Summary of the Video
The video, “Agile Program Management Best Practices”, is a presentation by Pete Behrens on critical dependency as a determinant of effective program management in an organization. Behrens evaluates the specific variables of communication, focus, and transparency within an organizational setting. The presenter also examines how the structure of an organization might allow or prevent these variables from emerging. Behrens defines program management as a procedure of managing a series of related product portfolios or projects. This means that effective agile program management is related to the process involved at the organizational level in implementing the project. The impact of the organization is instrumental in effective scale agility, especially in large and complex programs. Therefore, Behrens suggests that there is a need to balance the aspects of communication, focus, and transparency. The variable of communication should integrate the stakeholder contribution while transparency encompasses the ability to remain open. Lastly, the variable of focus balances the present and future expectations of a program through systematic and streamlined planning.
Unlike small organizations, agility management in large organizations requires a changed focus since several entities are involved. For instance, it is significant to balance the aspects of quality assurance, infrastructure, usability, and DBA for different levels of program management. Moreover, the communication breakdown is complex due to the high number of stakeholders and processes involved. As a result, the element of transparency is opaque. According to Behrens, organizational problems in agile program management are associated with a lack of focus, little transparency, and lost communication. These challenges lead to low quality, increment in unknown risks, excessive dependencies, and a lack of predictability. In line with Conway’s law, the systems designed by an organization are associated with the existing communication structures. Behrens proposes that the key to building effective design solutions lies in organizational flexibility. This state can be realized through the application of the agile context in terms of lean, agile, scrum, and XP interfaces.
The concept of scrum is essential since problem solution at a team level is better than individual level. Moreover, the teamwork approach to problem-solving is controlled by multiple information sources guided by experience and best practices. As a result, the multiple scrum teams would improve the focus and generate work products through dedication, co-location, and cross-functional interaction. The variable of transparency guarantees the realization of the product and release cycle through merging team sprints and lengths. For instance, Behrens notes that shared sprint review might balance the variations in team lengths. Behrens concludes that an effective agility program management should integrate the variables of focus, communication, and transparency.
Lessons Learned
Significance of Focus, Communication, and Transparency
I have learned that effective agile program management is functional within the ability to balance the aspects of communication, transparency, and focus. This is because the element of effective communication ensures that an organization has more distributed responsibility and fewer roles. On the other hand, transparency ensures that the sprint cycle is shared with regular and consistent shared release planning and proactive tracking of the review. Moreover, it is necessary to integrate the variable of focus to create a management team that is flexible and stable in structure within the work products.
How APM Works
I have discovered that the aspect of agile program management is a multifaceted instrument for transforming the high-performance team environment common in a single product or team focus. Specifically, the APM scales this single focus across a larger product portfolio or organization while ensuring that there is no loss in predictability, productivity, and resultant quality. This means that the APM principle is functional at an optimal level of production and quality assurance in program management.
Application of APM
I learned that several organizations across the globe have successfully implemented and integrated the principle of APM in their programs. From the presentation of Behrens, I noticed that the companies such as Corporate Express, JDA, Graebel, and Wireless Generation have successfully managed to develop applications that can support product distribution, elementary education assessment, and corporate business relocation. As a result, these organizations have become more effective in program management and currently function on sustainable business platforms.
Communication as a Tool for Effective APM
I realized that streamlining the number of roles involved in APM is directly propositional to increased communication. This means that a process management system with few focused roles creates an environment for effective communication since the level of information saturation increases. Moreover, communication increases when the shared work across different roles is reduced. For instance, the creation of fewer roles will minimize duplication of duties and double reporting for a process that could be effectively handled by one or two individuals. Therefore, streamlining the role sharing creates an effective communication monitoring system, which promotes effective program management.
Team Focus and Effective APM
The APM process functions best when team focus is integrated into work products to form a single backlog pipeline. As a result, it is possible to internalize the best practices through the creation of a dedicated, small, co-located, and cross-functional team.