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[00:00:09]Lee: so compared to traditional project management, what do you see as being the risks of an Agile project?
[00:00:16] Dan: Although Agile does reduce a lot of risks, it's still, there are risks inherently in any project and Agile presents potentially more scope change. So that then reduces, focus for the team, and can lead to scope creep.
[00:00:30] Lee: What are the impacts of that on the project as a whole, if you've got a scope creep and things like that?
[00:00:36] Scope creep can impact a project by increasing the project budget, more time, more sprints are needed, more resource. It can also affect the timeline.
[00:00:46] Lee: So would you say that it's important that you still have a really clear scope at the beginning of the project to go from?
[00:00:54] Dan: Yes and no. I think the scope and sprint backlog does need to be defined. That's not to say you can't define more as you go. So as long as the team have a clear idea and their estimates are roughly accurate, then we have a good place to plan our resources accordingly.
[00:01:12] Lee: Yeah. And what would you do if something new did come in?
[00:01:15] a new feature or something like that? How would you handle that in a, in this kind of environment?
[00:01:20] Depends on the priority, but yeah, it would require prioritizing in the sprint, potentially moving to a different sprint or. The beauty about Agile, you can, flex what's currently in the sprint. So we could take something in or swap it out.
[00:01:34] Lee: And you'd have some kind of Idea of what can move, in that situation.
[00:01:38] Dan: Absolutely. Some items within the backlog will be more lenient to moving.
[00:01:43] Again, it just needs very clear communication between us and the client stakeholders to make sure what can move and is moved.
[00:01:49] Lee: Can you share any strategies? for effectively managing the risks within an Agile project?
[00:01:54] Dan: Absolutely. So having clear goals at the start of a sprint really helps. So we can address any issues and risks during the daily stand ups, which are then brought to the relevant stakeholders to either mitigate or try and transfer.
[00:02:09] Lee: And if a risk is identified in a stand up, how would you handle that?
[00:02:13] Dan: If a risk is identified identified then what we do is get together as a team and discuss the mitigation strategies before presenting them into our stakeholders.
[00:02:24] Lee: and what kind of strategies would you use to try and mitigate risks before they materialise in a stand up?
[00:02:32] Sprint planning events. So they are the events that happen before a sprint has taken place. All of the team and stakeholders get together and review the sprint backlog and any risks that may be present.
[00:02:42] Lee: So how would you ensure that Agile's flexibility doesn't negatively impact project timelines and budgets and things like that?
[00:02:50] Dan: Good question, Lee. By regularly reviewing the timeline and the outputs of the sprint, we can determine what needs to change.
[00:02:59] So that's where Agile comes in. if there are things and risks that are popping up that need mitigating, We can take action accordingly, making sure that the sprint stays on track and the deliveries
[00:03:10] Lee: are met. And how would you handle it if a feature of the sprint has expanded and is going to take more time? Obviously, we tend to drop things from the sprint in that case, but it's still going to have a knock on impact to the rest of the project. So how would you cope with that?
[00:03:27] Dan: Clear communication with the stakeholders, that's priority, because if things are being moved from out of the sprint into a different sprint, or if timelines are extended and more sprints are needed, then that just needs to be communicated and discussed with the stakeholders and make sure that they are in agreement.
[00:03:43] Lee: And how would you handle that from a conflict resolution point of view then? Because not all clients are as understanding as that, and it might be. A difficult pill for them to swallow. How would you accommodate that?
[00:03:55] Dan: We've been in that scenario so many times. It's about give and take and it's about a balance of what is the key tolerance or goal of the project and making sure that we still hit that goal even if some things may change during the project.
[00:04:08] Lee: And is there any point within an Agile project where that flexibility gets less flexible?
[00:04:15] Dan: During key deadlines or critical milestones, that is where it comes to crunch time really, in a sprint and that's where it becomes a little less flexible.
[00:04:25] Lee: So would you say that it becomes less flexible the further through a project you get as well?
[00:04:31] Dan: Yeah, absolutely. I think as you're nearing that almost launch phase or critical milestone, then it really does get to a pinch time and not a lot can change.
[00:04:42] So in those situations, what you need to do, if that happens, it's prioritize ruthlessly and communicate very effectively with the stakeholders.
[00:04:51] and yeah, make sure that information is cascaded to the rest of the team of what is happening. And it's almost
[00:04:57] like when a lot of the project is already done, if things need to change or flex, you're not just changing the planning of what's coming up, you're almost changing what you've already done as well, so it can affect timelines in that way as well.
[00:05:11] Dan: sides of that scope, it's already been delivered, absolutely.
[00:05:16] Lee: So what role does communication play in the Agile world?
[00:05:19] Dan: It's a good question. And it's, it plays the part of making sure that stakeholders are fully aware of what is happening during the project at all times.
[00:05:28] So it's critical, not only between the internal teams, the development teams, and making sure they're aligned on a daily basis. But it's also, as the project manager, to make sure that the client is fully aligned. and aware of what's happening.
[00:05:41] Lee: What kind of steps would you take to get a client and stakeholder buy in on an Agile project?
[00:05:46] Dan: It's to involve them throughout, and more regularly.
[00:05:51] So during those sprint reviews and sprint planning sessions, and also daily communications, that's typically what we do here at distinction. the more we involve them, the more they feel involved and as part of that process and then it becomes more transparent for them.
[00:06:06] Lee: And how would you.
[00:06:08] Bring a new client, someone who's maybe not used to Agile processes into a project like that. I
[00:06:14] Dan: think from my side, how I do it is onboard them to the Agile methodology a little bit during those kick off meetings, but then ask them to just be involved in those meetings as and when they can. As long as there's a key decision maker involved, that's what we need.
[00:06:30] Lee: And is speed the only consideration here?
[00:06:34] Dan: Absolutely not. it depends on the project tolerance. What is the key consideration? So it might be speed, it might be quality of the outcome. It might be that the budget is that is the key factor that is hit. So it depends on the client's key tolerance.
[00:06:48] for me that determines project success.
[00:06:51] Lee: thanks for being here today. And it's been interesting.
[00:06:53] Dan: Yeah, I agree. Thank you Lee.
[00:06:56] We are the home of unreasonable progress. We are distinction.
