When Is Agile Project Management Not Agile?

It’s not surprising that people get confused when the word “Agile” is used to describe a scrum environment since project management is often described very eloquently in scrum terms.

The first indication that the context is scrum usually comes from role terminology, like “Product Owner”. Another clue would be the use of phrases such as “Product Backlog,” which refers to the refined list of requirements following user stories.

Hybrid phrases are also prevalent. Scrumban, a blend of scrum and Kanban, is an example. The approach in use is actually scrum, with a kanban-style team board.

Hybrids are acceptable as long as both methods are completely comprehended. Despite the fact that the Scrumban technique appears to be a more secretive method of demonstrating progress and team performance.

However, it appears that we may have strayed from the path, according to Agile Evangelists. Many claim that Scrum is the only “real” Agile method, despite the fact that its creators intended it to be flexible enough to adapt

For large organizations, scalability has been a major problem. This difficulty was partly addressed by SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework), which added organisational structure and business processes on top of existing Agile frameworks to create an umbrella for many different Agile methods.

DSDM: Dynamic Systems Development Method 

DSDM is our top pick because it resolves the “waterfall” issue in software development, where final approvals take so long that by-products are no longer useful to businesses.

RAD (Rapid Applications Development) was also introduced. The challenge of timely software delivery was addressed, but it created more issues than it fixed. Governance and stakeholder engagement was not present. Quality, collaboration, and risk are all improved when stakeholders are involved in the project’s execution as part of the team.

What happened to DSDM?

DSDM, which was once as popular as Agile development, has all but vanished from the scene. Or has it? Organisations have tailored DSDM to meet their demands. In fact, you’re undoubtedly using it without even knowing it.

The name “AgilePM” was altered in 2010 to help boost its popularity, and today there are over 130,000 authorised experts worldwide.

SAFe was developed for large, complex projects by design and is scalable. scrum was intended for tiny, single-team projects that were effectively operating in silos, which didn’t cater to scale. Only a few businesses have managed to surmount this issue.

DSDM is different from SAFe and Scrum in that it is much more transactional. Change management, release management, business-as-usual functions, and governance are already built into the method–which eliminates the need to learn new jargon.

Additionally, Gateways work with some of the governance’s more particular details like OGC Gateway Reviews, internal steering committees’ board meetings, and even SOX compliance.

Finance review presents no problem for DSDM projects either; this process happens before funds are committed to a project in 3 layers: portfolio program and project.

Isn’t Agile about empowerment?

A widely-believed but false notion is that if your organization fosters agility and has self-managing teams, then you don’t need a management team.

While to some extent this may be accurate, the reality is that somebody still needs to manage the workplace environment itself. Issues will inevitably come up and they’ll require resolution—that’s just unavoidable in any work setting. Add to that, we as humans tend to naturally look for someone to take charge and follow their lead.

Even in Agile workplaces, therefore, there still needs to be transactional leadership present so that employees feel empowered and motivated to truly collaborate with one another.

What about Fixed Price – Fixed Specification?

This was historically one of Agile methods’ weak spots. Although DSDM was not designed for this kind of contract, it does a far superior job than other Agile methods.

Working at the finest level of detail allows you to fulfill the fixed price-fix specification model and collaborate closely with the client to balance the scope without limitations on requirements. Win-win situation.

DSDM is the only methodology that guarantees the ‘iron triangle.’ With DSDM, the cost will never exceed budget and delivery time is always predictable. Quality is embedded in the project from its outset, while scope allows for innovation. 

Requirement detail can be negotiated to flex scope while breadth and depth are fixed early on.

DSDM is customer-focused

DSDM’s major advantage over other Agile models is the customer role’s integration into the project team as active participants.

Scrum permits stakeholder engagement, contingent on the Product Owner, who functions as the “voice of the customer”. In DSDM, the customer is part of everyday decision-making and change management within the project team; they are also responsible for communication between Member’s Projects and their own areas coming changes.

Fix bugs and reduce the product backlog

Another advantage of DSDM is that testing is incorporated into the development process. It’s not a half-hearted afterthought once the project is completed; instead, it’s an iterative process that continues throughout development and afterward on deployment.

This reduces the risk of bugs causing a build to be worthless or worse, causing damage to live systems when released. DSDM has shown to be successful in lowering the product backlog burden. After all, every good has an expiration date, and this eliminates the continuous manufacturing cost of building out 80% of features that are never used or utilised.

Learn more about AgilePM

Training Bytesize offers fully accredited AgilePM training for Foundation and Practitioner levels. Discover more about how you can learn the DSDM approach and become certified in the fastest-growing Project Management qualification.