Description

Book Synopsis
Making Sense of Agile Project Management

Business & Economics/Project Management

The essential primer to successfully implementing agile project management into an overall business strategy

For a project to be truly successful, its management strategy must be flexible enough to adapt to dynamic and rapidly evolving business needs. Making Sense of Agile Project Management helps project managers think outside the box by presenting a deep exploration of agile principles, methodologies, and practices. Straying from traditional bureaucratic procedures that are rigidly defined, this book espouses a heavy reliance on the training and skill of collaborative, cross-functional teams to adapt the methodology to the problem that they are attempting to solverather than force-fitting a project to a particular methodology. Making Sense of Agile Project Management:

  • Focuses on how agile project management fits with other more traditional pr

    Table of Contents

    Preface ix

    Who Should Read This Book? ix

    Brief Overview of the Book x

    Why I Wrote This Book xii

    How to Use This Book xiv

    Part I xiv

    Part II xv

    Part III xvi

    Acknowledgments xvii

    Part I Overview

    1 Introduction 3

    Meaning of the Word “Agile” 3

    Meaning of the Word “Waterfall” 5

    Polarization of Agile and Traditional Waterfall Approaches 7

    The Program du Jour Effect 9

    Impact on Project Management 10

    Common Agile Misconceptions 14

    The Pizza Box Methodology 14

    All-or-Nothing Thinking 15

    Traditional Development Approaches Are Dead 15

    Just Do It Faster 16

    Becoming Agile Only Impacts the Development Organization 16

    Agile Is Just a Development Methodology 17

    What Agile Doesn’t Tell You 18

    2 Agile Values, Principles, and Practices 21

    Lean Software Development Principles 21

    Lean Principles 22

    Interrelationship of Lean and Agile 36

    Agile History and Overview 38

    Agile Perceptions and Reality 44

    General Agile Practices 47

    Organizational Practices 48

    Planning Practices 49

    Requirements Definition Practices 51

    Summary of Agile Techniques and Practices 54

    3 Becoming More Agile 57

    Agile Benefits and Tradeoffs 57

    Focus on Successful Business Outcomes 57

    Customer Satisfaction and Competitive Advantage 60

    Organizational Effectiveness, Cross-Functional Synergy, and Employee Morale 60

    Higher Productivity and Lower Costs 60

    Potential for Higher Quality 62

    Obstacles to Becoming Agile 62

    Corporate Culture 63

    Organizational Commitment 66

    Risk and Regulatory Environment 66

    Developing a More Agile Approach 67

    Developing an Agile or Lean Mindset 67

    Hybrid Approaches 68

    4 Case Studies 71

    Sapient 73

    Unique Challenges 73

    Process Methodology Selection and Design 74

    Methodology Summary 77

    Methodology Description 78

    5 Part I Summary and Action Plan 85

    Overall Summary 85

    Developing an Action Plan for Your Business 88

    Planning Questions 88

    Alternative Approaches 91

    How Do You Get There? 93

    Part II Overview

    6 Agile Project Management 101

    Agile Project Management Roles 101

    Comparison of Traditional and Agile Project Management Roles 103

    Agile Business Analyst Role 106

    Agile Project Management Approach 107

    Project Management Mindset 107

    Project Management Skills 111

    Agile Project Management Practices 112

    Agile Project Management Principles 113

    Agile Project Management Techniques 117

    Agile Project Management Models 119

    Agile and A Guide to Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) 124

    Merging PMBOK® Thinking and Agile Thinking 130

    7 Fundamental Principles behind SDLC Models 131

    General Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Considerations 132

    Flexibility versus Rigidity 133

    Relationship of Training and Process Design 135

    Reliable versus Repeatable Processes 136

    Interrelationship of Life-Cycle Model Selection Factors 138

    Requirements Definition and Management Approach 138

    Business Process Considerations 141

    Requirements Complexity Considerations 142

    Testing Considerations 142

    Supportability Considerations 144

    Prioritization of Requirements 145

    Risk Management, Uncertainty, and Planning Approach 148

    Risk Management Considerations 148

    Management of Uncertainty Considerations 151

    The Role of Planning 154

    The Role of Leadership and Training 156

    Leadership 156

    Training 158

    The Role of Documentation 160

    8 Software Development Life Cycles 163

    Types of Software Development Life Cycles 164

    Traditional Plan-Driven Life-Cycle Model 168

    Incremental Life-Cycle Model 173

    Iterative Plan-Driven Life-Cycle Model 174

    Iterative Emergent Life-Cycle Model 176

    Adaptive Life-Cycle Model 178

    Summary of SDLC Guidelines 180

    General Considerations 180

    Requirements Management Considerations 181

    Risk Management Considerations 181

    Project Scope and Complexity Considerations 182

    Other Considerations 182

    Selecting a Software Development Life Cycle 182

    Comparison of Approaches 182

    Life-Cycle Model Selection Examples 184

    9 Part II Summary and Action Plan 191

    Summary of Impact on Project Managers and PMI® 191

    Developing an Action Plan for Project Managers 193

    Incremental Improvements 193

    Designing and Implementing Hybrid Approaches 194

    Implementing Pure Agile Project Management Approaches 194

    Helping Companies Move in the Right Direction 195

    Part III Appendices

    Appendix A Overview of Agile Development Practices 199

    Extreme Programming 199

    Feature-Driven Development 202

    Test-Driven Development 205

    Pair Programming 207

    Code Refactoring 208

    Continuous Integration 209

    Appendix B Overview of Agile Project Delivery Frameworks 211

    Scrum 211

    Dynamic Systems Development Model (DSDM) 215

    Agile Modeling 219

    Agile Unified Process 221

    Lean Software Development 224

    Additional Reading 228

    Glossary of Terms 228

    Index 235

Making Sense of Agile Project Management

    Product form

    £50.36

    Includes FREE delivery

    RRP £55.95 – you save £5.59 (9%)

    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Thu 25 Jun 2026.

    A Paperback by Charles G. Cobb

    1 in stock

      Trusted by thousands of customers. See 2,385+ Customer Reviews

      View other formats and editions of Making Sense of Agile Project Management by Charles G. Cobb

      Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc
      Publication Date: 4/5/2011 12:00:00 AM
      ISBN13: 9780470943366, 978-0470943366
      ISBN10: 047094336X

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      Making Sense of Agile Project Management

      Business & Economics/Project Management

      The essential primer to successfully implementing agile project management into an overall business strategy

      For a project to be truly successful, its management strategy must be flexible enough to adapt to dynamic and rapidly evolving business needs. Making Sense of Agile Project Management helps project managers think outside the box by presenting a deep exploration of agile principles, methodologies, and practices. Straying from traditional bureaucratic procedures that are rigidly defined, this book espouses a heavy reliance on the training and skill of collaborative, cross-functional teams to adapt the methodology to the problem that they are attempting to solverather than force-fitting a project to a particular methodology. Making Sense of Agile Project Management:

      • Focuses on how agile project management fits with other more traditional pr

        Table of Contents

        Preface ix

        Who Should Read This Book? ix

        Brief Overview of the Book x

        Why I Wrote This Book xii

        How to Use This Book xiv

        Part I xiv

        Part II xv

        Part III xvi

        Acknowledgments xvii

        Part I Overview

        1 Introduction 3

        Meaning of the Word “Agile” 3

        Meaning of the Word “Waterfall” 5

        Polarization of Agile and Traditional Waterfall Approaches 7

        The Program du Jour Effect 9

        Impact on Project Management 10

        Common Agile Misconceptions 14

        The Pizza Box Methodology 14

        All-or-Nothing Thinking 15

        Traditional Development Approaches Are Dead 15

        Just Do It Faster 16

        Becoming Agile Only Impacts the Development Organization 16

        Agile Is Just a Development Methodology 17

        What Agile Doesn’t Tell You 18

        2 Agile Values, Principles, and Practices 21

        Lean Software Development Principles 21

        Lean Principles 22

        Interrelationship of Lean and Agile 36

        Agile History and Overview 38

        Agile Perceptions and Reality 44

        General Agile Practices 47

        Organizational Practices 48

        Planning Practices 49

        Requirements Definition Practices 51

        Summary of Agile Techniques and Practices 54

        3 Becoming More Agile 57

        Agile Benefits and Tradeoffs 57

        Focus on Successful Business Outcomes 57

        Customer Satisfaction and Competitive Advantage 60

        Organizational Effectiveness, Cross-Functional Synergy, and Employee Morale 60

        Higher Productivity and Lower Costs 60

        Potential for Higher Quality 62

        Obstacles to Becoming Agile 62

        Corporate Culture 63

        Organizational Commitment 66

        Risk and Regulatory Environment 66

        Developing a More Agile Approach 67

        Developing an Agile or Lean Mindset 67

        Hybrid Approaches 68

        4 Case Studies 71

        Sapient 73

        Unique Challenges 73

        Process Methodology Selection and Design 74

        Methodology Summary 77

        Methodology Description 78

        5 Part I Summary and Action Plan 85

        Overall Summary 85

        Developing an Action Plan for Your Business 88

        Planning Questions 88

        Alternative Approaches 91

        How Do You Get There? 93

        Part II Overview

        6 Agile Project Management 101

        Agile Project Management Roles 101

        Comparison of Traditional and Agile Project Management Roles 103

        Agile Business Analyst Role 106

        Agile Project Management Approach 107

        Project Management Mindset 107

        Project Management Skills 111

        Agile Project Management Practices 112

        Agile Project Management Principles 113

        Agile Project Management Techniques 117

        Agile Project Management Models 119

        Agile and A Guide to Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) 124

        Merging PMBOK® Thinking and Agile Thinking 130

        7 Fundamental Principles behind SDLC Models 131

        General Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Considerations 132

        Flexibility versus Rigidity 133

        Relationship of Training and Process Design 135

        Reliable versus Repeatable Processes 136

        Interrelationship of Life-Cycle Model Selection Factors 138

        Requirements Definition and Management Approach 138

        Business Process Considerations 141

        Requirements Complexity Considerations 142

        Testing Considerations 142

        Supportability Considerations 144

        Prioritization of Requirements 145

        Risk Management, Uncertainty, and Planning Approach 148

        Risk Management Considerations 148

        Management of Uncertainty Considerations 151

        The Role of Planning 154

        The Role of Leadership and Training 156

        Leadership 156

        Training 158

        The Role of Documentation 160

        8 Software Development Life Cycles 163

        Types of Software Development Life Cycles 164

        Traditional Plan-Driven Life-Cycle Model 168

        Incremental Life-Cycle Model 173

        Iterative Plan-Driven Life-Cycle Model 174

        Iterative Emergent Life-Cycle Model 176

        Adaptive Life-Cycle Model 178

        Summary of SDLC Guidelines 180

        General Considerations 180

        Requirements Management Considerations 181

        Risk Management Considerations 181

        Project Scope and Complexity Considerations 182

        Other Considerations 182

        Selecting a Software Development Life Cycle 182

        Comparison of Approaches 182

        Life-Cycle Model Selection Examples 184

        9 Part II Summary and Action Plan 191

        Summary of Impact on Project Managers and PMI® 191

        Developing an Action Plan for Project Managers 193

        Incremental Improvements 193

        Designing and Implementing Hybrid Approaches 194

        Implementing Pure Agile Project Management Approaches 194

        Helping Companies Move in the Right Direction 195

        Part III Appendices

        Appendix A Overview of Agile Development Practices 199

        Extreme Programming 199

        Feature-Driven Development 202

        Test-Driven Development 205

        Pair Programming 207

        Code Refactoring 208

        Continuous Integration 209

        Appendix B Overview of Agile Project Delivery Frameworks 211

        Scrum 211

        Dynamic Systems Development Model (DSDM) 215

        Agile Modeling 219

        Agile Unified Process 221

        Lean Software Development 224

        Additional Reading 228

        Glossary of Terms 228

        Index 235

      Recently viewed products

      © 2026 Book Curl

        • American Express
        • Apple Pay
        • Diners Club
        • Discover
        • Google Pay
        • Maestro
        • Mastercard
        • PayPal
        • Shop Pay
        • Union Pay
        • Visa

        Login

        Forgot your password?

        Don't have an account yet?
        Create account