Praise for Managing Agile Projects
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Managing Agile Projects By Sanjiv Augustine ............................................... Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR Pub Date: May 12, 2005 ISBN: 0-13-124071-4 Pages: 264 Slots: 1.0 Praise for Managing Agile Projects "In the hands of another, this class of material could become incoherent, but Sanjiv has enough intellectual power to ground his subject…Fans of APM and those who prefer new ideas as a catalyst for their management approach should find Managing Agile Projects rewarding." —Wes Balakian, Chairman and Executive Advisor, PMI eBusiness SIG "I only wish I had read this book when I started my career in software product management, or even better yet, when I was given my first project to manage. In addition to providing an excellent handbook for managing with agile software development methodologies, Managing Agile Projects offers a guide to more effective project management in many business settings." —John P. Barnes, former Vice President of Product Management at Emergis, Inc. "The agile software development movement evolved from a half-dozen methodologies—Scrum, Adaptive, XP, Crystal—that while different, embodied a consistent set of values and similar practices. The agile project management movement is following the same path—strength through a blend of consistency and diversity. Sanjiv's book, Managing Agile Projects, adds both—consistency and diversity—to the concepts and practices of agile project management. His book is rich in ideas and practical advice. It is a wonderful addition to the growing literature about 'alternative' styles of project management." —Jim Highsmith Sr. V.P. and Director Agile Software Development and Project Management Practice Fellow, Business Technology Council Cutter Consortium LLC, Arlington, MA "Here is an innovative approach to the management of agile projects, examining traditional project management practices that do not align well with new agile methodologies. Augustine's alternative approaches in regard to personnel, organization, and change make this a valuable resource for project managers as well as for the customer/product owner." —Sydney H. Jammes, Retired C.I.A. Economist "Project management has almost become a new paradigm for getting work done in most corporations around the world. This book provides a long overdue synthesis of the diverse strategies and practices in project management. The holistic and organic approach in the book combines the people factor and task complexity elements nicely and delivers an easy-to-read narrative that should be a must-read for every manager." —Tojo Thatchenkery, Professor of Organizational Learning, George Mason University "In our work with Sanjiv Augustine in New Zealand and Australia, he has always impressed me with his practical, lucid approach to the project management idea for our times—agile project management. This book captures the essence of that approach." —Martyn Jones, Managing Director, Software Education Associates, Ltd. "Rejoice! Sanjiv Augustine eloquently lays out a practical and elegant organic project management model for being innovative and delivering business value while maintaining a high quality of life. And in the process, he gives the world a proven alternative to mechanistic and rigid project management practices that have stifled software development and killed creativity. A brilliant piece of work." —Doug DeCarlo, author, "eXtreme Project Management: Using Leadership, Principles and Tools to Deliver Value in the Face of Volatility" "Sanjiv Augustine's informative new book, Managing Agile Projects, takes the mystery out of bringing about the successful completion of information technology projects. His innovative, clear, and sensible approach to the management of agile projects is a must-read for all members of the implementation team, from users to developers and from consultants to managers. This work is a major contribution to the field of project management." —Martha C. Edmondson, Chief Financial Officer, African Development Foundation "This book significantly builds on and extends agile thinking." —Jeff De Luca, creator of Feature Driven Development, www.nebulon.com "Sanjiv brings real world, interesting experiences to his topic and conveys the essentials of project management in the new era in a way that is both entertaining and enlightening. Busting the jargon and slicing through the marketing-speak, this book is an essential tool for anyone involved in development projects today." —Shane Hastie, Chief Knowledge Engineer, Software Education Associates, Ltd. "Managing Agile Projects extends the values and principles of more development-centric agile methodologies to project management, something essential to the creation and evolution of the truly agile organization. An excellent addition to the agile literature!" —Steve Hayes, Professional Services Manager, Internet Business Systems "Agile Project Management, as outlined here, is a key component to building a software development organization that can effectively respond to changing market needs in a timely manner. " —Madhu Garlanka, Senior Manager, eBusiness Application Development, Nextel Communications "Agile methods created by 'radicals' have matured into tools in common use in many organizations. Now that teams are using these methods on high-profile projects, executives are starting to ask, 'How can we manage these agile processes?' This book builds upon scientific research of complex adaptive systems to present a handbook for project managers and executives faced with the challenge of monitoring and controlling agile projects." —Kevin J.J. Aguanno, PMP®, MAPM IBM Certified Senior Project Manager IBM Global Services, IBM Canada, Ltd. "I read this book and immediately shared it with a manager of an XP team. It's got great ideas on how to manage agile teams using a 'light touch.'" —William Wake, Independent Consultant Robert C. Martin Series The mission of this series is to improve the state of the art of software craftsmanship.The books in this series are technical, pragmatic, and substantial. The authors are highly experienced craftsmen and professionals dedicated to writing about what actually works in practice, as opposed to what might work in theory. You will read about what the author has done, not what he thinks you should do. If the book is about programming, there will be lots of code. If the book is about managing, there will be lots of case studies from real projects. These are the books that all serious practitioners will have on their bookshelves. These are the books that will be remembered for making a difference and for guiding professionals to become true craftsmen. Managing Agile Projects Sanjiv Augustine Working Effectively with Legacy Code Michael C. Feathers Agile Java™: Crafting Code with Test-Driven Development Jeff Langr Agile Software Development: Principles, Patterns, and Practices Robert C. Martin UML For Java™ Programmers Robert C. Martin Fit for Developing Software: Framework for Integrated Tests Rick Mugridge and Ward Cunningham Agile Software Development with SCRUM Ken Schwaber and Mike Beedle Extreme Software Engineering: A Hands on Approach Daniel H. Steinberg and Daniel W. Palmer For more information, visit http://www.phptr.com/martinseries About the Author Sanjiv Augustine is the Director of the Lean-Agile Consulting Practice at CC Pace, a financial services consulting firm in Fairfax, Virginia. He is a leading agile management practitioner and consultant, author of several articles on agile project management, and a frequent presenter at industry conferences. His experience with agile methodologies spans half a decade and includes projects varying in size from 5 to more than 100 people. For more information, visit http://www.sanjivaugustine.com. Foreword This book is a valuable addition to both the agile and the general project management bookshelves. Sanjiv's talent is conveying what it is actually like to be an effective manager of agile projects. Where other authors discuss principles and concepts and then stop, Sanjiv continues, addressing the weekly and day-to-day issues facing the team and the project. Sanjiv identifies the problem right at the start: "Managers trained in predictive, plan-driven project-management techniques face a learning curve when entrusted with the management of agile development projects." This book addresses that learning curve. This book begins with a fable undoubtedly drawn from Sanjiv's extensive experience in turning projects around. It describes, first, failing while using a waterfall- and-manager-driven approach (what I call "an acceptable way of failing"), and then shifts to succeeding by using an incremental approach with a Light Touch and Adaptive Leadership (two core ideas in this book). Sanjiv's daunting task is breaking into manageable pieces the act of moving into agile territory. To do this, he neatly constructs a memorable language to talk about what should be: Alignment and Cooperation, Emergence and Self-Organization, Learning and Adaptation. The team operates with core practices: Organic Teams, Guiding Vision, Simple Rules, Open Information, Light Touch, and Adaptive Leadership. He creates one of the few delineation of roles and responsibilities that I have seen that is both clear and sensible, for leaders, managers, and technical staff, which attends to the team's informal structures as well as the formal ones. But that was still just the easy part. He takes it one step further, showing how the team develops Simple Rules and Adaptive Leadership, specific