Project Management 1 Assignment Sample

• Subject Name : Project management (Case Study)

Project Management Case Study

Table of Contents

Introduction.

Question and answers.

Conclusion.

References.

Introduction

The purpose of the paper is to demonstrate various aspects of the Agile project in context to the organization Remco. The company relied on the Waterfall project management methodology which has created various issues to the company. The conversion of the project management approach to the Agile methodology associates several barriers and issues. The following section will discuss Remco’s potential upcoming steps in favor of agile approach.

Question and Answers

1. Given the issues in the case that Remco is facing, where should Remco begin?

In the present context, Remco needs to focus on the collaboration within the team. As suggested by Vischi, and Zahn (2017) the active engagement and participation of the team members is crucial in each stage, as the value of the project is created in every stage of the Agile method. Hence, Remco needs to accumulate the staffs all together and conduct an in-depth discussion regarding the Agile methodology’s advantages and tactics to implement within organization. The staffs are to be trained and they are to be given the liberty to spring new ideas (Stoddard, Gillis, and Cohn 2019). For higher customer involvement, the customer needs are to be clearly understood and the company needs to keep balance in project control and customer preferences.

Transparency could increase customer engagement, which will allow Remco to avail the contracts (Kautz, Johansen, and Uldahl 2017). Communication within the team is extensively curial (Stoddard, Gillis, and Cohn 2019). As suggested by Westendorp (2016) the significant difference in Agile and Waterfall is Agile allows the change in the project development, whereas, the waterfall does not support the scope for change. As the company is changing its approach, the company is to stay flexible to comply with Agile methodology. The company should begin with the least expanse of process control, which is indispensible, and then should add as per the change in circumstances and situations.

The staff training, automation in process and other tasks associated to Agile method is futile unless the team collaboration and communication is ensured. In present context, any wrong decision making could ruin the project outcomes and the implementation of Agile could disrupt. An organization needs to employ an experience and definitive leader who could lead the team and avoid wrong decision making in this stage. However, the first and foremost step of the company should be preparing the organizational culture in favor of the Agile methodology. Organizational culture explicitly controls the behavior and attitude of the employees (Naranjo-Valencia, Jiménez-Jiménez, and Sanz-Valle 2019). Hence, Remco needs to put stress on organizational culture and ensure it complies with Agile approaches.

2. What should Remco do if the customers will not commit resources to agile or Scrum projects?

The company has to address the customer and try to convince the customers. The nature of the Agile project methodology is to be explained to the customers and show why the Agile project methodology is unavoidable in present context. The domain and demands of the customers are required to be understood and then to decide the approach to appeal to them (Rasnacis, and Berzisa 2017). The company could perform several simple and feasible sprints to make them understood with the examples (Rasnacis, and Berzisa 2017).The company needs to drive the business value and the end result also. If the customers trouble to have faith on the Agile method, a tester of the Agile could be provided to the customer for no payment. Thus, the company has to strategically convince the customers to commit their resources for Agile or Scrum projects. If the customers are still not ready to commit their resources, the company needs to manage the budget and resources with functional contingency.

3. How should Remco handle employee career development when employees real- ize that there are no formal positions on agile/Scrum projects and titles may be meaningless? What if employees feel that being assigned to an agile/Scrum team is not a career advancement opportunity?

The company needs to select the right talent for the team, who value the group objective and organizational goals over personal motives. The company has to plan differently and motivate the employees. The company has to develop the title and job roles that suit the agile project methods. The attractive job titles with benefits provide the career development opportunities and motivate the employees to perform their best (Tripp, Riemenschneider, and Thatcher 2016). Hence, the new job titles could be developed for the different roles in agile project management.

Meetings are to be conducted regarding the values and effectiveness of the Agile project methodology, so that the employees does not undervalue the roles associated to the project. After that, Remco could organize training session, where the employees will perceive different roles of the project and select the roles of their own. Based on their selected role, they will avail training and implement in the industrial practices. The company has to ensure a positive morale is built over the negative perceptions regarding the agile methodologies. Though training and face-to-face meeting, the employees will be engaged and their skills and competencies will be developed.

4. How harmful might it be to an agile team if workers with critical skills are either reassigned to higher-priority projects or are asked to work on more than one project at a time?

As suggested by Cooper (2016) the agile project method is well-known for its flexibility. In case of agile method, there could be frequent changes in the requirements. Hence, it will not be harmful when the workers with the critical skills are reassigned (Cooper 2016). Sometimes, the reassigned work will assist the employees to increase their flexibility and the competencies to adapt the pressure and be skillful enough to manage two different situations. Hence, it will not be harmful for the team. However, the extensive pressure of work could bring adverse impact on their performance and motivation for work.

5. How should you handle a situation where one employee will not follow the agile approach?

Team coordination and collaboration is the utmost requirement for the successful outcome of agile project. If an employees is reluctant to the Agile project method, the project manager and decision making authorities are accountable to motivate the employee in favor of the agile method. The people who are against of the agile methods are to be identified and personally communicated. Their concerns with the change are to be identified and they are to be clearly explained regarding the potential benefits of the agile project management approach. In the one to one discussion, the employee is to be appealed with the potential benefits of adapting agile on their career (Sommer 2019).

The employee is to be convinced with the potential career and skill development due to the Agile project method. Weekly assistance and routine check of the employee performance is to be introduced to ensure the employee works well. The rewards, appraisals could be helpful to make the employee cheerful and motivated to follow agile method (Mohamad, and Chia 2018). If the above tactics fail to address the issue, the right talent for the team is to be identified instead of the employee to ensure everyone align their motives with the team objectives.

6. In meetings when there is no leader, how do you resolve personality issues that result in constant conflicts?

The leaders are indispensible part to conduct a successful meeting. However, if there is no leader for the meeting, it should be attempted that conflicts do not arise in the discussion. The goals of the meeting, the purpose and procedures are to be clearly discussed with the individuals attending the meeting. The regulations of meeting and the unacceptable manners and behaviors are to be clearly stated in the meeting (). The potential consequences of the unacceptable behavior and disputes will be explicitly discussed so that people do not indulge in the conflicts. They will be motivated to collaborate to the team. The meeting should start with thanking people for their attendance and encouragement so that they feel to be valuable for the meeting (Pavicevic, Haleblian, and Keil 2019).

Regardless of the discussions, if there is a conflict, the conflict is to be identified and resolved. At first, one party will be asked to share their views, and then the another party will be asked the same. Questions will be posed for in-depth understanding of the conflicts. The various potential solutions are to be clarified and then the methods of negotiating the disputes will be reviewed. The solution will be proposed considering the view of both the parties and discussion will be upkeep until both the parties agree upon the derived solution. After they agree, the meeting will be recorded along with the solution to disputes and the procedures. Both the parties will be asked to sign to the document to prevent the further conflicts.

7. Can an agile methodology adapt to change faster than a waterfall methodology?

The agile methodology can adapt the changes faster comparatively to the waterfall methodology. As suggested by Lloyd, Moawad, and Kadry (2017) the change management processes best align with the agile methodology. In the Agile methods, the plans of the project could change as per the customer needs and the circumstances. On the contrary, the waterfall is rather sequential and fails to adapt with the upcoming frequent changes. Most of the studies depict that the Agile project methods support the frequent changes. The agile method shows iterative nature the churn is created in the project process. Hence, the agile method could effectively adapt with change compared to waterfall.

8. Will the concept of self-organized teams require Remco to treat conversion as a cultural challenge?

The self-organized teams do not depend on the managers or the superiors to assign those tasks and perform their works and manage and control the tasks and responsibilities along with the timelines (Spiegler, Heinecke, and Wagner 2019). The self-organized teams possess the self-sufficiency to take several decisions. They are comparatively more self-motivated to perform the tasks. They deliver higher productivity and greater value. The cultural change within an organization is successful when each of the workers participates in the change and provides their contribution. For the conversion, the company has to ensure the employees are motivated and collaborate to implement the changes. In the self-organized teams, the employees are self-driven and motivated to perform. Hence, the self-organized team is required in context to Remco.

9. Can part of the company use agile and another part of the company use waterfall?

Yes, both waterfall method and the agile method could be used as integrated method (Khalid, and Ahmed 2017). The combination of both agile and waterfall methodologies could be used to increase productivity. Various studies have been conducted that support the integrated use of waterfall and agile method. Application of Agile method allows an organization to iterate faster and frequently change as per the feedback of the user and situations. However, waterfall maintains consistency and minimizes the likelihood of errors. The integration of both the methods within the organization could provide the advantage of both the methods. However, if one part is working on waterfall approach and other is on agile, miscommunication may happen. The frequent change in the unit that abides by the agile could disrupt the waterfall method. Hence, it is better to either implement the agile in the entire organization, or integrate both the methods and implement in the entire organization.

Conclusion

The study found that Remco needs to set up the authoritative culture for the Agile system. Hierarchical culture unequivocally controls the conduct and mentality of the workers. The organization needs to drive the business esteem and the final product to impact clients to contribute their assets. Meetings are to be led with respect to the qualities and adequacy of the Agile undertaking approach, so the workers doesn't underestimate the jobs related to the venture. It won't be hurtful to a coordinated group if laborers with basic aptitudes are either reassigned to higher-need extends or are approached to take a shot at more than each venture in turn. The blend of both spry and cascade procedures could be utilized to build efficiency. Be that as it may, on the off chance that one section is dealing with cascade approach and other is on nimble, miscommunication may occur.

References

Cooper, R.G., 2016. Agile–Stage-Gate Hybrids: The Next Stage for Product Development Blending Agile and Stage-Gate methods can provide flexibility, speed, and improved communication in new-product development. Research-Technology Management, 59(1), pp.21-29.

Kautz, K., Johansen, T.H. and Uldahl, A., 2017. The perceived impact of the agile development and project management method scrum on process transparency in information systems development. In Complexity in Information Systems Development, pp. 237-253.

Khalid, F. and Ahmed, I., 2017. The Integrated Model Using Agile Practices to CBR. Journal of Software Engineering and Applications, 10(5), pp.422-431.

Lloyd, D., Moawad, R. and Kadry, M., 2017. A supporting tool for requirements change management in distributed agile development. Future Computing and Informatics Journal, 2(1), pp.1-9.

Mohamad, N.H. and Chia, K.V.L., 2018. Impact of Reward and Recognition on Employee Motivation in Local Creative Industry. pp. 38-43.

Naranjo-Valencia, J.C., Jiménez-Jiménez, D. and Sanz-Valle, R., 2019. Organizational culture effect on innovative orientation. Management Decision, 49(1), pp.55-72.

Pavicevic, S., Haleblian, J.M. and Keil, T., 2019, July. The Target-Side Acquisition Process: Active Boards and Value-Enhancing Negotiation Decisions. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2019, No. 1, p. 10394).

Rasnacis, A. and Berzisa, S., 2017. Method for adaptation and implementation of agile project management methodology. Procedia Computer Science, 104, pp.43-50.

Sommer, A.F., 2019. Agile Transformation at LEGO Group: Implementing Agile methods in multiple departments changed not only processes but also employees’ behavior and mindset. Research-Technology Management, 62(5), pp.20-29.

Spiegler, S.V., Heinecke, C. and Wagner, S., 2019, May. Leadership gap in agile teams: how teams and scrum masters mature. In International Conference on Agile Software Development. pp. 37-52.

Stoddard, M.M., Gillis, B. and Cohn, P., 2019. Agile Project Management in Libraries: Creating Collaborative, Resilient, Responsive Organizations. Journal of Library Administration, 59(5), pp.492-511.

Tripp, J.F., Riemenschneider, C. and Thatcher, J.B., 2016. Job satisfaction in agile development teams: Agile development as work redesign. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 17(4), p.1.

Vischi, D. and Zahn, C., 2017, April. Enhancing Agile Team Collaboration Through the Use of Large Digital Multi-touch Cardwalls. In Agile Processes in Software Engineering and Extreme Programming: 18th International Conference, XP 2017, Cologne, Germany, May 22-26, 2017, Proceedings Vol. 283, pp. 119.

Westendorp, A., 2016. Agile versus waterfall methods: differences in knowledge networks and performance in software engineering teams (Master's thesis, University of Twente).

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