WATERFALL PROJECT MANAGEMENT

As the new project manager at a software company, your first assignment is a simple software
development project the requirements are clearly laid out, the customer base is small and the customer is
unlikely to change the initial requirements. Knowing several different project management models will
serve the purpose, how do you choose which one to use?

One of the many project management models in use today, the waterfall model is one of the most easily
understandable and manageable models. The waterfall model is a project management methodology
based on a sequential design process, much like a waterfall filling lower-level pools, phases in the
waterfall model flow from one to another. Also like the pools filling completely before water spills into the
next pool, the waterfall model finishes one phase before another phase can begin. Developed as a
software development lifecycle model, waterfall methodology lends itself to projects that are small in size
and whose requirements can be definitively determined upfront. A simple waterfall model has six phases:
requirements, design, implementation, verification, deployment and maintenance.

Let's go through each, starting with requirements. Because the waterfall model mandates that
requirements be well documented before any other project work can begin, this phase is emphasized and
the project manager is likely to spend more time during this phase than the others. Gathering
requirements starts with the concept, or the idea of what the customer wants to do. The project manager
will discuss the concept with the customer with subject matter experts and with other stakeholders to
divine very specific business needs the software will address, problems the software will resolve and
functionalities the customer desires. These requirements are captured in the requirements document and
the document is approved closing the requirements phase before the project team moves to the next
phase. With the requirements in mind that project team designs the software to meet the stated business
needs and solve identified problems.

The design phase includes the logical design and the physical design. The logical design is an abstract
representation of how the software data flows, the inputs and the outputs. It is often shown graphically as
a diagram showing data flow. The physical design determines the hardware such as storage and network
hardware which will make the logical design reality. Once the design is fully complete the project team will
review and approve the design, implementation cannot begin until the design phase is formally closed with
the approval of the design document.

Once the design is approved the implementation phase begins, contrary to its name the implementation
phase is not when the software is implemented into the user environment, rather the implementation
phase is building the design into actual software. During this phase the software programmers do the
actual coding to build the software according to the design document. As with all phases in the waterfall
model, the implementation phase must be complete before the next phase verification can begin. Often
software is built in units and integrated into a whole at a later point. This allows for ongoing
implementation and verification as one software unit implementation is complete it is sent to verification
and another software unit implementation begins.

Verification is testing the software against the requirements during the verification phase of the project
team may select a pilot group of users, to test the software's user friendliness or to provide user
feedback. If the software does not meet the requirements in the requirements document it is sent back to
the software engineers for further implementation. Once all verification actions are done and the phases
deemed complete the project moves to the next phase.

Once the software is fully verified and approved for release, the deployment phase is the actual release of
the new software into the information technology environment. As with the implementation phase the
deployment phase may be broken into units, to allow for ongoing deployment and maintenance phases.
For example the software may be deployed by location; once a location is fully deployed it would move
into the maintenance phase, while another location begins the deployment phase.

The maintenance phase, often referred to as a stabilization period is the phase of the project in which
initial issues are resolved. The customer provides feedback on the new software for the project team to
look into. Additionally the project team made two additional testing in the live environment to verify
acceptable deployment.

As our new project manager doing a simple software development project discovered, the waterfall model
has clear advantages however, it does have disadvantages and it is not suitable for all projects, let's go
over advantages first. The waterfall model is easy to understand easy to manage, has fewer production
issues and offers better budget management; however it's not flexible and doesn't handle unexpected
risks well. It’s also not a good model for complex or long-term projects and it can be difficult to capture all
requirements upfront. The waterfall model is a sequential project management methodology where one
phase completely finishes before the next phase begins there are six phases in a simple waterfall model
requirements, design, implementation, verification, deployment and maintenance. The waterfall method is
easy to understand and manage results in fewer production issues and is easier to keep on budget. The
disadvantages however are that it is inflexible not suitable for complex or long-term projects and it can be
difficult to capture all requirements upfront.

AGILE PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Hi I’m Mark. I help organizations write software more efficiently and often this means helping teams
understand what it means to develop in an Agile way. In this video we are going to answer the question,
“What is Agile?” And just as important, we’ll discuss what Agile is not. Many things get called Agile—
especially by people who are trying to sell you something. If you ask the makers of paper products, they
will tell you that to be Agile you need to write user stories on the sticky note cards— that they just happen
to sell. If you ask a consultant, you’ll likely hear that it is a methodology for developing software that your
organization can learn—if you buy their services. And if you talk to the makers of orthopedic shoes, you’ll
be told that the key to being Agile is meetings where everyone stands up. So the more comfortable your
shoes — the more Agile your team. The actual definition of Agile is found in the Agile Manifesto. The
Manifesto makes it clear that Agile isn’t a methodology. It isn’t a specific way of doing software
development. It isn’t a framework or a process. In fact, most of the things that are marketed as Agile tend
to miss the point of what Agile actually is.

Agile is a set of values and principles. Much of the discussion around Agile has to do with following
different practices, using various methodologies, and even developing with specific tools. While these
things might help a team that is trying to follow Agile, they aren’t Agile in and of themselves. For
example, while a team may find that having a daily standup is helpful, the standup is only “Agile” to the
extent that it is the result of a team following the Agile principles and values. When you understand this, it
is easy to see that Agile is really a collection of beliefs that teams can use for making decisions about how
to do the work of developing software. While this means the term Agile gets subjected to a great deal of
abuse when people claim that this or that is the way to be Agile, it also means that if you truly understand
what Agile is, it is surprisingly flexible. Agile doesn’t make decisions for you. Instead it gives a foundation
for teams to make decisions that result in better software development. The Agile Manifesto is only 68
words and very simply says that we can develop software better by valuing the items on the left side of
the list more than the items on the right side.

The Agile Manifesto says: We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping
others do it. Through this work we have come to value:

• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.

In addition to the values of the Manifesto there are 12 principles that support the values. Once again the
principles are very general and are less about telling you what to do than they are about giving you the
ability to make a good decision in a particular situation. The principles are:

 Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable
software.
 Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the
customer's competitive advantage.
 Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference
to the shorter timescale.
 Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.
 Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and
trust them to get the job done.
 The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is
face-to-face conversation.
 Working software is the primary measure of progress.
 Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be
able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
 Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
 Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount of work not done--is essential.
 The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
 At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its
behavior accordingly.

Since Agile is a collection of values and principles, it’s really utility is in giving people a common
foundation for making decisions about the best way to develop software. For example, consider a new
project that is in discussion on how to get the requirements from the business owner. The suggested
approach is to require that the business owner write down all the requirements and sign off on them
before beginning the work. A team that is following Agile would say: “While that might work, isn’t that
inconsistent with our belief that we should value customer collaboration over contract negotiation? And
doesn’t it violate our principle that says the developers should be working with the business owners every
day? How can we make this decision in a way that is consistent with our values and the principles we
follow?” Or consider a developer who is working on implementing a feature for the business owner. The
developer realizes he needs a database to make the feature work. The first idea that comes to mind is to
stop work on the feature and build out a robust database layer that will handle the needs of the feature
and provide support for other development that will be needed later. If the developer believes in the Agile
values and is trying to follow Agile principles they would think: “But building out this layer means I will
have to delay delivering what the customer can see as valuable software they can use. If I can find a way
to build just what is necessary to deliver this feature, it will better align with my principles.” When you
have a team that is following Agile they will be making hundreds of decisions each week in the way
described above. That is what it means to be Agile. Making each decision based on the principles
and values that the team has decided to follow.

The decision making process matters. You can’t try to short circuit things by taking decisions made by
another team and just blindly doing what they decided to do. Another team may make decisions based on
the Agile principles and values and end up with a particular way of doing their work. Simply trying to
mimic another team’s actions and practices won’t make your team Agile. After World War II Melanesian
islanders were observed trying to bring cargo planes and their supplies from the sky by mimicking the
practices they had seen performed during the war. This included clearing the forest to make a landing
strip complete with full size planes made out of straw. They also created structures that mimicked a
control tower out of bamboo and had someone sit in it wearing headphones fashioned from coconuts. It is
easy to fall into a similar type of cargo cult mentality when it comes to Agile. The things that are easy to
notice in a highly functional Agile team are the practices they are using. But the practices a team uses are
the result of following Agile principles and values. It is less important what practices a team happens to be
using than why they are using it. In fact, as time goes by, a good Agile team is probably going to change
and refine the practices they use. A team might start with SCRUM and later find that Kanban is a better fit
for delivering value to their customers. A team might begin standing up in a daily meeting and later decide
it works better for everyone to stay sitting down. Another team might start out using Planning Poker to
estimate story size and later do away with story points and simply split stories to be approximately the
same size. That isn’t to say it is useless to look at practices being used by teams that are performing well,
but you can’t go looking for practices to make you Agile.

Your principles and values are what will make you Agile. You have to look for practices that support your
principles and values. The way you select your practices is what determines whether you are being Agile
or not. If a practice is being selected because it looks like a good way to follow Agile principles, it is
probably a good place to start. The same practice can work poorly for a team if it is selected for the wrong
reason. So what is Agile? Agile is a set of values and principles. How does a team become Agile? They
make their decisions based on Agile values and principles. The decision making process is how a team
becomes Agile. The values and principles have enough flexibility to allow teams in a wide variety of
organizations to develop software in the ways that work best for their particular situation while providing
enough direction to help a team continually move toward their full potential.

SCRUM PROJECT METHODOLOGY

Suppose you'd like to start a new project, usually you'd drop a plan, make a schedule, find a project
manager, hold endless meetings and ultimately just hope you don't stumble before you reach the finish
line. But what does that usually deliver, everything is more expensive than expected, you stress about
your deadline the end result could have been better and energy has drained from your team. These
problems are solved with scrum. With scrum you write fewer plans and you do more in short
cycles, we call sprints. You don't work on separate islands but as one dedicated team instead of
working on a project with a distant deadline you constantly deliver functioning products. You don't use
final evaluations but you receive continuous feedback. Scrum is a flexible way of working in a rapidly
changing world. It's frequently used in IT projects so many of the websites you visit or apps you use were
made using scrum; this way of working is used more and more. Scrum was recently used to build a large
new bridge but it can also be used to develop new products, compiled budgets and annual reports,
organize events in your town or even to set up a completely new company.

How does scrum work let's use the marketing campaign for a new car as an example. In the first week
you take action right away you share a glimpse of your design through social media. The feedback you
receive will be used in week two, you attract media attention which leads to new feedback for making
improvements, we call these weeks Sprint's which are actually many projects that each produced their
own specific results. Instead of knowing exactly where you want to end up, you take a step by step
approach as you work towards your final ambition, like the successful launch of a new car.

A scrum team has stand-up meetings, works transparently feels a joint responsibility is aware of the
progress made every day and has results to celebrate after each sprint. Scrum has three roles: first the
product owner the key stakeholder with a vision who provides direction to the team for each sprint. Then
there are team members five to nine professionals in various disciplines who are jointly responsible for the
results. The scrum master a facilitator who focuses completely on the process. Then there are scrum lists,
the product backlog in which you list your ambitions and express how you intend to achieve them. The
sprint backlog, the shopping list of products you want to produce in the next sprint. The definition of done
indicates precisely what needs to be done by the end of the sprint. And the scrum board this shows all of
the team members tasks which will change from to do, to busy, to done during a sprint. Then there are
four meetings: first the sprint planning meeting, what exactly are we going to achieve during this sprint
and who's doing what. Next the stand-up is everything going according to plan and are we going to make
it. The third meeting is the review during which you deliver your results and receive feedback the last
meeting is the retrospective, you look back on the process and reflect on what you can improve as a team
for the next sprint. Scrum is a powerful way of working that provides speed and energy, maybe something
for your organization to.

KANBAN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Good morning Dave! Good morning Amy! My friend Betty keeps talking about Kanban and how it made
her business more efficient and improves collaboration. Do you know what she's talking about? Yes,
Kanban is a simple but powerful tool that can help business owners and project managers stay organized,
maybe in a conference room and I'll explain it.

Kanban is a Japanese term meaning something like billboard. It was developed by Toyota in the
1950s for manufacturing; however it has since been applied to a number of industries including
construction, architecture, software development and even personal time management. A well-planned
Kanban board keeps all of your team members collaborating and informed. In many cases a digital
Kanban system along with thoughtful participation can eliminate the need for the dreaded weekly status
report. In its most basic form, a Kanban board has just a few columns such as to do, in progress and
completed. with digital systems like stars any number of columns can be created to reflect how work flows
through your organization. After a board is created all the necessary contributors are invited to participate
on the board, this creates a small but dynamic working group. Depending on the nature of your business
you might invite an engineer, the graphic artist, the copywriter and a few others. In most cases the board
participation list will include at least one or more product owners. In a small company the product owner
might be the business owner .In a large organization it might be a project manager. Generally, it is a role
the product owner to maintain an authoritative list of work items that need to be accomplished in order to
complete a project.

In a Kanban system these work items are represented on the board with tasks or cards. They are also
sometimes called user stories, because they describe work in sequential bite-size thoughts .in order to
help the product owner stay organized a typical Kanban board often contains a backlog. The backlog is a
sorted and prioritized list of tasks that aren't yet ready to be worked the backlog can even contain
brainstorming cards. As work becomes ready for the team the part owner moves the task from the
backlog to the to-do column. In a digital system like stars a variety of notifications can be set to inform
participants when such changes occur .once a card is moved to the to-do column it is ready to be worked
by the team. Some systems like stars even allow cars to be assigned a specific ownership. In a Kanban
system the topmost card is the most important as a result there is no confusion as to which task needs to
be worked next. As work begins the card is pulled out of the to-do column and placed into the in progress
column. During its journey through the board participants can add notes, change ownership and even
invite others to participate this lets everyone on the board know exactly what's going on at any given
time. One by one cards move from the backlog onto the board team members continue to pull cards from
one column to the next as atoms are worked. When the backlog becomes empty and all the cards are in
the completed column the project is done I suggest we visit Stars website and see either digital combo
system can improve our business.

LEAN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Let's say your business is doing well and you're thinking of expanding that's great, but it's also the riskiest
time for your business. In fact many businesses don't survive the transition. Should you throw money at
the problem by investing in new equipment or hiring more people? Should you make your staff work more
over time? Your answers to questions like these can make or break your business and that's where lean
comes in. Lean is a philosophy about delivering value from your customers’ perspective, eliminating waste
and continuously improving your processes. Lean can radically change the way you do business. Lean
management is based on four principles. The first principle is pull, rather than producing as much as
possible, customer demand pulls goods or services through the manufacturing process. This minimizes
overproduction, inventory and ultimately working capital. The second is one piece flow, focusing on one
single piece at a time minimizes work-in-progress, process interruptions, lead and waiting time while
increasing quality and flexibility. The third is takt it's the heartbeat of a lean system. It’s how fast you
need to manufacture a product to meet customer demand, Takt allows us to balance work content,
achieve a continuous flow and respond flexibly to changes in the marketplace. And the fourth is zero
defects. Mistakes happen, but a lean company doesn't pass on defects. Mistakes from previous steps must
be fixed before going on. Combined with the robust continuous improvement process the four principles of
lean management will help your company stay ahead of the competition in a constantly changing
marketplace. So if you're ready to begin your lean journey contact us today let us show you how lean can
bring out the best in your business.

SIX SIGMA PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Imagine you've been tasked with a really important project at work. The company you're working for
produces luxury cars. The production numbers are going down and a lesser number of cars are getting
manufactured each day, there also seems to be an issue with the quality of the windshield wipers that go
on these cars. The question you are faced with. “Is there a way for the company to stop the stall and
production and increase the production per day from 1,000 to 2,000? Also “is there a way to find out
what's causing the drop in the wiper quality” there is Six Sigma. Six Sigma gives you the tools and
techniques to determine what's making the manufacturing process slow down, how you can eliminate the
delays, improve the process and fix further issues along the way. The concept was introduced in 1988 by
Bill Smith while working for Motorola, since then Six Sigma has seen worldwide adoption. Six Sigma aims
to reduce the time. Defects and variability experienced by processes in an organization. Thanks to Six
Sigma you can produce a defect free product 99.999 six percent of the time. Allowing only 3.4 errors per
1 million opportunities. Six Sigma also increases customer loyalty towards the brand improves, employee
morale leading to higher productivity.

Six Sigma has two major methodologists DMAIC and DMADV. Let’s look at the first methodology DMAIC
is an acronym for define measure, analyze, improve and control. Let’s have a look at each of these stages
individually and how it relates to your earlier problem. In the define phase you determine what issues
you're facing what your opportunities for improvement are and what the customer requires of you. Here
you look at the process as a whole and determine the issues with the manufacturing process. In this case
finding out why the cars had varying windshield wiper quality and how to optimize the current process to
manufacture more cars. In the measure phase you determine how the process is performing currently in
its unaltered state. You determine the current number of cars that are manufactured in a day. in the
current scenario 1,000 cars are manufactured in a day and each of these cars are outfitted with a pair of
windshield wipers by one of 30 machines used. Some of the metrics measured or how many cars are
produced in a day, time taken to assemble a car, how many windshield wipers were attached in a day,
time that takes them to do so, defects detected from each machine on assembly completion and so on.
Following this, in the analyze phase you determine what caused the defect or variation. On analyzing
previous data you find out that one of the machines that installed the windshield wiper was not performing
as well as it was supposed to. Production was taking longer since the car chassis was being moved across
the different locations slower, as cranes had to individually pick and drop the frame; this was because the
wheels were attached to the car only in the last stage. Next in the improve phase you make changes to
the manufacturing process and ensure the defects are addressed. You replace the faulty machines that
installed the windshield wiper with another one. You also find a way to save time by attaching wheels on
the frame in the initial stages of the manufacturing process, unlike how it was done earlier. now the car
can be moved across the assembly area faster. And finally in the control phase you make regular
adjustments to control new processes and future performance. Based on the changes made the company
was able to reduce production time and manufacture about 2,000 cars a day with a higher quality of
output. DMAIC is one of the most commonly used methodologies in the world. it focuses on improving the
existing products of the organization.

The second methodology is DMADV which is short for define, measure, analyze, design and verify. It is
used when the company has to create a new product or service from scratch; it is also called DFSS or
design for Six Sigma. Let’s take the scenario where the company decides to build a new model a sports
car. In the define phase you define the requirements of the customer based on inputs from customers,
historical data, industry research, you determine what you need to ensure your car becomes a success.
The data collected indicates customers are drawn to cars which can achieve more than 150 miles per
hour. Customers are also more inclined towards cars which have v6 engines and an aerodynamic frame.
Then in the measure phase you use the customer's requirements to create a specification. This
specification helps define the product in a measurable method so that data can be collected and compared
with specific requirements. Some of the major specifications that you focus on are the top speed, engine
type and type of frame. in the analyze phase you analyze the product to determine whether there are
better ways to achieve the desired results , areas of improvement are determined and tested. based on
the analysis of the prototype created in this phase, you find that the product satisfies just about all of the
customer requirements, except the top speed, so research begins on an aluminum alloy that could
possibly meet the speed requirements of the customer. Following this the design phase based on the
learning from the analysis phase the new process or product is designed. Revisions are made to the model
and the car is manufactured with the new material. The analysis phase is repeated based on the new
design. You also bring a focus group and see how they receive it based on their feedback, further changes
are made. And finally in the verify phase you check whether the end result meets or exceeds customer
requirements. Once you launch your brand-new sports car you collect customer feedback and incorporate
it into future designs. And guess what, your customers are loving the new design and that is DMADV for
you.

Six Sigma has also found success in a number of different industries: the petrochemical, healthcare,
banking, government and software are some of the industries that have utilized the concepts of Six Sigma
to achieve their business goals. Another commonly used methodology adopted by companies around the
world is lean. Lean is a methodology that aims to remove any part of the process that does not bring
value to the customer. it means doing more with less while doing it better .the philosophy behind lean
comes from the Japanese manufacturing industry by Bob Hartman, who at the time was part of Toyota .
Since then across the world services and manufacturing organizations have incorporated lean within their
businesses. But what if you could have the best of both worlds a combination of both Six Sigma and Lean,
that's Lean Six Sigma. Lean Six Sigma is a methodology that focuses on eliminating problems, removing
inefficiencies and waste while improving the working conditions to ensure the customers needs are better
satisfied. It combines the tools methods and principles of Lean and Six Sigma.

PRINCE2 PROJECT METHODOLOGY

Have you noticed, too many projects overspend their budget or miss their deadlines or deliver things that
customers aren't happy with? If you use a method like prince2 to give you a project to structure, you'll
really increase your chances of success. Welcome to prince2 made simple. A friend of mine has applied
stall on the local market, the pies are great but she doesn't get enough customers. She decided to bring in
an e range of scrummy cakes and asked me to manage the project. A prince project has clearly defined
outputs or products. In this case the final product will be the range of cakes ready for sale on my friends
stall. The steps or processes in prints help you structure your project .you need a clear controlled start,
middle and end. At the start only to check that I have a clear idea of what's required and a plan to help
me achieve it. In the middle I need to get the work done and it helps to break it down into stages maybe
market, research developing the recipe, cake production. At the end of the project only to tie up all the
loose ends and make sure my friend and her customers are happy. At each step of the way I'll need to
build in decision points and set up communication channels so everyone who's involved knows what's
going on. And there are eight important principles I need to bear in mind. Prince calls these components.
First I need to make sure the project has a good business case. The benefits of the project more
customers, better sales, need to outweigh the cost. I'll need a plan my final product is the range of cakes
but I need to think about all the other things, like the recipes and equipment once. I'm clear about that I
can think about what I've got to do and the resources I'll need to do it, and that will tell us if our cost and
time targets are realistic. I need to think about the rest of the team my customers include the store holder
and her customers. I'll need to involve them in the decision making and in specifying and testing the final
product. Then those suppliers, I'm not going to do it all myself so I'll need to find someone to bake the
cakes, write the recipes and design the packaging. Every project needs to manage risk or uncertainty
.what if another stall starts selling cakes? What if something goes wrong in production? We can't just hope
that none of this happens. And there's no point in having a plan if we don't use it to control progress. My
friend wants to be involved in the big decisions but she's busy with the rest of her business. so we need to
agree how I'm going to keep her informed and when I need to contact her urgently .no project ever runs
without people changing their mind. Let’s say my friend decide she wants a different kind of packaging
halfway through the project; I'll need to check the impact that would have on the budget and the
deadline. We need to look after our products, if we've got more than one version of the recipe we need to
know which the latest is. We need to know where each piece of equipment is and when the cakes are
finished we need to store them safely until they go on sale. Finally I need to make sure that everyone's
happy at the end of the project. Quality management means finding out what your customers want and
then making sure that everything meets their requirements. With our cake, Quality Assurance has never
been so much fun.