The Project Manager’s (PM) Role in a Lean and Agile World is a one hour webinar done with Project Insight.  Contributing to the discussion were Jon Jorgensen and Custis Gilbert, two frequent contributors to agile discussions in Southern California.

Podcast Duration: 53:36

 

Click to read the white Paper

 

Click to review the powerpoint presentation

 

Watch the March 17, 2016 recorded webinar on the Project Insight site.

 

A few questions from the Attendees:

Michael C. Asked:

As a PM who has a PMP certification already…is there value in getting a Scrum Master Certification as well given that the project landscape seems to be changing pretty radically?

Response: I have a PMP and got a Certified Scrum Master (CSM) and PMI-ACP to improve my chances of job opportunities.  I went further and upgraded my CSM to become a Certified Scrum Professional (CSP) and obtained a coaching certification for the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) as a SAFe Program Consultant (SPC).  My advice is to get one or more agile certification.  Your perspective as a PMP will certainly change and may even improve the way you encourage others to succeed.

 

Alexander F. Asked: Can scrum sprints be integrated in classical PM waterfall framework? Can they somehow cooperate?

Response: I would say agile teams working on sprint boundaries may integrate with other projects that are waterfall.  You will have to coordinate when integration should take place between the two projects.  A Scrum of Scrum (SoS) meeting will help to facilitate the discussion around dependencies and risks.

 

Cozette R. Asked: What would be the best approach to transitioning to an agile role if you have never been a Scrum Master but have advanced to a Program Manager in the traditional Waterfall World?

Response: I would first pursue the certification in one of the agile frameworks, such as PMI-ACP, Certified Scrum Master (CSM), SAFe Practitioner (SP), or other available offerings.  If you are already working as a program manager, you may consider pursuing the SAFe Program Consultant (SPC) certification, which provides insights into agility at scale for the enterprise.

 

Cozette R. Asked: Is it true that not all projects are good candidates for agile? If yes, what are the characteristics of those projects?

Response: I believe that all projects can benefit from agile practices but some are not a good fit for Scrum.  The use of Kanban will be more applicable for projects or teams that are not building software or other products but still have to plan work and deliver value.  For example, a support team that is the first responders and triage customer issues may use some of the agile practices like a daily stand-up, retrospective, and use a Kanban board to plan very specific activities that are bound by a sprint timeline.