Balancing detailed planning and needed adaptability A hybrid
Balancing detailed planning and needed adaptability: A hybrid approach to IT project management KEVIN TORF 1
Kevin Torf, Managing Partner at T 2 Tech Group • IT Executive with over 30 years of experience • Orchestrated large IT projects for CHLA, Comanche County Memorial Hospital, Kootenai Health, Saint John’s Health Center, Queens. Care Health Centers, Sharp Health. Care and Verity Health System • Experience beyond healthcare includes providing strategic development and management of critical network solutions for TCI, AT&T, UCLA, Xircom, Microsoft, Symantec, Packard Bell and Starwood Hotels • Held senior roles as CTO/CIO and member of the board of directors for Intelliverse • Founded Inventtrex, Inuntius, Tornado Development, Inc. and Torsys 2
Agenda: Share methods of turning IT acumen into practical results • Striking a balance between detailed planning and the necessary flexibility required to accommodate change • Benefits of using an agilebased method for execution and reflection • Using a charter to identify a common problem • The required project manager portfolio
Long-term direction, but don’t get tied to an inescapably exacting plan
A better project management approach Hybrid methodology • PMI – waterfall model • • Governance Framework Charter Development Budget Controls Dashboard Reporting • AGILE – agile principles • • Emphasizes Collaboration Increases Productivity Ensures Consistent Results Enables Flexibility 5
The power of a high-level project charter
A one or two-page treatise that paints a picture of the final outcome A CORE COMPONENT OF A CHARTER DESCRIBES THE HIGHER PURPOSE W’S: WHEN DRAFTING YOUR CHARTER, YOU SHOULD CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING: • Why a project is being done • What must take place to achieve this higher purpose • Which metrics will be used to determine success • A problem description • Project objectives and goals • Project scope • Project milestones • Resource requirements • Project flexibility • Cost estimate
Charter development 8
Budgets and Time Tracking Budget Management Time & Expense Tracking 9
Tools & templates Project Timelines 10
Communications Status Reports 11
Continual reflection: an agile element to hone and prepare IT projects
Iteration is a powerful tool • When teams use short iterations and implement a small, vertical slice of an entire project between iterations they have an opportunity to: • Enhance work processes by reflecting on previous iterations • Accommodate changes to a project before the next iteration begins • Replicate what works and iterate again
Sprint cycles Timeline Bi-Weekly Sprint Planning - December January February Detail tasks to be completed … Bi-Weekly Sprint Presentations Sprint 1 - Provide bi-weekly deliverables Sprint 2 - Perform knowledge transfer Sprint 3 - Gather input from stakeholders Sprint 4 - Course-correct based on input Sprint 5 Daily Scrum Calls Sprint … - Identify roadblocks - Discuss daily plans
Iterative sprints Sprint Planning Encourages and allows for changes and enhancements Update Backlog Sprint Retrospective Daily Stand-Up 2 Weeks Sprint Review 15
Sprint planning meeting • Prepare Sprint spreadsheet for the iteration: • Tasks and their effort estimates should come from the person who will be responsible for completing the task • A task is an item that can be started and finished in one sitting and therefore should be no longer that 4 hours • Tasks should be phrased in a way that allows the owner to quantifiably state that the task is ‘done’ 16
Daily scrum calls • 10 minutes (maximum) • Conversation focused on reporting information, not discussing it • The key items to be reported are: • Tasks completed yesterday • Tasks that will be completed today • Tasks that cannot be completed because of a roadblock 17
Sprint presentation 1. State commitments from two weeks ago 2. Show the team performed (Burn Down) 3. Demonstrate completed items: üBlue = Completed as planned û Gray = Planned but not completed üGreen = Completed but not planned 4. State commitments for the next two weeks 18
Velocity chart 19
Uniting IT teams with the right project manager • Develop a charter or statement of work upfront • Involve a cross-collaborative team early in the planning process • Practice empathy • Avoid being authoritarian • Promote communication within teams • Facilitate change when it comes up • Test and document throughout the project • Learn from mistakes
Questions 21
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