by Ken Pugh and Tom Mellor

Here's What Ken Pugh Thinks
Agile portfolio management is a step up on the fractal scale from story management. You need to break projects down into releasable chunks.  (Chunks may be called Minimum Marketable Features, Minimum Releasable Features, or something else).  Every chunk should be assigned a business value (by the business unit) and an effort value (by the developer unit).  You prioritize the chunks based on either the business value or the bang for the buck (business value divided by effort value, a measure of the rough return on investment).

One issue in the value assignment process is that the chunks may be requested by different business units and implemented by different developer units.  You need to have people with a broader picture of both the business and development sides do the estimating or be able to convert the different units’ values into a common measure.   This assumes that different developer units can work on all possible chunks.   If a developer unit has the capability to only work on a couple of chunks (e.g. strictly COBOL batch programs), then you can treat them as a separate stream for purposes of portfolio management.

Here's What Tom Mellor, Chairman of the Scrum Alliance Board of Directors, Thinks
Any experienced project manager knows that predictive scheduling in IT is akin to trying to teach a pig to sing - annoying the pig and frustrating the PM (most PMs have a good dose of sensibility about these things, along with perhaps a strong notion of femme fatale and a inclination to move towards martyrdom).

Traditional software development processes have actually engrained and perpetuated abhorrent behaviors in customers, stakeholders, managers, funders, etc. that in turn can and do drive irrational behaviors in PMs. The idea that an arbitrary date absolutely has to be met and that we really can fit 10, 15, or 20 lbs into a 5 pound bag (we’ve heard the refrain: "you guys can do that - what you do is 90% magic anyway...") often drives PMs to reach into the "PM Bag of Tricks" and make it happen (or die trying anyway). You PMs know the bag well - death marches, shortcuts, schedule crashes, "realism," etc.

The problem is that other people don't understand reality and PMI and PMs share in the blame for this lack of understanding.  When I explain it to people in my organization, many look at me in awe, shock, horror and disbelief. "Why can't you give me an exact date, tell me the exact cost and give me my treasure chest full of functionality??"  We know well, of course, how perhaps half of the treasure chest is filled with fool's gold (plating).

But, can you blame us PMs?  We historically have been the "single wringable neck" in projects – replete with all the responsibility and little or no authority. "What do you mean, ‘tell them no’ ???  What?? Are you crazy?!  I want to keep my job for awhile!" So, we force teams to "really go to work" and "put in those 12 hour days" and "work Saturdays and Sundays," etc.  We do this in the name of good project leadership, holding people "accountable" and saving our own hides.  And those of us are “experienced” have seen the consequences to people, teams and organizations - Sherman could not have done more damage to Atlanta than we do to people (excuse me, "resources" in the strong-based project management vernacular; they are all just resources and, you know, we all like to go home and hug our family resources after a long day on the project)!

Scrum Trainer Jesse Fewell was one of the founders of the Agile/PMI Virtual Community started at PMI in 2009.  I applaud his quest - it is noble and quixotic. I and others in the Scrum Alliance leadership met with PMI leadership at the 2009 Orlando Scrum Gathering.   The gentlemen appeared to fundamentally "get it" (Scrum and agile) and asserted that we all are after the same thing – improving how we do work and projects. However, I am a bit suspicious of their posture - perhaps the same sort of suspicion that I have about Republicans and Democrats being able to work together to help the country.  Haven't seen much of that lately, either.

I had a good conversation with Jesse last fall about his endeavor to help PMI come to terms with agile. I told him that fundamentally PMI had to shift its focus in PMBoK from Planning and Monitoring and Control to Execution. If and when it makes that shift, it may well be on its way to embracing agile sincerely.  The PMP is treasured at many companies because it provides a basis to assert that one is a "professional"  at project management.   But, as one person wisely suggested to me:  “Most certifications [including PMP] support a skill set; Certified ScrumMaster supports a mind set.”  PMI has to come to appreciate..and accept… the agile mind set, too.

PMs and others have to find our own peace in the project world in terms of agile and traditional practices. Those of us who are in the Ri[i] stage of agile Shu Ha Ri can even help others find their peace. At the heart of all this are the people actually doing the work and they fear us when we reach into the bag of tricks and admire us when we have the courage to say no. It is really them to whom we account and by whom our value is truly measured.

[i] Shuhari is a Japanese martial arts concept, and describes the stages of learning to mastery. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shu_Ha_Ri

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