Adaptation and agile

Abstract

This article is a scientific walkthrough of the terms adaptation and agile within the field of Project, Program, and Portfolio management. Project management within today’s society is an inevitable skill for all people to come across and its importance and impact go beyond one's comprehension. Fundamentally for management to become project management, is to have a starting and finish point to define a given project. This article enlightens how adaptation and agility can be used in the context of project management, to help when the context of a project changes or proactively seek adaptation to the unknown factors within such a project. The article focuses on explaining the terms in the context of a small- to a large-scale project and the difference between an agile project structure and a traditional linear approach. When choosing a project management approach, the context for which it is being chosen should be considered by multiple parameters to determine whether the approach is suitable for the context. The limitation of an agile approach is found through scientific reviews and experiences to help define tangible recommendations and decision-making. Additionally, how to use the tool is presented, focusing on project models to help the approach such as; agile planning, design sprints, and team requirements. The agile approach is found as beneficial to implement in project management to help proactively adapt to changes within a project/program/portfolio, while the degree of change in a project which the approach can affect is dependent on the scale of the project.

Table of content

• Abstract

• Defining the terms

• Explaining the difference between traditional and agile project management.
  • What is agile?
  • What context is it relevant for and what can be gained from the approach?
  • Dependent on the scale/size of the project – difference between adapting and staying agile within a billion-dollar project and a hobby project.
  • What is the status quo on the topic – is it a normal approach within project management?

• Recommendations to frameworks/tools – how to use the tool:
  • Factors to be considered prior to application of an agile approach
  • Scrum
  • Agile approach to planning - 5 steps model
  • Design sprints

• Team requirements

• Managing an agile project

• Limitations
  • References to other project management approaches
  • Reference to failed projects
  • Decision making

Key references

A., D. L., Sugato, B., Shubir, K., Kaan, K., Richard, L., & Steve, B. (2007). Simulation of adaptive project management analytics. Proceedings of the 2007 Winter Simulation Conference, pp. 2213-2219. Freedman, R. (2016). The Agile Consultant. Apress. Hazzan, O., & Dubinsky, Y. (2014). The Agile Manifesto. Springer. Parizi Reza Meimandi, G. T. (2014). Hidden facilitators of agile transition: Agile coaches and agile champions. Malaysian Software Engineering Conference(8), pp. 246-250. Schwaber, K. (2004). Agile implementations, agile impediments, and agile management. In H. E. Carmen Zannier, Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including Subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics) (pp. 227-227). Springer Verlag.