PRINCE2 Agile - Initiating a Project process

Question 1

How can the Project Approach incorporate Agile behaviours?

Answer 1

1. The product is defined in terms of features and intended releases over controls and processes.
2. The Project Approach can set out a customer-centric, self-organising team structure. It can also specify the use of Agile methodologies such as Kanban or Scrum.
3. The Development team can speak to the customer and customer engagement to plan the stage and scope features is encouraged.
4. Agile emphasises the need for all team members and the customer to be involved in estimation and scoping
5. BMA focuses on providing value to customers as soon as possible
6. PID is developed in a workshop and is less formal. It may change during the project. The original version of the PID is saved
7. Stakeholders may have to use information radiators to find key info
8. Need to map PRINCE2 roles to Agile roles.

Question 2

How should the PPD be treated in PRINCE2 Agile?

Answer 2

1. PPD should be split into user stories with outcome focused acceptance criteria.
2. PPD focuses on releases and sets of features, whereas P2 focuses on products only
3. It can outline a MVP, or desired outcomes if the end goal or demand is not clear
4. PPD has mandatory and non-mandatory requirements - this list needs to be shared with the team
5. More focus needs to be placed on the value that needs to be delivered / problem that needs to be solved, as opposed to set deliverables. This allows the composition and nature of the product to shift as the team learns more throughout the project.
6. Definition of done is likely to be a part of the QMS.

Question 3

How are the SU and IP phases treated in PRINCE2 Agile?

Answer 3

In PRINCE2 Agile, can also be called sprint 0 or visioning.

SU and IP are rarely mentioned in Agile methodologies because they are methodologies and they assume the work has already been done or upfront work is not needed.

In PRINCE2 Agile, SU and IP is generally shorter and can involve capture the basics of the project in bullet point form. The aim is to get a basic understanding and the formality of pure PRINCE2 is removed. It is a balance between the need to plan and the want to let the deliverables evolve and adapt to change (core Agile concepts). Having the SU and IP phases can also be useful to create a product backlog

PRINCE2 Agile puts more focus on getting delivery ready (very little discovery or scoping), whereas pure PRINCE2 places emphasis on being ready and being ready to build the right thing.

Question 4

When should the SU and IP phases be skipped in PRINCE2 Agile?

Answer 4

Pre-project work can be seen as unnecessary in Agile, but it depends on the context. If all parties have a clear idea of the outcomes, then less upfront work is needed. More upfront work may be needed in the converse case when there is a high degree of uncertainty. Any PRINCE2 project needs to be viable from the start and have business justification, so some pre-project work is needed to achieve this. Pre-project work also gives ground to any decision to stop the project prematurely.

Question 5

How does the BMA differ in PRINCE2 Agile?

Answer 5

The BMA focuses on providing value as early as possible. It also specifies when a benefit will be delivered and when the value will be realised.

Question 6

How does the CMA differ in PRINCE2 Agile?

Answer 6

The CMA outlines the minimum amount of communication that needs to happen, focusing specifically on regular meetings and information radiators.

Instead of documentation, Agile prefers information radiators and informal, face-to-face communication.

Question 7

How might uncertainty and complexity interact with the project?

Answer 7

The level of uncertainty needs to be understood and properly addressed. One can handle uncertainty with less strict requirements, more space in sprints, and experimentation / building and testing an MVP.

One must also determine the level of complexity of a project, such as by using the Cynefin framework. This determines what split of PRINCE2 and Agile should be used. Different parts of the project may have different levels of unvertainty. It could determine which Agile methodology and techniques to use.

High level of uncertainty is suited to certain methodologies and techniques (.e. Lean Start-Up with emphasis on testing quickly, spiking, prototyping).

Question 8

What impact might frequent releases have on the project?

Answer 8

Agile recommends regular releases to users to realise value faster. One most assess impact of frequent releases on QMS infrastructure (i.e. does QA have capacity) and on production environments (i.e. is the work being release ready to be presented to real users)?