How To Create an Agile PMO - UT Dallas

How To Create an Agile PMO

Presented by Curt Finch, CEO, Journyx

Journyx.com/

My name is Curt Finch and I am the CEO

of Journyx. We help customers intelligently

invest their time and resources via time

tracking and resource management

software.

I tweet: @curtfinch– follow me!

I write: “All Your Money Won‟t Another Minute

Buy: Valuing Time as a Business Resource”

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[email protected] New Book & Webinars

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3 Critical Learning Points

1. What is Agile, and why should you

care?

2. Comparing Agile and the traditional Project

Management Office

3. How to build an Agile PMO



Change often?

5 decades to zero profits

Android topples I-phone

New customers?... not for long

Major Trends Happen Fast Now

• Apple invented the space in June ‟07

• Android was beating them at getting

new customers by mid 2010

• Android has more market share by

12/2010

• This speed was unthinkable even 20

years ago.

• Ditto for chemicals, financials,

software etc.

Are you being asked to do more

with less?

Every single customer I’ve talked to in the

last 6 months is not getting more resources,

just more projects. The speed flows

downhill.

Dan Vickers

• Economy is not

robust yet

• Old days are gone.

• New biz model Economy of scale and

market share are not

panaceas now

Agile does more with less, faster

A PMO supporting Agile provides a

centralized function

Agile techniques compliment a PMO by

establishing focus on the product owner

and adding speed.

Resulting in increased project value and success,

higher profits and reduced cost



Where are you? And what do

you do to be in front?

Picture to illustrate?

Critical Learning Point 1:

What is Agile?



Agile is best used in:

• Software development

• Large-scale website development

• Certain processes of product design

• Projects with fast cycle time and low manufacturing

overhead



Agile process• Incremental

• Iterative• Utilizes self-organized, cross-functional teams

• Solutions are created through collaboration

Product Backlog Sprint Backlog

2-4 weeks

24

hours

Sprint Working

Increment of

Product



When would you NOT want to use

Agile?• When building the Golden Gate Bridge



Agile will allow the PMO to increase

flexibility and dialogue with the business



Core Benefit of Agile #1:

Continued Visibility

• Constant measuring and evaluating

• Minimizes scope creep

• Allows stakeholders to see what you are developing

early in the cycle




Continual Visibility

Agile Method

Traditional Method

hiasdhfkashdflkjfljsdfljsdaflkjsdfljsdafljssdaddfgVisibility

Project Life Cycle




Adaptability• External and iterative feedback as you

progressively elaborate requirements enables

companies to adapt themselves to market

needs quickly




Adaptability

Agile Method

Traditional Method

Adaptability

Project Life Cycle




Business Value• Agile forces you to prioritize

requirements and defects

• Keeps customer engaged

• Ensures a quick delivery of initial

business value

• Constant feedback drives value

optimization

• Reduces risky deliverables




Business Value

Agile Method

Traditional Method

Business

Value

Project Life Cycle



Difficulties of Agile

• Integrating Agile into your organization processes

• Changes the thought process around project

management

• Planning

• Collaboration

• Change management


Most agile teams are dedicated

To one project at a time. Faster

but less flexible.



• Accurately estimating cost

• In a rapidly changing environment where length is

variable, it can be difficult to accurately estimate costs




• Quantifying ROI

• Cost is a moving target until project is finished




• Reporting

• Minimization of structured reporting







Comparing Agile and the PMO



PMO or Agile?

PMO Office Dealing with cross-functional

projects,

multiple projects,

multiple vendors,

multiple resources, or multiple

partner organizations – strategic

projects

Dealing with underperforming

projects or projects that have

previously failed and need to be

stabilized

Agile Increased visibility

Rapid development

Customer engagement

Constant feedback

Elimination of risky deliverables

Adaptability over the life of a

particular project

Core Benefit of a PMO #1:

Establishes and promotes best practices

• Best practice methodologies (e.g. compliance

management) are often more successful at

managing corporate initiatives than other methods




Establishes and promotes best practices

• Establishes common

terminology

• Sets expectations

• Maintains and promotes

proper tool use



Balance

Cost Time

Resources

Risk

Quality


Maintains and promotes better vertical visibility of

project: scope, time, cost, quality, resources, and risk

Scope




Provides a center of competency and maintains a

knowledge base

• Project Integration Management

• Project Scope Management

• Project Time Management

• Project Cost Management

• Project Quality Management

• Project HR Management

• Project Communications Management

• Project Risk Management

• Project Procurement Management



The Value of Working Together



There are two types of Agile people

• Those who are

implementing an Agile

process and know how to

integrate it with the rest of

the organization

• And those that say, “We

don‟t need a PMO, we‟re

Agile”

It is just a different process,

not a lack of process

ONE WAY

ANOTHER WAY



How does a PMO benefit Agile?1. Overall project risk is reduced

2. Agile teams will achieve greater levels of

hierarchical visibility and information transferring

3. Agile projects may be held more accountable for

costs

4. The PMO processes will allow Agile to gain higher

awareness of organization requirements



1. Overall project risk is reduced

Non-managed Agile

Project Managed Agile

Risk

Project Life Cycle



2. Agile teams will achieve greater levels of

hierarchical visibility and information

transferring

• A PMO knows how to report

• Existing systems translate data into

organization consumable data

• Adds value by asking questions that Agile

doesn‟t



3. Agile projects may be held more

accountable for costs

• The PMO is good at estimating

• Refers to past history to increase estimate

accuracy

• Utilizes reporting

• Understands $ and hours (not „story points‟)



So, Agile + PMO =

• More value faster with less waste

• More projects

• Less overhead

• Kaizen (continuous improvement)



Ultimately resulting in…

• Increased efficiency

• Increased profits

• Less wasted efforts







How to Build an Agile PMO



Let‟s make a comparison

PMO Process

Product

Backlog

Sprint

Backlog

2-4 weeks

24

hours

Sprint Working

Increment

of Product

Agile Process

Requirements

Documentation

Task

Assignments

Final

Product



5 Steps Towards an Agile PMO



1. Institute a macro PMO/micro

Agile techniqueThe PMO should manage Agile techniques

• Project management office needs to be able to clearly

identify the scope, level of effort and schedule

• Put that project into an agile development

methodology, so that you don't ever clearly know the

end delivery date or the true content until it gets pretty

far along

• In trying to match up PMI trained project office with an

Agile inspired development team there‟s going to be a

lot of conflict without some management getting the

two together



2. Designate an Agile transition

team• Add the PMO to the Agile promoters

• Establish an Agile coaching center



3. Establish a Project Portfolio

• Consolidate decision making for multiple projects and features

• Maps projects and features to corporate strategies

• Assists in maintaining visibility, reducing project inventory and work in progress, as well as managing bottlenecks



4. Develop a standard framework

of tools and best practices

• Examples include:• SharePoint

communication portal

• Microsoft Project

• Templates

• Checklists

• Test Procedures

• Status processes

• Quality assurance

• Health and safety standards

• Journyx Timesheet

• Journyx ProjectXecute



5. Build and communicate portfolio

level metrics• Agile project metrics need to be developed and

communicated

• Program and portfolio metrics need to be

developed and communicated



Let‟s review what you‟ve learned

1. What is Agile, and why should you

care?

2. Comparing Agile and the traditional

Project Management Office

3. How to build an Agile PMO



Thank you for your time!

Questions?


Journyx offers cross project resource optimization,

scheduling and tracking of actuals. Works great with

Microsoft Project and Sharepoint


Documents

How To Create an Agile PMO - UT Dallas