Agile Multi Project Management

In this book, we go through the basic principles that every manager needs to understand in order to practice agile management. Changes are often small and seamless, but sometimes big and dramatic. Agility is to create, exploit and endure changes in circumstances. An agile business is able to successfully create effects in the market and take advantage of the opportunities that arise. In order to survive in the long term, both resilience and adaptability are needed. Being able to establish this balance is what agile management is all about. Major changes in the market are impossible to predict, but we know for sure that they will occur. We just don’t know when and what will change. Recessions and financial crashes return in cycles. While other dramatic world events are much more difficult to prepare for and realize the consequences of. So how can a company adopt the resilience it needs to not only survive, but also thrive in the tumultuous periods? In this book we will show how the principles of agile management can help companies keep pace with changes in the world around them. We start with basic knowledge about adaptation to explain how organizations work and then explores the principles behind agile management backed up with examples and useful methods and practices. The book also points out characteristics of an agile business that can be used for self-assessment. We believe in people’s initiative and their ability to act. With knowledge, curiosity and feedback, the journey towards the agile business can start.

Annotation Are you being asked to manage a project with:- unclear requirements? - high levels of change? - a team using Extreme Programming or other Agile Methods? This book is for project managers who are interested in learning the secrets of successfully controlling and delivering agile projects. From learning how agile projects are different from traditional projects, to detailed guidance on a number of agile management techniques, this book includes contributions from some of the industry experts -- the visionaries who developed the agile methodologies in the first place. Contributors include:- Scott Ambler, developer of Agile Modeling - Alistair Cockburn, the developer of Crystal Methods - Larry Constantine, the visionary behind user-centred design and use cases- Ron Jeffries, co-creator of Extreme Programming - Linda Rising, the leading expert on the use of patterns in software design- and many others.

In "The Multiproject Manager's Playbook: Strategies for Simultaneous Success," Jordan E. Philips delves into the foundational strategies essential for managing multiple projects. Philips outlines the critical importance of prioritization, strategic planning, and effective delegation, setting the stage for a successful multiproject management journey. The book further explores the practical applications of these strategies, highlighting innovative tools and methodologies that facilitate seamless project execution. Philips emphasizes agile practices and technological solutions that enhance team collaboration and stakeholder engagement, ensuring projects remain on track and within scope. Concluding with real-world case studies, Philips showcases the tangible outcomes of applying the playbook's principles. These narratives offer invaluable insights into overcoming common challenges in multiproject management, providing readers with a comprehensive understanding of how to navigate the complexities of handling multiple projects simultaneously, achieving success through informed decision-making and strategic foresight.

Use Kanban to maximize efficiency, predictability, quality, and value With Kanban, every minute you spend on a software project can add value for customers. One book can help you achieve this goal: Agile Project Management with Kanban. Author Eric Brechner pioneered Kanban within the Xbox engineering team at Microsoft. Now he shows you exactly how to make it work for your team. Think of this book as “Kanban in a box”: open it, read the quickstart guide, and you’re up and running fast. As you gain experience, Brechner reveals powerful techniques for right-sizing teams, estimating, meeting deadlines, deploying components and services, adapting or evolving from Scrum or traditional Waterfall, and more. For every step of your journey, you’ll find pragmatic advice, useful checklists, and actionable lessons. This truly is “Kanban in a box”: all you need to deliver breakthrough value and quality. Use Kanban techniques to: Start delivering continuous value with your current team and project Master five quick steps for completing work backlogs Plan and staff new projects more effectively Minimize work in progress and quickly adjust to change Eliminate artificial meetings and prolonged stabilization Improve and enhance customer engagement Visualize workflow and fix revealed bottlenecks Drive quality upstream Integrate Kanban into large projects Optimize sustained engineering (contributed by James Waletzky) Expand Kanban beyond software development

Even in a well-managed multi-project environment, it is not unusual to see half of all projects completed either late, over budget or with cuts to original scope. However, the proven approach presented in Advanced Multi-Project Management has enabled large, medium, and even small organizations to consistently complete their projects faster, within original scope and budget, and increase the number of projects executed with the same resources by as much as 70%. The list of companies that have used this methodology for stunning results includes some of the biggest, well-known names in the world—Boeing, Rio Tinto, ABB, and Chrysler. This guide details the six gears that must work in unison to drive speed and predictability within an organization.

The rules and practices for Scrum—a simple process for managing complex projects—are few, straightforward, and easy to learn. But Scrum’s simplicity itself—its lack of prescription—can be disarming, and new practitioners often find themselves reverting to old project management habits and tools and yielding lesser results. In this illuminating series of case studies, Scrum co-creator and evangelist Ken Schwaber identifies the real-world lessons—the successes and failures—culled from his years of experience coaching companies in agile project management. Through them, you’ll understand how to use Scrum to solve complex problems and drive better results—delivering more valuable software faster. Gain the foundation in Scrum theory—and practice—you need to: Rein in even the most complex, unwieldy projects Effectively manage unknown or changing product requirements Simplify the chain of command with self-managing development teams Receive clearer specifications—and feedback—from customers Greatly reduce project planning time and required tools Build—and release—products in 30-day cycles so clients get deliverables earlier Avoid missteps by regularly inspecting, reporting on, and fine-tuning projects Support multiple teams working on a large-scale project from many geographic locations Maximize return on investment!

Chapter 1 looks at your role as a manager. How will your responsibilities change under Agile Business Management? What techniques can you use to manage your staff? Chapter 2 discusses your organisation’s relationship and interaction with its customers. What are their needs and goals, and how can you work together to achieve them? Chapter 3 provides the organisational context in which Agile Business Management operates. It discusses lean management structures and the techniques to manage different types of staff, teams and organisations. Chapter 4 looks at how you and your team work the “agile way” and describes tools and techniques to help optimise workflow, exploit change and manage customer requirements. The book closes with a look at associated financial models that support your Agile organisation, the processes you can use to run an Agile Business Management transformation, and the first steps to take towards that transformation.