Agile and Lean Project Management:

A Zen-like Approach to Find Just the

Right Degree of Formality for Your
Project
George Pitagorsky, PMP
International Institute for Learning, Inc.
Session # TRN06

Presentation Objectives
Define a Lean and Agile PM approach
Promote the adoption of a rational approach to
PM to:

Eliminate waste
Promote just right team work
Creatively address PM essentials
Acknowledge the needs of diverse projects and
environments

Organizational Goals
Perform the right projects right
Create a healthy process through
project centric and
organizational perspectives

Issues
The tendency to seek cure-alls
Conflict between the extremes of under and over
documentation, planning and control
Standardizing PM without overburdening the staff
Not
throwing the baby (good formal PM practices)
out with the bath water (excessive formality)

Zen Balance: No Absolutes

Comply with
regulations and
standards
Control
portfolios,
programs
and projects

Increase flexibility
and local autonomy
Promote ongoing
improvement
Not this vs. that;
This and that

Reduce risk

Maximize project
and resource
efficiency and
effectiveness

Does Compliance Require Rigidity?

Why Control, Standards and Compliance?
The easy way: strict, one-size-fits-all
Impact:
Effort, customer service, duration?
The Challenge:
Just Right flexibility within structure

When Would You NOT Want To

Work Lean And Agile?
Working lean means eliminating waste
Being agile is to be

adaptive
resilient
flexible and
appropriate to the situation

Systems Approach
Apply general systems theory
Anything can be described as a system of

People
Organizations
Things
Interactions

IILs Unified Project Management Model (UPMM)

Process Orientation
Anytime there is a result
a process produced it
Process is the key to
performance

PMI PMBOK Guide 2006

Process Orientation: To Influence

the Result, Address the Process

Lean: A Quality Improvement

And Management Philosophy
Eliminate waste to improve
quality
production time
cost

While creating a better workplace through

respect for humanity

Lean PM Eliminates

Excessive documentation
Excessive planning and control
Unproductive meetings
Avoidable rework
Over detailed definition of requirements
Unproductive multi-tasking

Leans Five Core Concepts

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Specify value as the customer sees it

Identify the value stream; eliminate waste
Make value flow at the customers pull
Involve and empower employees
Continuously improve to persue perfection

1) Specify Value
Clearly identify objectives and requirements
Use them as acceptance criteria
Doing the right projects right means
Satisfying the needs of all stakeholders.

2) Identify the Value Stream;

Eliminate Waste
Value stream: All the actions, (both value added and
non-value added) required to create a product
The process

Pinpoint
Unnecessary steps
Steps that overly burden resources
Steps that impact risk, relationships and quality

Fine tune the process and avoid sub-optimization

3) Make Value Flow At The Pull

Of The Customer
Make sure that every project addresses a
meaningful need
But
Moderate the flow of projects to the
performance group based on the groups
capacity

4) Involve And Empower Employees

(1 of 2)

Empower people to adapt the process

Within clearly defined constraints,

Cultivate a human friendliness and support

Dont just reduce cost and time at the expense of
employees and business partners

Empower team members to

Critically assess their process and
recommend improvements

4) Involve And Empower Employees

(2 of 2)

Involve the team in

Planning, estimating, and scheduling

Avoid commiting teams to unrealistic

schedules and budgets

5) Continuously Improve

Keep the strategic goals in focus

Avoid short sighted efficiencies
Measure performance
Analyze results
Improve the process
Involve all stakeholders

Agile (with a small a)

Moving quickly and lightly
Sleek, nimble, adaptive, responsive

Mentally quick
Not limited to software development

Agile Approach
Iterate to deliver meaningful results
Allow Requirements to evolve
Communicate - real time, quick,
informal (preferably face to face)
Give project participants autonomy
Minimize writing

Avoid Process Fundamentalism

Cultivate open-mindedness
Appreciate the complex interplay among
efficiency, people, communication, and the
delivery of meaningful results

Avoid cure-all approaches

Avoid either-or thinking
Creatively combine best practices

Goals of the Lean/Agile Approach

Deliver performance efficiency & effectiveness
Free flowing, meaningful communication
No excess and no insufficiency
Self-managed teams
Commitment to success
Managed change & continuous improvement

How To Promote A
Lean And Agile Approach

Apply essential PM principles

Manage change
Cultivate ambiguity tolerance
Apply Situational management to address
Diverse projects
In diverse settings

The Essentials of PM
Managed expectations
Documented
project objectives and constraints
expected deliverables
comprehensive activity list, at an appropriate level of detail

Realistic schedule and budget based on risk assessment

Defined way the team will communicate and manage
information
Clear understanding of roles and responsibilities
Performance monitoring and reporting
Quality, change and issues control
Post project review

Case Study
A consulting engagement for a global firm
Evaluate a high visibility, complex model for the
client and provide a report of findings

Estimated completion time about ten weeks

Schedule constraint: senior management review of
the model to kick off of the clients program

Fixed fee

Case Study: Project Staffing

Client team
Senior PM professional as leader with authority
People representing the critical stakeholders in the project
Consulting team in 3 time zones on multiple projects
Lead consultant as PM and a key performer
Senior consultant with subject matter knowledge and
experience
Senior SME project director
Account executive
Support consultant
Administrative assistant and an

Planning In Writing
SOW/Contract

Deliverables
Major activities
Roles and responsibilities
Time frames
Cost estimates

Adapting Agile for a Virtual

Team: Virtual Co-location
Co-location enables
Quick meaningful
communications
Minimal writing
Reinforced team relationship

Case Study: Distance Bull-pen

Virtual meetings via the web

Communications standards
Sensitivity and personal accountability
The ability to schedule dynamically across
multiple projects

Informal Project Control

No formal written project status reports

Progress monitored based on interim deliverables
Email update to the sponsors
Accounting for hours of effort by date and task
Cost monitored against the original budget
Subjective evaluation by the principle performers

Flexible and Informal Schedule

Management
Choice:
Firm schedule vs.
Fluid task schedule and interim delivery dates
Requisites:
Engaged, flexible well managed client
Reasonably accurate estimates
Respect for Down-stream performers
Juggling individual schedules
Ad hoc changed interim delivery dates

Issue: Scope Change

What they said they wanted was not what they needed

The revealed need:

revised high-level model and descriptions

Result:
a shift from critique to creative development
additional effort
on the fly change of roles and responsibilities

Controversy: Change Control

Change Control is essential
Make formal Change Control Lean and Agile
Traditional change requests and external approvals
can jeopardize project success

We agreed that the project would be allowed

to morph naturally as the needs evolved

Case Study: Quality Control

Formal assembly line method not appropriate
Internal work sessions
Simultaneously come to consensus about content and to
correct defects

Client quality control/acceptance - linear

Interim and final results reviewed in depth
Individual client team member deliverables review
Group work sessions to address issues

Controversy: Synchronous Vs.

Asynchronous Work
Observers:
The team spent too much time in synchronous
meetings

The team
This was the only rational way to operate
It enabled the high quality result

Case Study: Results

Exceptionally satisfied client

The clients deadline met
A very high quality result delivered
Cost overrun
(35 person days vs. a planned 19 days) and
Internal schedule and role changes

Situational Management Example

Significant cost overrun as a percentage of
the project estimate
Not significant in the overall relationship
Overrun managed with the client after the
fact

Lessons Learned (1 of 3)
Situational management, creativity and
flexibility are essential to success
Initial plan and statement of work and
flexibility are equally essential
Deliverables are the principle measures of
progress
Informal monitoring works in small projects

Lessons Learned (2 of 3)
Detailed schedules can frustrate and hold up
the team.
Realistic short term delivery targets, maturity
and flexibility

Cost control and accounting is a must

Change control is always necessary, but
formality can get in the way

Lessons Learned (3 of 3)
Quality control
Merged into the development of deliverables
(e.g., reports, plans, designs)
Formal external review and acceptance are
effective

Lean agility requires open communications

and a trusting relationships

Critical Factors to Adopt Lean

Agility
Organizational culture and
Maturity
Individual
Organizational

Consciously managed change

Lean Agility Requires Maturity

Without PM maturity
dysfunctional Lean Agility
Lean may cut away too much formality
Agility may get too Loosey-Goosey
Maturity
Values just right formality

Maturity Implies Lean Agility

The right degree
Of discipline, rigor and formality

Continuous improvement to

Minimize paper work and bureaucracy

Maximize flexibility and just right PM
Promote situational management
Effectively plan, monitor and control

Manage the Change

PM improvement program
Publish methodology and Taxonomy
Manage PMO and PM attitudes
Adapt to culture and competency
Enable flexibility and autonomy

One Approach Does Not Fit All

Is the right PM approach the same for
a large complex project in a highly
regulated environment
a small project in an informal environment
with a close knit dedicated team?
Define and use Project Type Taxonomy

Manage Attitudes: Motivation,

Accountability, Empowerment
Motivate
discipline, planning, control, consistency and flexibility

Educate
The business case; How-tos

Continuously reinforce
Enable variance quick, easy and rational
Hold people accountable for standards compliance

Transform Conflicts into

Checks and Balances
Project teams
Focused on performing individual projects
Require flexibility, autonomy, minimal paper
work and minimal bureaucracy

The PMO promotes consistency and control

Focused on portfolio and program management
and on overall performance improvement

Mature Lean Agility

No isms there is no cure-all

Eliminate waste
Promote just right team work
Creatively address PM essentials
Acknowledge the needs of diverse projects
and environments

Conclusion
PM Goal:
Improve the probability of project success
Minimize cost
Enable control across multiple projects
Create a human friendly environment

Questions

Contact Information
Session # TRN06
George Pitagorsky, PMP
International Institute for Learning,
Inc. (IIL)
110 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10016
George.Pitagorsky@iil.com
1-212-696-9687