|
PRINCE2 and integrating with AGILE DSDM Atern? (Part 1)
Continuing with the subject of my last post in which I intimated that it is possible to use PRINCE2 in conjunction with other methodologies. I indicated that I thought this was both possible and also, in some cases, the best option.
There are numerous approaches to agile so this post will look at the DSDM Atern approach and integrating it with PRINCE2.
Firstly, we have to remember that PRINCE2 is a methodology focussed on managing the project; Agile is project management and a delivery framework which is based on the customer’s focus and delivering products.
PRINCE2 gives a structure and organisation to the project and enables control of the whole through the interaction of the stakeholders, particularly the board, maintaining the business justification with a strong focus on quality, specification of the products using product descriptions and clear specification of project governance.
Agile focuses on the right product delivered on time using a set of guiding principles, a project lifecycle with a flexibly defined set of products, clearly defined roles and responsibilities and a set of best practice techniques to enable product delivery.
So how does this work in practice then?
Firstly the combination of the two is a very strong pairing as the discipline for the management and governance of the project offered by PRINCE2, particularly the principle of management by exception, enables the DSDM ethos of empowerment.
But to enable you to understand where I’m coming from I need to remind you of the structure of PRINCE2 and tell you more about the structure of DSDM Atern
PRINCE 2 consists of seven Principles, seven Themes and seven Processes.
The seven Principles
- Continued business justification
- Learn from experience
- Defined roles and responsibilities
- Manage by stages
- Manage by exception
- Focus on products
- Tailor to suit the project environment
The seven Themes
- Business Case
- Organisation
- Quality
- Plans
- Risk
- Change
- Progress
The seven Processes
- Starting up a project
- Initiating a project
- Directing a project
- Controlling a stage
- Managing product delivery
- Managing a stage boundary
- Closing a project
DSDM Atern consists of a set of eight guiding principles, a project lifecyle with a flexibly defined set of products, clearly defined roles and responsibilities and a set of best practice techniques to enable product delivery.
The eight principles
- Focus on the business need
- Deliver on time
- Collaborate
- Never compromise on quality
- Build incrementally from firm foundations
- Develop iteratively
- Communicate continuously and clearly
- Demonstrate control
The project lifecycle
- Pre-Project
- Feasibility foundations
- Exploration
- Engineering
- Post-Project
The twelve project roles
- Business Sponsor
- Business Visionary
- Project Manager
- Technical Co-ordinator
- Team Leader
- Business Ambassador
- Business Analyst
- Solution Developer
- Solution Tester
- Business Advisor
- Workshop Facilitator
- Atern Coach
The techniques
- Timeboxing
- MoSCoW prioritisation
- Facilitated workshops
- Modelling
- Prototyping
Certain words and phrases will leap out at you from the above lists as being common to both approaches such as business and quality.
And this is the nub of why I believe the two are so compatible as PRINCE2 does the governance and DSDM Atern the products. But they share much the same ethos.
DSDM was developed by people familiar with PRINCE and they were looking at strengthening the area where they perceived PRINCE to be weak in terms of actually delivering the products.
The next post will look at mapping the PRINCE2 to the DSDM Atern project lifecycle and how the PRINCE2 principles and processes relate to the DSDM Atern roles and responsibilities, flexibly designed set of products and techniques. |
