The Five Phases of Agile Maturity (Part 3): Phase 5
My role as an Agile Manager
1. My Role as an Agile Manager
Kevin Thompson, PhD, PMP, ACP, CSP, CSM
4100 E. Third Ave, Suite 205, Foster City, CA 94404 | 650-931-1651 | www.cprime.com
The leader in training and consulting for project management and agile development
2. Poll Question
What is your role?
• Project Management
• Product Management
• Line Management
• Development or Testing
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3. Who is cPrime?
Engaged for Your Project Management Success
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4. After the webinar…
• We will send information to collect the PDU you will earn from
attending this webinar
• We will also send a links to the recorded webinar and
presentation slides once they are posted online
• For more information, visit www.cprime.com
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5. Some Assumptions...
1 You already know what “Agile Processes” are
2 You want to know what a Manager needs to know in a world
that uses Agile Processes to develop products and services
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6. Poll Question
Which topic is of greatest interest to you?
• How to manage direct reports in an Agile context
• How to evaluate project performance
• How to evaluate individual performance
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7. What “Managers” are we Talking about?
• Team Product Owners
Product Managers • Area Product Owners
• Manager of Product Management
• ScrumMasters
Project Managers • Program Managers
• Manager of Project Management
Office (PMO)
Line Managers • Line Managers
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8. Reporting Structures
• Driver: Enable cross-functional “Feature Teams” aligned with
Product domains
• Works: Any structure that empowers Teams (usually matrix)
• Risks / Fails: Micromanagement, functional managers protecting “turf”
• Reasons to re-organize
• Existing structure impedes Team’s cross-functional effort
• Team members, Product Owners, ScrumMasters cannot do their jobs
without interference
• Some functions have become obsolete
• Reasons to retain current structure
• Buy-in, support of Scrum process is solid
• Everyone respects Scrum Roles’ authority, Scrum meeting agendas
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9. Common Reporting Structures - 1
PgM: Program Manager APO: Area Product Owner
USM: Uber ScrumMaster CPO: Chief Product Owner
PMO: Project / Program PMM: Product Management &
Management Office Marketing
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10. Common Reporting Structures - 2
PgM: Program Manager APO: Area Product Owner
USM: Uber ScrumMaster CPO: Chief Product Owner
PMO: Project / Program PMM: Product Management &
Management Office Marketing
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11. Poll Question
What is the biggest personal concern you
have about adopting an Agile process?
• Loss of authority as a manager
• Possible obsolescence of my role
• Decreased understanding of how my direct reports are doing
• General uncertainty about what it means to be a manager
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12. Product Management: It’s about Requirements
Product
Management
Scrum Team Team Product
Owner Area
Product
Owner
Customers
Product Management faces two ways:
Scrum Team Team Product Inwards (toward the Team), and
Owner outwards (toward the Customers)
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13. Project Management: It’s about Execution
Project
Management
Office
ScrumMaster
Scrum Team ScrumMaster
Program
Manager
Scrum Team
ScrumMasters facilitate Teams
Scrum Team ScrumMaster Program Managers facilitate cross-
Team work
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14. Organizational Impacts
Affected by the Live by the
Scrum process Scrum process
“Next Ring” has touch Mgmt
points with Scrum
• Provide inputs
• Requests to Product
Owner
• Receive outputs
• Plans Scrum
• Status Reports Sales Services
• Synchronize
Teams
interactions with
Scrum “clock”
• Have own internal
processes
• Require training
Support
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15. Career Paths
• During Transition
Based on Interest/Skill
Old Roles New Roles
Not Job Title
Long-term: Devise standard career paths
Classic and Retained
Engineer Sr. Engineer Architect
QA Engineer Sr. QA Engineer Director, QA
New Possibilities
Developer / QA ScrumMaster Program Manager
Business Analyst (Team) Product Owner Area Product Owner
De-emphasized
• Pure Resource Management
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16. Agile Leadership at the Team Level
Agile Leaders Do Agile Leaders Don’t
Set expectations that Team members Tell Teams what estimates should be
own estimates
Set expectations that Team members Assign Tasks to Team members
define & allocate Tasks
Guide Teams to solve problems Solve all problems for Teams
Solve problems Teams can’t Leave Teams stuck
Enforce the defined process Ignore deviations from the defined
process
Protect their Teams Ignore external interruptions to Team
focus
Monitor progress Assume progress is OK
Warn dependents quickly about trouble Hide bad news
Facilitate meetings and keep them Ignore time boxes and let meetings
time-boxed and focused drag on
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17. Poll Question
What is the biggest organizational concern
you have about adopting an Agile process?
• How to scale Agile projects to large size
• Potential lack of rigor leading to project failure
• How governance should be conducted
• How to manage customer expectations
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18. Management Responsibilities in Agile World
Familiar New
• Build organization • Sponsor Agile transitions
• Run the business • Champion the Agile process
Not be ScrumMasters, Product
• Manage budgets
Owner!
• Handle problems passed up
• Arrange funding, training, tools,
chain
facilities (e.g., Team Space),…
• Recruit, hire, fire
• Participate in Transition Planning
• Handle reviews, raises,
• Back up Team Members,
career development
ScrumMasters, Product Owners
• Formalize, disseminate
• Motivate and inspire
technical best practices
• Lead by example
• Respect the process!
Not Appropriate
• Define Team membership
• Commit deliverables unilaterally
• Find ways to reduce waste
• Direct day-to-day Team activities
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19. Avoid Micromanagement
• Empower Team members to make day-to-day decisions
• Time to let go of control
• Teams self-organize
• ScrumMaster facilitates, mentors
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20. Evaluating Performance of Direct Reports
Two sources of Insight
• Direct
• One-on-ones
• Departmental initiatives about
technology, architecture, best
practices
• Indirect
• ScrumMaster
• Product Owner
• Peers
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21. Evaluating Performance of Projects
• Metrics
• Burndown Chart for Sprint status
• Burn-Up Chart for Release status
• Observation by silent participation in
• Daily Scrum Meeting
• Sprint Review Meeting
• Investigation
• Talk to ScrumMasters, Product Owners
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22. Agile for Managers Training Course
Learning Objectives:
• What is “Agile” and how does Scrum fit in?
• How can I relate what I know about traditional best practices to Agile practices?
• What are the Agile equivalents to the work I’m currently doing?
• How do I “sell” Agile in my company?
• How do I get an Agile team started?
• What planning techniques do Agile teams employ?
• How will my role as a manager change?
• How do I support Agile team(s)?
• What are the next steps my team needs to take in their adoption of Agile practices?
• What are the next steps I personally need to take?
Want more information?
learn@cprime.com
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a. Matrix if functional managers OK with Team authority, ORb. Move Dev, DBA, QA, Release Mgmt, etc. under one Director / VPc. ScrumMasters report to VP Engineering, Director of PMO, CIOd. Product Owners report to VP Marketing or equivalente. SM reports to “Uber SM” (USM) who runs Scrum of Scrums (KS)f. POs report to Area POs or “CPO” (KS)g. CPO and USM report to CEO or COO (KS)