This is a simple and short video about Agile and some of the pitfalls of new adopters. It is an interesting video and helps to get you started on understanding where potential pitfalls could stem from and how to identify them early. It also helps to offer ideas and ways to recognize other distractions and if you can identify them early it will help you find solutions as quickly as possible.
One of the things I like about Agile and Scrum are the Sprints and how they embrace getting development done quickly as well as the model or framework incorporates continuous improvement which I am a huge proponent of. I think of how many projects I have been involved in that could have been completed quicker and with less hiccups or distractions by utilizing the general concepts of sprints.
I think utilizing sprint-like processes in other projects could have helped complete them sooner by not using the waterfall method. I think there are projects where using the waterfall method is unavoidable. However, there are many times the Agile or Scrum methods could increase efficencies by taking small chunks of the project, completing them in small and time-based periods, assessing what went wrong or what could have been done better after each sprint, and then adjust accordingly. I think it is something worth exploring in your own processes and environment.
The other component of a sprint is working closely with the Product Owner and/or Stakeholders on a daily basis which will keep projects from derailing or stalling as well as rapidly removing speedbumps or roadblocks.
My I Power Seed challenge is to spend time in the Agile and Scrum frameworks and see if you can utilize its methods and subsequent results and if they can be incorporated into what you are doing in your specific business model (outside of software development).
Either way, Agile is a great project management framework that produces results.
Please comment and offer feedback.
Certified Scrum Master – Simona Millham