Success with Agile Project Management in General Dynamics - Essay Example

?Success with Agile Project Management in General Dynamics Success with Agile Project Management in General Dynamics According to Cockburn (2007), agile project management has been termed and proven effective in software development. Agile project management involves stand-up meetings that bring together the development team, in addition to facilitating the spirit of teamwork that is core in software development. The stand-up meetings help in the undertaking of constant reviews and the performance of project assessments. It allows the allocation of different tasks to each individual, and a creation of a discussion forum to evaluate the progress of each of the development team members (Cockburn, 2007). The stand-up meetings in the Agile Project Management are essential in the provision of information on the individually allocated responsibilities, as well as provision of a proper communication platform for discussion on the software development information. In agile software development, stand-up meetings have significant value in delivering crucial information to the individuals involved within the project. The concept of agile software development revolves around providing solutions through assessment of operational problems, through constantly and continuously reviewing the essential requirements (Schuh, 2005). In Agile project management, the projects are normally broken down into pieces for faster completion and the individuals divided into numerous teams working on different sections of the project (Cockburn, 2007). The projects cycle normally remains the same and is repeated on the various sections identified by the project managers, and team leaders. Agile project management in software development ensures that the software development cycle is unaltered, and hence the project is completed on time and within the allocated resources (Cockburn, 2007). The current economic trends and technology innovations have created loopholes in projects, with the cost likely to rise and a possible need for addition time for the completion of the project. Therefore, agile project management is more likely to assure the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of fixed project cost and on-time delivery. Agile project management facilitates and encourages continued communication, which remains a fundamental component for any agile software development methods (Cockburn, 2007). In the General Dynamics, the use of the Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM) proved suitable to the Defence Equipment and Support, in addition provide for a study ground for testing the effectiveness and possible future use of DSDM in other software development projects. The Dynamic Systems Development Method proved effective in the General Dynamics due to ensuring the delivery of the Combat Identification Server (CIdS) Technology Demonstrator Project (TDP) within the stipulated time, allocated resources, and high quality (General Dynamics, 2010). Dynamic Systems Development Method helped in the swapping of requirements, and hence the provision of flexibility that ensured delivery within the stipulated time and within the allocated budget and other resources. This is contrary to the traditional project management that mainly focused on meeting the technical requirements of the project and ended up compromising on the project cost and duration (General Dynamics, 2010). The Dynamic Systems Development Method is a fixed process that strictly adheres to the allocated time, budget and quality assurance, regardless of the economic and technology trends. The only dynamic factor in Dynamic Systems Development Method is the features. However, the traditional project management methods tend to have the features as the fixed factor in the project, with uncertainty on quality and suitability of the resultant software and the need for additional time and resources for the project completion (General Dynamics, 2010). In other words, the traditional project management is inconsistent in the terms of quality, cost and time. The Dynamic Systems Development Method is, hence, suitable for software development projects in these times when the economic trends are highly unpredictable (General Dynamics, 2010). Dynamic Systems Development Method is suitable for development of solutions within a specific budget and time, especially at this time when the delivery of relevant solutions within both budget and time limits is a priority for the Ministry of Defence. Dynamic Systems Development Method helps in the development of acceptable solutions that fit their purposes, rather than development of perfect solutions that is likely to go far beyond the stipulated time and the allocated resources, with the quality not assured due to fixed features (General Dynamics, 2010). Traditional project management and sequential methods continue to experience long durations taken in development of simple software (Cockburn, 2007). These methods normally follow specified sequence of activities and provide limited opportunity for implementing changes during the software development process, and hence on-time delivery is uncertain and generates extra requirements in resources. Agile project management encourages project phasing that provides critical checkpoints for project evaluation and demonstration of the capabilities of the software under development (Schuh, 2005). This was demonstrated in the General Dynamics project whereby the CIdS was divided into increments, which were further divided into time-boxes that were used in the evaluation of possible hurdles in the achievement of the Must project requirements (General Dynamics, 2010). A project that uses the Dynamic Systems Development Method has stipulated performance requirements, namely; Must, Should, Could and Won’t (MoSCoW) (General Dynamics, 2010). When there are risks and challenges in the in the achievement of core Must requirements, the Should and Could requirements are redeployed to guarantee the effective delivery of the Must requirements. The adherence to the time allocation is hereby guaranteed, since the adjustment of the time-boxes is impossible and has to be alternated by the redeployment of the Should and Could project requirements to ensure the delivery of the Must requirements (General Dynamics, 2010). Failure to deliver the Must requirements of the project dooms it as unviable, and hence has to be halted and/or restructured. The strict to this Dynamic Systems Development Method principal guarantees the on-time project delivery, with the effectiveness of DSDM fully demonstrated in the CIdS TDP. In a traditional project management, the financial contingency is viable and is called upon if there are risks and challenges in the development of project requirements (General Dynamics, 2010). However, the Dynamic Systems Development Method does not recognize the financial contingency, with the categorization of the project requirements done through the MoSCoW approach instead. This is clearly demonstrated in the categorization of the CIdS project requirements through the use of the MoSCoW approach to help in eliminating possible time and cost overruns (General Dynamics, 2010). This was ensured through the elimination of several Should and Could requirements of the project, since the CIdS is a complex system software. In agile project management, the long sequence of activities and stringent timelines cannot be adjusted to the developers’ requirements (Schuh, 2005). This ensures that an acceptable product is delivered within both the time limit and the allocated budget, and the assurance of quality. The development team members and coaches in Agile Software Development process adapt to the agile methodology through increment on the amount of organizational or development team time consumed in stand-up meetings (Cockburn, 2007). These stand-up meeting are significant in the team coordination and planning of daily activities, the understanding of the decision making processes, proper team communication, and the micro-level interactions processes among the members of the development team (Cockburn, 2007). Daily team meetings in Agile Software Development also helps in the synchronization of team activities, daily planning, improving communication, and the provision of firm decision making bases in the development team (Cockburn, 2007). These stand-up meetings ensure constant project review and efficient monitoring of progress, and hence a strict adherence to the time and budget limits, with little or no opportunity for adjustments. Agile project managers are bound to have the platform for undertaking the necessary and continuous project monitoring. In conclusion, the CIdS project is a complex software subject to internal changes due to technology evolution and growth, and was hence became potential commercial breakthrough in the defence sector due to the application of the Dynamic Systems Development Method. This proved effective since the project involved a group of companies (General Dynamics, 2010). The agile approach in the CIdS project rendered financial contingency redundant, as compared to the traditional project management that upheld financial contingency, and hence the client losses in the terms of resources and time were eliminated. The agile methodology could be identified as the method which offers numerous solutions to software development challenges through collaboration between numerous stakeholders (Cockburn, 2007). The use of Dynamic Systems Development Method in the CIdS project allowed for efficient project phasing, within time boxes, and the logical grouping of the MoSCoW requirements of the project. It also empowered the individuals allocated to diverse roles. References Cockburn, A. (2007), Agile Software Development: The Cooperative Game (2nd ed.). Boston: Addison-Wesley. General Dynamics (2010), Improving Outcomes through Agile Project Management: DSDM Case Study. Available at http://www.dsdm.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Improving-Outcomes-Through-Agile-Project-Management.pdf [Accessed 15th Nov., 2013]. Schuh, P. (2005), Integrating Agile Development In The Real World. Massachusetts: Cengage Learning. Read More