Agile project management has revolutionized the way teams deliver value, fostering collaboration, flexibility, and continuous improvement. However, it’s still surrounded by a cloud of myths and misconceptions that can lead to confusion and misapplication.
Are you ready to have them debunked? Then grab your favorite beverage and enjoy the conversation we had (virtually, of course) with the legendary Mike Cohn, a pioneer in the Agile community and author of “Succeeding with Agile.”
Who Is Mike Cohn?
Mike is a Certified Scrum Trainer and a co-founder of the Scrum Alliance, where he held the board Chairman position.
As the president of Mountain Goat Software, he is passionate about helping organizations build effective Agile and Scrum teams.
With over three decades of experience across various environments, Mike excels at guiding companies in mastering agile processes and enhancing their performance. His background includes tech roles at diverse organizations, from startups to prominent companies on the Fortune 40 list.
An interesting tidbit: Mike initiated his first Scrum project in 1995 and has been a staunch advocate for Scrum ever since. He has assisted numerous companies, including Bioware, Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo, in adopting agile methodologies.
In addition to his practical experience, Mike has authored several influential books on Scrum and Agile, including “Succeeding With Agile,” “User Stories Applied,” and “Agile Estimating and Planning.”
Besides that, he is frequently sought after to share his insights on Scrum and agile topics and has been featured in notable publications such as The Wall Street Journal, NPR, and The Economist.
Pretty impressive, right? So, let’s dive into his answers to our questions.
Mastering Agile With an Expert
Agile project management has gained significant traction over the last two decades, but unlocking its full potential involves a steep learning curve. That’s why we started with the basics and asked Mike to list the most common misconceptions about agile project management that can lead to pitfalls.
Mike Cohn: One common misconception is that there is no role for managers in Agile. This comes from the idea of a team being self-organizing or self-managing. Some managers learn this and think their job is just to buy the pizza and get out of the way. That’s not the case. Managers can still play a very important role in Agile.
Another misconception is that Agile is something only the team does. This universally results in failed agile improvement efforts because the agile mindset needs to extend beyond the development team.
Too many organizations dive into Agile without clearly understanding its principles and practices. This lack of knowledge often leads to misinterpretations of Agile methodologies, resulting in poor implementation and frustration among team members. That’s why next, we discussed the complexities and unique challenges of transitioning from a traditional project management approach to agile.
Mike Cohn: One challenge is that organizations often try to be “just a little agile.” They want to keep most of what they’re doing and sprinkle in some agility.
There are some agile practices you can add a little of and be better off. Doing more test automation, for example, is something that can be added incrementally.
But other aspects of agility, such as self-managing, cross-functional, empowered teams, is all or nothing. A manager can’t tell a team they’re self-managing until they do something the manager disagrees with.
So, while it’s ok to dip a toe into an agile transition, there are some parts of agile that need to be all or nothing.
Another issue is that in the realm of Agile, success is often attributed to tools and processes, while one of the most critical factors that can make or break a project lies in team dynamics.
The interactions, relationships, and overall cohesion among team members play a pivotal role in determining the effectiveness of Agile practices. We wondered, in what ways team dynamics can affect the success of an agile project.
Mike Cohn: Team dynamics affect agile projects just as they affect traditionally managed projects. However, because of the faster pace and increased collaboration on agile projects, problems are revealed more quickly.
Exposing problems sooner is good as it lets an astute manager or agile coach address the problems rather than letting them fester.
While Agile methodologies encourage flexibility, too much freedom can sometimes lead to vague or poorly defined project requirements. If stakeholders are not aligned on the project’s goals, it becomes easy for new demands to creep in, resulting in project delays, budget overruns, and compromised quality.
We inquired, how scope creep occurs in agile projects, and what strategies can mitigate this risk.
Mike Cohn: Scope creep occurs on any project, agile or not. However, the short iterations and desire for feedback in agile can make it worse. If we ask our customers and users every few weeks what they think of the new functionality and what ideas they inspire, the scope is prone to increase.
However, this may not be a bad thing. The term “scope creep” definitely implies it’s bad, but if we view it instead as progressively understanding users’ needs and incrementally building the most valuable product, new requirements can be viewed differently.
Agile methodologies teach teams to adapt, respond to change, and iterate rapidly. “Flexibility” and “adaptability” become the mantras that take center stage. At the same time, too much of these can sometimes lead to chaos if not grounded in a solid structure.
Let’s see what Mike thinks about balancing flexibility with the need for structure in agile projects.
Mike Cohn: Teams absolutely need to balance structure and flexibility. In agile, this can be done by keeping a team’s options open for as long as possible in as many ways as possible.
Certain architectural decisions need to be made early, so go ahead and make them. But, when possible, avoid architecting or designing upfront a part of the system that can be left vague or less precise for a while.
This is known as “progressive refinement.” It can be applied to all aspects of a project. A team starts with a loose understanding of what users need. They then progressively refine that understanding by developing, showing, and getting feedback.
A team can progressively refine a system’s architecture or design. Design what’s needed to start, see how it works, and then move on to the next piece. The design or architecture of a system emerges by the act of building the product but is always guided by the intent of the senior technical people.
And last but not least… Even the most well-structured Agile projects face challenges that cause them to veer off track. Recognizing the signs of failure early can help teams pivot back to a successful path. But how to spot them?
Mike Cohn: An iteration or sprint review can reveal if a project is veering off track. There’s the obvious and extreme case of a team being told that. More subtly, however, we can tell if a project is in trouble by considering attendance and engagement in these reviews.
If stakeholders and users are excited about what is being built, they are willing to participate in reviews and offer suggestions. A poorly attended sprint review or one with no enthusiasm is often a first sign that the project may not deliver the outcomes expected.
Go Agile With actiTIME!
The primary objective of Agile organizations is to establish and sustain a framework that can swiftly and effectively adapt to unpredictable and uncertain environments.
According to McKinsey, 70% of enterprises consider transforming their culture and working methods to achieve this.
However, it’s important to note that the true agility extends across all levels of the organization—encompassing strategy, structure, processes, personnel, and technology.
actiTIME is an agile time-tracking and project management solution designed to seamlessly adapt to your workflows.
- Enjoy flexibility. Log hours, gather data, and optimize routine tasks to suit your needs. Here are some key advantages it offers:
- Introduce automation. Use automatic timers and simplify routine tasks such as billing, invoicing, and approving time-off requests.
- Leverage integrations. Integrate with popular tools via Zapier or log hours directly from various online platforms using the Chrome extension.
- Track from anywhere. Use the mobile app to log time online and offline.
- Use the Kanban board. Manage workloads using a customizable Kanban board, allowing you to set your own task progress statuses and easily see which tasks are in progress or completed daily.
Wrap Up
Agile is more than just a buzzword; it’s a mindset that can transform how people work together.
Hope, that by addressing the common misconceptions above and following Mike’s practical tips, you’ll understand what Agile truly means and tailor the approach to fit your unique needs.
Most importantly, have fun with it! After all, project management should be a rewarding experience.
