Learn how to apply agile concepts to your projects. This fully updated book covers changes to agile approaches and new information related to the methods of managing an agile project.
Agile Project Management For Dummies, 3rd Edition gives product developers and other project leaders the tools they need for a successful project. This book’s principles and techniques will guide you in creating a product roadmap, self-correcting iterations of deployable products, and preparing for a product launch. Agile approaches are critical for achieving fast and flexible product development. It’s also a useful tool for managing a range of business projects.
Written by one of the original agile technique thought-leaders, this book guides you and your teams in discovering why agile techniques work and how to create an effective agile environment. Users will gain the knowledge to improve various areas of project management.
• Define your product’s vision and features
• Learn the steps for putting agile techniques into action
• Manage the project’s scope and procurement
• Plan your team’s sprints and releases
• Simplify reporting related to the project
Agile Project Management For Dummies can help you to better manage the scope of your project as well as its time demands and costs. You’ll also be prepared to skillfully handle team dynamics, quality challenges, and risks.
Author(s): Mark C. Layton, Steven J Ostermiller, Dean J. Kynaston
Series: For Dummies
Edition: 3
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Year: 2020
Language: English
Commentary: Vector PDF
Pages: 496
City: Hoboken, NJ
Tags: Management; Risk Management; Agile; Scrum; Project Management; Product Management; Communication; Scheduling; Team Management; Planning; Teamwork; Quality Management
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Icons Used in This Book
Beyond the Book
Where to Go from Here
Part 1 Understanding Agility
Chapter 1 Modernizing Project Management
Project Management Needed a Makeover
The origins of modern project management
The problem with the status quo
Introducing Agile Project Management
How agile projects work
Agile Project Management Is Becoming Agile Product Management
Differences between managing a project versus developing a product
Why agile product development works better
Chapter 2 Applying the Agile Manifesto and Principles
Understanding the Agile Manifesto
Outlining the Four Values of the Agile Manifesto
Value 1: Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Value 2: Working software over comprehensive documentation
Value 3: Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Value 4: Responding to change over following a plan
Defining the 12 Agile Principles
Agile principles of customer satisfaction
Agile principles of quality
Agile principles of teamwork
Agile principles of product development
Adding the Platinum Principles
Resisting formality
Thinking and acting as a team
Visualizing rather than writing
Changes as a Result of Agile Values
The Agile Litmus Test
Chapter 3 Why Being Agile Works Better
Evaluating Agile Benefits
How Agile Approaches Beat Historical Approaches
Greater flexibility and stability
Reduced nonproductive tasks
Higher quality, delivered faster
Improved team performance
Tighter control
Faster and less costly failure
Why People Like Being Agile
Executives
Product development and customers
Management
Development teams
Chapter 4 Agility Is about Being Customer Focused
Knowing Your Customers
Common methods for identifying your customer
Figuring Out the Problem Your Customer Needs to Solve
Using the scientific method
Failing early is a form of success
Defining customer-focused business goals
Story mapping
Liberating structures — simple rules to unleash a culture of innovation
Understanding Root Cause Analysis
Pareto rule
Five why’s
Ishikawa (fishbone)
Part 2 Being Agile
Chapter 5 Agile Approaches
Diving under the Umbrella of Agile Approaches
Reviewing the Big Three: Lean, Scrum, and Extreme Programming
An overview of lean
An overview of scrum
An overview of extreme programming
Putting It All Together
Chapter 6 Agile Environments in Action
Creating the Physical Environment
Collocating the team
Setting up a dedicated area
Removing distractions
Low-Tech Communicating
High-Tech Communicating
Choosing Tools
The purpose of the tool
Tools that encourage the success of forced team dislocation
Organizational and compatibility constraints
Chapter 7 Agile Behaviors in Action
Establishing Agile Roles
Product owner
Development team member
Scrum master
Stakeholders
Agile mentor
Establishing New Values
Commitment
Focus
Openness
Respect
Courage
Changing Team Philosophy
Dedicated team
Cross-functionality
Self-organization
Self-management
Size-limited teams
Ownership
Chapter 8 The Permanent Team
Enabling Long-Lived Product Development Teams
Leveraging long-term knowledge and capability
Navigating Tuckman’s phases to performance
Focusing on fundamentals
Creating a working agreement
Enabling Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose
Autonomy
Mastery
Purpose
Highly aligned and highly autonomous teams
Building Team Knowledge and Capability
Part 3 Agile Planning and Execution
Chapter 9 Defining the Product Vision and Product Roadmap
Agile Planning
Progressive elaboration
Inspect and adapt
Defining the Product Vision
Step 1: Developing the product objective
Step 2: Creating a draft vision statement
Step 3: Validating and revising the vision statement
Step 4: Finalizing the vision statement
Creating a Product Roadmap
Step 1: Identifying product stakeholders
Step 2: Establishing product requirements
Step 3: Arranging product features
Step 4: Estimating efforts and ordering requirements
Step 5: Determining high-level time frames
Saving your work
Completing the Product Backlog
Chapter 10 Planning Releases and Sprints
Refining Requirements and Estimates
What is a user story?
Steps to create a user story
Breaking down requirements
Estimation poker
Affinity estimating
Release Planning
Preparing for Release
Preparing the product for deployment
Prepare for operational support
Preparing the organization
Preparing the marketplace
Sprint Planning
The sprint backlog
The sprint planning meeting
Chapter 11 Working throughout the Day
Planning Your Day: The Daily Scrum
Tracking Progress
The sprint backlog
The task board
Agile Roles in the Sprint
Keys for daily product owner success
Keys for daily development team member success
Keys for daily scrum master success
Keys for daily stakeholder success
Keys for daily agile mentor success
Creating Shippable Functionality
Elaborating
Developing
Verifying
Identifying roadblocks
Information Radiators
The End of the Day
Chapter 12 Showcasing Work, Inspecting, and Adapting
The Sprint Review
Preparing to demonstrate
The sprint review meeting
Collecting feedback in the sprint review meeting
The Sprint Retrospective
Planning for retrospectives
The retrospective meeting
Inspecting and adapting
Part 4 Agility Management
Chapter 13 Managing a Portfolio: Pursuing Value over Requirements
Understanding the Differences in Agile Portfolio Management
Should we invest?
Factors for forecasting product investment returns
Managing Agile Product Portfolios
Should we continue investing?
Inspecting and adapting to the next opportunity
Chapter 14 Managing Scope and Procurement
What’s Different about Agile Scope Management?
Managing Agile Scope
Understanding scope throughout product development
Introducing scope changes
Managing scope changes
Using agile artifacts for scope management
What’s Different about Agile Procurement?
Managing Agile Procurement
Determining need and selecting a vendor
Understanding cost approaches and contracts for services
Working with a vendor
Closing a contract
Chapter 15 Managing Time and Cost
What’s Different about Agile Time Management?
Managing Agile Schedules
Introducing velocity
Monitoring and adjusting velocity
Managing scope changes from a time perspective
Managing time by using multiple teams
Using agile artifacts for time management
What’s Different about Agile Cost Management?
Managing Agile Budgets
Creating an initial budget
Creating a self-funding product
Using velocity to determine long-range costs
Using agile artifacts for cost management
Chapter 16 Managing Team Dynamics and Communication
What’s Different about Agile Team Dynamics?
Managing Team Dynamics
Becoming self-managing and self-organizing
Supporting the team: The servant-leader
Working with a dedicated team
Working with a cross-functional team
Reinforcing openness
Limiting development team size
Managing product development with dislocated teams
What’s Different about Agile Communication?
Managing Agile Communication
Understanding agile communication methods
Status and progress reporting
Chapter 17 Managing Quality and Risk
What’s Different about Agile Quality?
Managing Agile Quality
Quality and the sprint
Proactive quality
Quality through regular inspecting and adapting
Automated testing
What’s Different about Agile Risk Management?
Managing Agile Risk
Reducing risk inherently
Identifying, prioritizing, and responding to risks early
Part 5 Ensuring Success
Chapter 18 Building a Foundation
Organizational and Individual Commitment
Organizational commitment
Individual commitment
Getting commitment
Can you make the transition?
Timing the transition
Choosing the Right Pilot Team Members
The agile champion
The agile transition team
The product owner
The development team
The scrum master
The stakeholders
The agile mentor
Creating an Environment That Enables Agility
Support Agility Initially and Over Time
Chapter 19 De-Scaling across Teams
Multi-Team Agile Development
Making Work Digestible through Vertical Slicing
Scrum of scrums
Multi-Team Coordination with LeSS
LeSS, the smaller framework
LeSS Huge framework
Sprint review bazaar
Observers at the daily scrum
Component communities and mentors
Multi-team meetings
Travelers
Aligning through Roles with Scrum@Scale
The scrum master cycle
The product owner cycle
Synchronizing in one hour a day
Joint Program Planning with SAFe
Joint program increment planning
Clarity for managers
Disciplined Agile Toolkit
Chapter 20 Being a Change Agent
Becoming Agile Requires Change
Why Change Doesn’t Happen on Its Own
Strategic Approaches to Implementing and Managing Change
Lewin
ADKAR’s five steps to change
Kotter’s eight steps for leading change
Platinum Edge’s Change Roadmap
Step 1: Conduct an agile audit to define an implementation strategy with success metrics
Step 2: Build awareness and excitement
Step 3: Form a transformation team and identify a pilot
Step 4: Build an environment for success
Step 5: Train sufficiently and recruit as needed
Step 6: Kick off the pilot with active coaching
Step 7: Execute the Roadmap to Value
Step 8: Gather feedback and improve
Step 9: Mature and solidify improvements
Step 10: Progressively expand within the organization
Leading by Example
The role of a servant-leader in an agile organization
Keys for successful servant leadership
Avoiding Transformation Pitfalls
Avoiding agile leadership pitfalls
Signs Your Changes Are Slipping
Part 6 The Part of Tens
Chapter 21 Ten Key Benefits of Agile Product Development
Higher Customer Satisfaction
Better Product Quality
Reduced Risk
Increased Collaboration and Ownership
More Relevant Metrics
Improved Performance Visibility
Increased Investment Control
Improved Predictability
Optimized Team Structures
Higher Team Morale
Chapter 22 Ten Key Factors for Agile Product Development Success
Dedicated Team Members
Collocation
Done Means Shippable
Address What Scrum Exposes
Clear Product Vision and Roadmap
Product Owner Empowerment
Developer Versatility
Scrum Master Clout
Leadership Support for Learning
Transition Support
Chapter 23 Ten Signs That You’re Not Agile
A Non-Shippable Sprint Product Increment
Long Release Cycles
Disengaged Stakeholders
Lack of Customer Contact
Lack of Skill Versatility
Automatable Processes Remain Manual
Prioritizing Tools over the Work
High Manager-to-Creator Ratio
Working around What Scrum Exposes
Practicing Faux Agile
Chapter 24 Ten Valuable Resources for Agile Professionals
Agile Project Management For Dummies Online Cheat Sheet
Scrum For Dummies
The Scrum Alliance
The Agile Alliance
International Consortium for Agile (ICAgile)
Mind the Product and ProductTank
Lean Enterprise Institute
Extreme Programming
The Project Management Institute Agile Community
Platinum Edge
Index
EULA
