The role accountable for delivering a project’s goals on time, cost, and scope. Traditional PMs command and control; Agile Scrum Masters facilitate and serve.
Key facts
Four classical activity buckets: Planning, Organising, Leading, Controlling.
Pure Agile has no PM role — its activities are split across product owner, Scrum master, team.
Project managers are highly skilled knowledge workers and change agents. They take accountability, make project goals their own and use their skills and expertise to inspire a sense of shared purpose across the project team. They enjoy the organised adrenaline of new challenges and the responsibility of driving business results.
Core Skills/Attributes:
Works well under pressure.
Comfortable with change and complexity in changing environments.
Use / have the right people skills.
Adapt, resolve issues and deal with problems.
Effective communicators regardless of heirarchy.
Action oriented and leave nothing for tomorrow.
Command and control.
Key requirement is knowledge of multiple models of technical project delivery such as agile and running sprints but equally able to build confidence with the steering committee with formal project management approaches such as setting and achieving deadlines on timing and scope.
Key Activities (traditional)
Planning
Organising
Leading
Controlling
Define and clarify project scope
Determine the project team structure
Setting team direction
Defining project deadlines
Develop the project management plan
Identify roles and responsibilities
Owning and coordinating activities across different organisational functions
Tracking project progress
Develop the project schedule
Identify services to be provided by external companies
Motivating team members
Project status reporting
Develop policies and procedures to support the achievement of the project objectives
Staff all project positions and ongoing management
Assigning work
Determining and taking corrective actions
Agile Scrum Master Key Activities
Agile is redefining the way we execute projects and the role of the PM. In pure Agile:
No defined PM role.
Key activities are spread / shared across team members
Key activities are still undertaken formally with appropriate documentation.
Some alignment between a Scrum Master and a Project Manager
Move from Command and Control to Servant Leadership
Coaches and facilitates teams to deliver.
Emphasises objectives
Is invested in the programs overall performance.
Asks the team for answers.
Allows the teams to self organise and hit their stride.