For decades, software development projects have followed the classic “waterfall” method in which software development initiatives were carefully analyzed, designed, documented, coded, tested, and ultimately delivered to the customer – sometimes years after inception. By then, it was not uncommon for business needs to have changed and for the resulting system to fall short of customers’ expectations. According to the Standish Group, software development projects have an overall success rate of 34%. In response to this rather disappointing approach to software development, “Agile” methodologies – which are light on documentation and formality - began to emerge in the 1990’s. Scrum, which is one of several Agile approaches, was first developed and presented in 1995 so it is relatively novel when compared with traditional software development processes which have been used for decades. The purpose of this paper is to compare traditional waterfall project standards and deliverables with those in Scrum, and to contrast the Project Manager’s role with that of the Scrum Master.

Traditional Project Management at a Glance:

According to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), a “project” is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service.”¹ Projects are typically divided into phases in order to provide better control of the project’s progress and deliverables; each phase has a prescribed set of deliverables. Collectively, the project phases are known as the “Project Lifecycle.”

Project Management is a term encompassing the application of skills, tools, techniques, and knowledge applied to a project to meet or exceed stakeholder expectations. Project Managers typically oversee the following aspects of a project:

1. Project Scope, which ensures that all the required work, and only the required work, is planned, defined, documented, and delivered to the customer’s satisfaction.

2. Project Schedule, the objective of which is timely delivery of the product or service. It entails activity definition and estimating, and schedule development, monitoring and control.

3. Project Cost, which is intended to ensure that the project is delivered within its approved budget. It includes cost estimation and expense monitoring.

4. Project Quality, which encompasses quality definition, assurance, and control.

5. Project Communication for information dissemination and collection.

6. Project Risk including risk identification, quantification, avoidance, and mitigation.

7. Project Human Resources Management including but not limited to: 

   • Organizational Planning – identifying, documenting and assigning project roles, responsibilities and reporting relationships. 
   • Staff Acquisition – obtaining human resources for the project. 
   • Team development – enhancing individual and group skills.
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Each month PMI Mass Bay will provide you with a list of the education programs being presented by the other PMI chapters in our region.

Central Mass.
February 13, 2007
Managing Global and Distributed Teams
Speaker: Rick Brenner
http://www.pmicmass.com

Southern New England
January 17, 2007

Negotiating Your way To Success - Monthly Meeting
Speakers: Michelle LaBrosse & Barb McClintick
http://www.snec-pmi.org  

Ocean State
February 8, 2007
Joint meeting with the Business Analysis Group
Fidelity Recruiting will be on site in search of Project Managers!
http://www.oceanstatepmi.org/newsite/events.html

New Hampshire
January 17, 2007

Presenting With Impact
Speaker: Scott Lynde