Agile Know-How Magazine • Fall 2017
Agile approaches do not talk about
Project Managers, a role found in
many organizations. I am certain that
they are not there merely as figureheads!
A
gile approaches generally do not talk about Project
Managers, though it is a role found in many organizations that
use these approaches. I am certain that they are not there
merely as figureheads!
I would like us to take the time to reflect on the Project
Manager’s place within an Agile team. Let’s imagine that we,
the people directly involved in the project, as well as the mana-
gement team, ask ourselves the following question at the begin-
ning of each project: “How will we organize ourselves to achieve
what we want to achieve together?” What if we asked ourselves
this question instead of systematically applying the usual model
in which each role is frozen and where each project is inserted
(sometimes by force) in a predefined governance framework.
It then becomes rather easy to list what needs to be or will be
done. This list of actions that includes everything from financial
monitoring and coordination with the stakeholders to breaking
down and assigning daily tasks, following up with suppliers,
production, and support, involves internal operating elements as
much as it involves external ones. So far, nothing new…
Now, several options are available to us
The first step is to ask ourselves who is going to carry out each
of the tasks required to ensure the project’s success. As everyone
has different and —hopefully —complementary skills and
preferences, all tasks should find takers. If it is not the case, the
team may be short one member. Participants can volunteer to
fulfill the associated responsibilities. Note that a collective skills
matrix workshop can help solve this situation.
You then obtain an organization that corresponds to the reality
of your project’s human context. New or traditional appella-
tions can be used to name or identify each person’s duties. What
seems essential to me is that all this must be explicit during
conversations and then made visible (which is a good opportu-
nity to introduce visual management.
Another approach matches the responsibilities defined in
frameworks such as Scrum with the different duties listed, then
allocates all the tasks that have not been attributed. For example,
with the Scrum framework, work is broken down and distri-
buted by the development team. You can assign tasks that have
not been covered by the Scrum roles to the Scrum team or to
external people. A tool like Delegation Poker is very useful in
this situation.
At this stage, you should—hopefully—have a list, created collec-
tively, of the duties and responsibilities that will help you achieve
success. Don’t forget that with the Agile approach, inspection
and adaptation allow you to adjust along the way!
What you’re interested in
is knowing where your
place is now that the
business is putting into
practice the Agile approach
But where is the Project Manager in all of this?
There is no one answer to this question. At this point, I want to
know if, as someone who’s involved, you have found your place
during the previous exercise. If so, the matter is resolved! If not,
I would like to ask you the following questions: Whom are you
serving? And what? Are you present in this team or business?
All these questions may give you the feeling that I’m not helping
you. Your business is very structured and each role is well
defined. Your role is Project Manager and your colleague’s is
architect or business analyst. What you’re interested in is
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