How Agile and the PMO Can Enrich Each Other’s Existence

Balancing act

The days when Agile and the PMO operated on opposing teams are coming to an end.In the last few years, project management has started to evolve to include a blend of both the flexible methodology of Agile and the more rigid Waterfall-style of the PMO. As a result, a growing partnership between the Agile practitioner and its PMO counterpart is emerging.

With their project teams selecting certain Agile methods, including writing story-based requirements, holding daily stand-up meetings and targeting shorter development cycles, organisations are able build in more planning and feedback loops, which in turn gives them more flexibility to react to changes in project requirements.

Meanwhile, the PMO is starting to provide more and more resource support, and where necessary, acting in the role of change enabler such as clearing any roadblocks standing in the way of progress to the project.

The Agile way

It is not the case, as is often assumed, that Agile is a less disciplined way of running projects.

In fact, on the programme level, Agile teams are more tightly controlled due to the progress of projects being monitored and actively communicated on a continual basis, rather than the traditional approach that takes place more infrequently.

The building of software applications benefit from the Agile approach because details of the technical solution need to be determined by tightly defined, iterative loops. The Agile approach is therefore known to work best for projects that involve experimenting with new or untried technology, or anywhere where changes to the requirements will be necessary.

The PMO’s part

ESI’s 2013 survey on the global state of the PMO found that 80 per cent of all Agile projects were medium-to-large in scale, with a medium-to-high risk profile, and over half of those surveyed said their Agile projects were complex in nature. This requires support at critical points in the project – something which the PMO is well placed to provide.

And because the management of a group of projects under Agile offers improved risk management due the nature of its real-time reporting – offering better insight into the project’s status than traditional project management methods allow – the PMO will benefit from acting in a centrally-coordinated capacity for a cluster of Agile projects.

In this position as a supervising and coordinating body, the PMO is able to reallocate resources as necessary in a nimble, Agile fashion, allowing the PMO to function as a go-to resource, pointing teams in the right direction and bringing in specialists as required.

The fact that Agile requires a dedicated team of PMs assigned to one project, rather than in the traditional Waterfall method where they are often working on several projects running at the same time, means that resources will need careful attention and implementation – something which the PMO is in a strong position to deliver.

At present though, the PMO’s main role in Agile project management is focused around coaching and mentoring support for Agile teams.

The PMO therefore still has some way to go in most organisations before fully integrating itself in the Agile landscape, but will most likely take on an increasing responsibility for resources, inter-project coordination and strategic direction of project objectives in the future.

A combined approach

Agile teams and the PMO are going to need one another more than ever, but a give and take approach will be required for both Agile teams and the PMOs that support them, to work together.

The PMO needs to recognise its critical place as a change agent and strategic enabler in the overall scheme of things, as well as remain current on evolving best practices in the industry to stay on top of what is needed to deliver successful projects today and in the future.

And Agile teams need to increase their acceptance of the PMO itself by recognising the immense value of transparency and access to outside resources that the PMO can contribute.

By helping to determine what the team needs, the PMO will start to be viewed as a partner instead of an executive body with little idea as to what is happening ‘on the ground’. But as lean project management requires a more hands-off approach than more traditional PMOs are accustomed to, the PMO will need to show a willingness to forfeit some of its control.

In terms of on-time, on-budget, within-scope project delivery, the success rate of the organisations ESI surveyed that offered professional development for its project management professionals far exceeded those of their counterparts who did not provide such learning opportunities.

One way to bring the traditional PMO and Agile practitioners even further together is for the PMO to become more involved in ensuring PMs receive the training they need.

By taking these approaches, Agile and the PMO should be able to look forward to successfully enriching each other’s existence and maximizing their respective value to the enterprise more and more in future.

via Business 2 Community http://www.business2community.com/strategy/agile-pmo-can-enrich-others-existence-0692390?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=agile-pmo-can-enrich-others-existence