Rubbing Agile on It

I am in here somewhere.

Being part of a large project team is a huge challenge.  You are a member of a cast of hundreds.  Individually, you do not have much influence on the success or failure of the project, but everyone knows when you are behind schedule.  Finally, as a late arrival to a project underway, you feel like you are out running a giant boulder of death attempting to crush everything in its path.  I am where I need to be because it is clear I have to rub a little agile on this situation.

As an agilest in the middle of a very waterfall project, I understand that I am a square peg in a round hole. My boss rejected my first project plan because it was a word document with a list of risks, the people who were going to do the work, and a general timeline over eight weeks.  I was instructed to put something together more detailed in Microsoft Project.  I have not written a project plan since graduate school and never professionally.  I was content with user stories and a Kanban board.

Into this world, I am a stranger in a strange land.  The good news is that I know enough about lousy project management to try and apply better project management techniques.  I am consulting with the people doing the work so that I can put together more detailed steps in the project plan.  I am a big believer in customer collaboration over contract negotiation.  It caused shrieks of horror, but I like to share information with our client even if we are under contract with a fixed date.  I would instead practice “radical candor,” rather than “ruinous empathy.” Instead of weekly status reports, I will radiate information daily out of the “war room,” I am supervising.  By my estimation, the more frequent updates will create more goodwill with the clients.

Even the most waterfall project can benefit from the Agile Principles and the Agile Manifesto to achieve positive results.  It is my current thesis, and I am willing to bet my career on it.

Until next time.