Do we need Project Managers in Agile?
Nikola Bogdanov
Organizational Change, Transformation, and Business Agility Coach ??15+ yrs coached 280+ teams, 45+ companies in IT and diverse industries.??Speaker, Academic Lecturer, Podcasteer & Trainer.??Passionate about Agile.
The short answer is No, Project Managers have no place here. But the long one is not so simple. In this article we will elaborate on the Project managers and their role in Agile systems.
Why Not?
As per the classic definitions, a Project has a defined beginning and end in time, and it’s meant to accomplish a specific goal. Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements. Project management is the responsibility of a Project manager. These responsibilities are represented by a set of functions, building up the role Project Manager, which is taken by a single person, usually having the same as a job title.
In Agile we have Products, not Projects. We aim long-term value delivery, continuous change and evolvement in undefined period. We don’t deliver scope in time and budget. Being creative, effective and producing fast nothing more than the needed, we deliver value! There is no need to “manage” projects against baselines, we don’t have predefined scope, the duration is continuous, and we must maximize the value and ROI within our budget. We consider change as opportunity aiming competitive advantage, not as a threat for the project plan execution.
Maybe we can split the product into series of goals, having project for every goal? The reality is so dynamic, that we don’t have strict and specific milestones anymore. The goals we have are visions, directions, problems to solve. Modern goal setting techniques, like OKRs target outcome, not output. We set business goals, measured by value and ROI, rather than features and roadmaps. So, we don’t need someone to “apply skills and knowledge” to meet bunch of predefined requirements.
Nota Bene! Roles vs. Job Titles
It’s important, that we talk about Project manager role and other roles as sets of functions. A role does not necessarily equal a person or job description. Part of the classic Project manager role (part of the functions) is still needed and is spread through different new roles. These new roles might be taken by many and different people at different moments. Don’t confuse Roles with Job titles. People with any job title (even Project Manager) may take different roles.
Full Article in my Blog: https://www.agilepool.com/agile-project-managers/
Independent experienced trainer and coach in Agile, Scrum, Lean and Projectmanagement.
5 年Here is the way I see it: We don‘t need any role unless there is a good reason (= added value) for it and only (external or internal) customers can determine that in ?the given situation / environment . Not people from outside and not by generalisations. There is no one solution for all! Right? Agile frame works are ways not destinations. So, what works best in a given situation should be used.
De Kunners | Nationaal Warmtefonds
5 年Peter Kleinegris
CIO, CTO, Digital vision creator, strategist, innovator and architect
5 年No we do not need project managers in true agile. Issue is that in agile people has to work and take responsibility for there work. Work and responsibility are 2 Scarry topics.