SHOW & CHAPTER 39: TIME TO GO AGILE - WILLIAM EASTMAN

Today's show is all about Agile as a project management tool, and second how to use it in New Offer (Product or Service) Development.

It is the ultimate co-development tool - when you need to build something when the characteristics of the offer are unknown. Agile is a complete process for Exploring an Idea, Designing & Developing it, and Testing the Beta Version prior to release.

Show Objective:
Given shows 7, 23, and 35, create a plan for incorporating customers (and sometimes suppliers) in your projects for improving or creating a new offer.

EPISODE 177: Summary
Agile is a topic we have discussed in many different shows over the last 2 years. Today I am going to hit the highlights and get you ready for next week's show on Co-Development. 

The best description is an iterative (a series of steps you repeat, tweaking and improving the product or service under development to make it as perfect as possible) project process performed in a collaborative environment by self-organizing teams.

It had its origins in software where developers and users would sit side-by-side, writing code and testing almost at the same time. It created better software faster and at lower cost. It has been adopted by many industries and is a powerful approach to developing new products and services.

Topics:

• Agile Project Cycle
• Agile Tools
• Agile Players

EPISODE 178: The Agile Project Cycle
The Agile Project Cycle is the structured series of stages that a product or service goes through as it moves from beginning to end. It contains five phases: planning, designing, execution, testing, and deployment or release.
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Topics:

• Planning
• Designing
• Execution
• Testing
• Deployment or Release

EPISODE 179: The Agile Tools
The tools used in the Agile process are really not much different than other project management approaches. The biggest difference is with traditional project management you know the desired outcome and the focus is on cost containment and delivering on budget.

When employing the agile approach you don't know what the final output will be so you focus on a repeatable process that will produce the best possible result. Your focus is on accuracy and speed.

Topics:

• SCRUMS - Planning
• Sprints - Iterative Designing, Execution, and Testing
• Backlog - List of tasks accomplished during a Sprint with limited sequencing
• Daily Huddles - Team meeting at the beginning of every Sprint
• Matrices - how to organize the data
  • Requirements Matrix - WHAT: Customer Requirements, HOW - Design Requirements
  • Design Requirements - WHAT: Design Requirements, HOW - Engineering Design
  • Product/Service Requirements - WHAT: Engineer Design, HOW - Product/Service Characteristics 

EPISODE 180: The Agile Players
The names of these players might seem different, but when you look at the roles these are usually contained in any serious project management effort.

The major difference is sticking to the process and allowing the teams (Sprints) to self-organize based upon the current backlog item and who is in attendance at that point in time.

Topics:

• SCRUMS
  • SCRUM Master (Facilitator): Issue Resolution & Escalation, Problem Solving, Team Building, Coaching, Change Management;
  • Problem Owner: Manages Stakeholder Expectations, Budget & Cost Control, Risk Management; represents members of the Sprints in the SCRUM.
  • Champion: the owner or senior executive - makes sure the project receives necessary support.
• Sprints
  • Product/Service Owner: customers representative for the project, can be internal or external
  • Subject Matter Experts: specific expertise related to the project;
  • Business Analyst: provides input on the impact to current and future operations;
  • Department Representative: provides input on the impact to their department or group;
  • Interim Manager: manages all of the iterations to track and document improvements; supports SCRUM Master.

Next Show/Chapter 43: CO-DEVELOPMENT WITH CUSTOMERS AND SUPPLIERS

How to apply today's show to your business:

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