review of publications for the week
The opinion article caused a very heated discussion. Scrum has become an industry standard, but, in fact, has moved away from its roots – the agile philosophy with its flexibility. Instead, we get rigid ceremonies and procedures, inapplicability to tasks requiring complex research (R&D in general) and… only ceremonies remain. Unlike, for example, the kanban framework, which works more efficiently. This is what the author thinks, commentators correct and criticize him, but, apparently, the Scrum fandom is declining.
The Featureism Trap: Why Products Suffer When We Focus on Functionality
The translated material is about the fact that we often focus on features, making features a measure of the team’s effectiveness and the growth of the product/project. Like everything hypertrophied, this leads to “featureism” – pumping up the product with new features to the detriment of refining and correcting existing functionality and the benefits of the product as a whole.
How to create a budget for an IT project?
A small guide on drawing up a project budget, although some risks and possible costs are not taken into account.
What is the RACI matrix? How this project management tool can improve productivity
The tool for defining roles/responsibilities on a project is well-known and widely used. The article talks about its pros and cons (it takes a long time to implement and you may encounter ambiguous situations).
How to measure development efficiency through metrics?
About metrics of team effectiveness, development in the context of the value stream, including metrics of speed and flexibility, effectiveness, etc., as well as methods and tools for measuring metrics (Aimger).
Kanban against chaos. How to establish business processes using a real case as an example
A case of comprehensive optimization of WIP in Kanban and working with tasks in general from colleagues from Scrumtrek. A lot of time was spent on tasks, performance assessment conflicted with real time, there was no understanding of how long it would actually take to complete a task – and a lot of analysis, calculation and reorganization of both the board itself and relationships with customers had to be done.
A lively and interesting text from Vladimir Zavertailov, head of Sibiriks and author of a good (but specific) book on project management. On the topic – you can speed up (or not) the development process in different ways, and one of them is to carry out an express revision of the project. From “I/we need it” and the general vibe to assessing technical debt, adjusting plans and ambitions.
6 Best Frameworks for Prioritizing Agile Tasks
Excellent material – short and clear about MoSCoW, ICE, RICE, Planning Poker, Cost of Delay, Kano model.
“Project management. How to do the right things correctly” by Pavel Alferov
My review of a recently published book that proposes a new methodology that takes into account “Russian specifics.”
Project Manager Skills and Career
The process of working with requirements and the role of the project
Together with fasting about the typology of requirements – a good text about requirements management and PM’s area of responsibility, using examples from IT (mobile application development) and event management (conference).
“I became a team lead and I’m afraid.” What to read and why
Among the books for immersion in the flow of a development and project manager, the author notes not only “Highly Effective Management” by Andrew Grove or the recent “Career of a Software Engineering Manager,” but even “The Big Book of Communication with a Child” by Julia Gippenreiter, which teaches how to listen carefully to colleagues and how to bring out the best qualities in them.
How many eggs does the Wolf have: we automate the writing off of managers’ time for projects
About accounting for a manager’s labor costs – in general and using a specific tool (and yes, it’s Excel!). It helps the author not only take into account, but also predict the costs of participating in the project.
“Eat that frog” technique, Pareto principle and Eisenhower matrix: tools for managing priorities and time
Also about something everyone needs – self-management and time control. The identified three tools are known to many, and the author considers them proven and effective.
How to work effectively if you are an anxious person
A serious topic, important to many PMs I know. The author is not a psychologist (although she quotes speeches from professionals and relies on many sources), and you should not rely only on her recommendations, but you can try to apply techniques and techniques for relieving anxiety. Part of the text is devoted to something no less important – the work of a manager with anxious employees.
How can an IT specialist ask experts in order to develop professionally and gain knowledge?
A small guide on the necessary skill – quickly mastering a new subject area. The emphasis on communication and asking the right questions to professionals is useful both for self-education itself and for establishing mutual understanding and “chemistry” in the team.
Tough leadership
This is the case when I subscribe to every word of the author, although he is not at all alone and does not proclaim anything revolutionary. In short, there is a trend towards “tight management” and quick achievements with an implicit emphasis on short-term results. Results are achieved, leaders are promoted, people burn out, companies close or deteriorate. A reasonable counterpoint to this is management through culture and narratives. Not a “hard hand” that quickly restores order, but a “soft” hand that takes longer than the business would sometimes like to instill values and vision in the team.
How to bring a project out of a fire state: five steps
Finally, a mini-guide on how to bring a project out of crisis for those who got such “burning” projects. The general plan of action is banal, but rational: analyze the situation, evaluate the pros/cons of the team, understand work processes, deal with the current result of the work – well, and build a normalization plan)
Project team, experience and cases
What to do if the Customer constantly generates new “wants” during the course of the project
Practical advice on the topic of free “wish lists” and “edits”: include a 3-10% buffer in the contract price for them, do an audit/pre-project survey/pilot project, do an MVP, etc. Well, the best “captain’s” recommendation is not to agree to everything)
Edits don't bother you if you know how to work with them. Basic tactics and techniques
And also on a similar topic, from colleagues from Agima. Edits (better called “comments”) are normal, they can have very good reasons, and the best way to deal with edits is to prepare your project and documentation to minimize them. And those that did arise must be placed within the framework of the “life cycle” (management). The authors give a huge number of specific recommendations for working with edits – I recommend it!
Technical debt: how to sort out tasks so as not to slow down the development of the product. Instructions with template
The practice of closing technical debt within a large team – used Pipedrive Agile Framework, and they work with the backlog based on RICE. In the end, we managed to get out of the big hole.
Analytics on government projects – it’s not scary
Analysts' fakes: where do they live? Mad Brains Cases
About soulless analysts
Three interesting materials about analysts in the team. In the first – about from GNIVC, who told how they manage to overcome the “state” image that frightens many specialists (technical specifications according to GOSTs, bureaucracy, outdated business processes, etc.). Briefly: with them, too, “everything is like with people.”
The second is a series of entertaining f-caps when analytics was not carried out as it should be. Well, the third is an instruction to analysts on how not to be “stuffy” (negatively perceived meticulousness and inappropriateness of comments and recommendations).
Assembling a Full House: Creating the Ideal Team Based on Group Dynamics
How knowing the distribution of roles in groups and understanding their dynamics can save team leads. About Belbin's role model and group dynamics (Tuckman's model).
Courage and bravery: replacing ERP at an existing railcar repair plant with tests directly in combat
A great case from OMK-IT – the transition on your own to 1C:ERP instead of SAP, when everything went wrong, the estimates turned out to be incorrect, the preparation was reset – but with a happy ending.
Agile with the prefix “Sber”: how Sbergile is changing the approach to creating products
I don’t know what made Sber suddenly write an article on vc about its famous “agile” (c) – apparently, the need for personnel. The material itself is short, with links to the manifesto, a brief history of the implementation of flexible methodologies in the bank, and, in fact, a description of Savings Gile in the form of operating principles.
About the transition to flexible methodologies not in IT, it turned out to be quite realistic and useful for business, albeit with some rough edges.
This was the week of publications about projects. If we suddenly missed any interesting material, share it in the comments.
Digest archives and new materials – Here (digests have been conducted weekly since the beginning of 2023).
