Hi all -

We are looking to move to an agile development/management process from a typical waterfall method of development.  One item we are having extended discussion on is the Statement of Work, or Project Charter.  We would have the client sign this after the analysis phase is complete, then create the WBS/plan.  Since it seems Agile supports more of a vision than a detailed task list for the project beginning to end, how does a charter come into play?  Is it even used?

Thanks in advance.

Well - I'll take a stab at this one, being fairly new to the SCRUM world anyway.  My background has traditionally been in Big 5 (when there was more then 5) and Fortune 100 companies.  So - lots of process - and lots...lots of paper.  The basic axiom behind SCRUM as a methodology, is that it is *barely sufficient* (self described in training). 

Meaning - there is not much holding it together, and if you don't do one of the three or four prescribed steps/processes - the whole thing falls apart.  Don't let that scare you though - it's actually pretty easy.

Now getting to your question about Charter, etc.  Because I'm doing the same thing...  Our charter process right now is really just an initial document to help set the boundaries of a project...nothing more.  My gut tells me that I need to put much more work into the charter, etc.  But SCRUM says to throw it out the window and let your backlog (requirements) and sprint planning drive your delivery cycles. 

In the end - another premise of SCRUM is that you are never really done.  The backlog of new features, bugs, enhancements; is constantly being updated and changed.  In our case, we have been working with our users to gather and define all requirements - and determined what is a must have for release 1.0.  Once we know that - sprint planning/estimating allowed us to decompose the 1.0 requirements into several 30 day sprints. 

After the first sprint was completed, we went back to the backlog - reprioritized with the business based on some new information, and recommitted to the second sprint.  And so on...

So - as it turns out - while our Charter helped set the big picture for how the new application fits in the business with high level goals... our backlog is what really drove the effort.

Now I hope I said everything right - so if you have any questions, don't hesitate.

 

Thanks Robert - we're just implementing this and some things have been a struggle to transition.  Initial project setup items (such as this) and how to bill the client versus what we do now are the biggest points.  I appreciate your answer - thanks again!

Hi,

I am also very new to this agile process and honestly right now I am not liking it very much, since people here at the company are using it as an excuse for not planning! :)

Anyways, my question in regards to agile is, How do you measure progress?? Can I ever say how much % complete I am??? Since the backlog is being updated on a regular basis and changed, I am afraid I can not really do that. What I am doing right now is measuring progress for each sprint. Since that is pretty much a fixed set of requirements that is supposed to be done in a set amount of time. (the project that I am managing right now has a 1month sprint - we want to change that to two weeks).

Thank you for your replies and help,
Hanan

You're facing the same problems I faced.  I've since moved into a more Scrum Master role, as we've decided to go with the Scrum framework for agile development.  Below is a short conversation on Project Management in an agile environment that I found interesting:

I do not think a scrum master and a project manager should be the same person.

 Agile requires a significant change in behavior by all managers. The PM role is most directly affected. If a PM is going to become a Scrum master, I believe the PM needs to commit to learning a whole new way of delivering value to the organization. The scrum master is a servant leader, where the PM is a manager. They are are very different value systems - one caters to the team's needs to be sucessful, while the other requires hands on management in order for the individual to be seen as successful.

Can PMs become scrum masters? Absolutely! Just as they might have been analysts or developers prior to becoming PMs. The issue is that PM habits and behaviors are counter to what is needed to make an Agile team successful, so the change curve is significant enough that I would urge caution, especially on high stress projects.

Response from (I'm pretty sure it's) Ken Schwaber:

Absolutely PM’s can become ScrumMasters. They “just” shift from predictive, “I can make it happen” thinking to empirical “what can I do to help things get done and transparent” thinking. Pete Deemer recently described an exercise on this thread for managers leaning their new responsibilities.

Can you think of anything worse than being a traditional project manager? They are responsible for the success of the project, yet they neither develop the software nor do they define what the software should do.

Ken

We have gone to two week sprints from one month and it's worked much better for us.  Explaining the agile process and how we're using it to my clients has helped quite a bit - emphasizing the fact that progress becomes more, not less, transparent to the client with their direct involvement throughout the project has really helped as well.

A measure of completeness is easier in my opinion now than before, since we're splitting parts of an epic story into manageable pieces, and the client has a better idea of what things are done when and what is still to come.  My clients have a more personal role in how development progresses now, and I have much less of a problem or worry when it comes to communicating progress since we've gone to Scrum.

Hi Damian,

thank you for your response. I think the solution for us right now is to get real training in agile, instead of having only the director of product development go to the training and telling us how things work.
It is definitely do-able, but you need EVERYBODY's commitment and understanding of the matter. We are still keeping it at 1month for now, since our new task list and resource allocation require it. But I surely believe that 2 weeks is going to work better for us. As for the role of the PM or actually Scrum master - yes that is true, he/she is more a servant leader - getting road blocks out of the way. Fortunately we don't face any real issues, which leaves me pretty free of any work! So unfortunately I feel bored at times in my role as a scrum master! So I am glad that this is the only project that is managed agile!

Thanks again for your help.

Hanan

And I bet it won't be the last.

I love the dynamic and fluid nature of agile managed projects. There are some small projects that I've worked on that I really wished there were managed agile. I can't believe the frustration we had by not going this direction. I think that you having a lot of free time on your hand is a good sign, and probably you'd be able to efficiently manage more projects at the same time (and probably still have some free time), and it's all because you're going agile.