CHAPTER 11: INTRODUCTION TO THE PROCESSES

Agile says:

There are several descriptions of Agile phases. Figure 11.1 represents a general view of them.

Figure 11.1: Typical Agile phases

Agile diagrams often show a pre-project iteration Inception) where the project is selected. I believe that this work is not part of the project but is part of a higher-level task, and part of a company’s strategic thinking and planning. ISO 21500:2012, Guidance on project management, shows creation of a project business case as part of the work in portfolio management, and deciding which potential project to select.

PM4A says:

PM4A has four phases. The Propose and Plan phases combined are the equivalent of the Agile inception phase. The Close phase is the equivalent of the Agile transition phase. A project may have many stages in the Create phase during which products are developed, but the diagram in Figure 11.2 does not clearly show these iterations in the Create phase.

Figure 11.2: PM4A phases

The difference matters because …

The PM4A process diagram does not show the conveyor belt philosophy of regularly delivering working products and benefits throughout the project life cycle.

Here is what APM should do:

Building the right product to meet business need is of primary importance. The key is to maximise business benefit by delivering essential functionality within tight timescales through controlling how much is developed, rather than extending the time allotted or allowing the quality to be compromised. These objectives are achieved by:

•Iterative development and prototyping;

•Focusing on high-priority features that will deliver maximum business benefit;

•Active business involvement;

•Empowerment of the team; and

•Frequent product and/or benefit delivery.

The phases are shown in Figure 11.3 below:

Figure 11.3: All the phases