CMMI measurement | Author Rob Smith |
1 Comment
Following my Blog post last week (Agile v Waterfall) I’ve again found myself in the company of software suppliers that promote themselves as Agile, but clearly are nothing of the sort. This is increasingly becoming a problem and threatens to tarnish the name of Agile and cause the uninformed customer no end of problems.
So what is Agile? The Agile manifesto provides some guiding principles but these unfortunately don’t provide any type of measurement. Perhaps it is time for a standard, a light-touch, CMMI-equivalent for Agile?
When IndigoBlue performs capability reviews they are based on 5 criteria, the pillars of Agile management. These are: the process itself, which should be iterative and incremental; the approach to prioritisation and incremental strategy; the engineering approach, which promotes production plus quality; fluid communications and flexible teams; and governance, which must balance the tension between control and responsiveness.
It is not necessary to fully satisfy each area in order to be Agile, and there will be constraints within organisations that will limit Agility. However, this approach provides a reasonably objective measurement that can establish both capability maturity and identify improvement opportunities.
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Comments
18 Apr 2011 08:26
I've used PRINCE2 to great effect and been burnt badly by agile.
However agile under the conftrol of PRINCE2 does work. PRINCE2 allows agile so long as the management comes back to the principles of PRINCE2. Indeed PRINCE2 sattes that for software developments agile is an appropriate project managemnet tool.
My main concern when directing projects is cost; time; and quality. This then feeds into satifsfying governance and namaging expectations especially in not for profit and public benefit entities.
I wholly support the pillars of agile stated by Rob. Process is king as it can ease tension and act as a tool for the active delegation of resoponsibilties so that non executive directors can let the execeutive get on with the project whilst reporting the exemptions and being accountable for variances beyond agreed tollerances to the three concerns I have listed above.
I think its also worth looking for success and asking why those projects were successful and then seeing if you can replicate the success using the same principles. Recent examples are the 2012 olympic build and the St Pancras contracts. The former delivered within budget (if you forget the VAT that was forgoten in the first budget bid!) and both were delivered ahead of schedule to a high spec.
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