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This page contains the most recent articles from the Agile Project Management Academy.

Agile Maturity and the Martial Arts – How Are They Similar?

Agile Maturity and the Martial Arts

There’s a definite relationship of Agile levels of maturity and the martial arts like Karate. What Is the Similarity of Agile and the Martial Arts? In theory, there should be a lot of similarity: Area Similarity Techniques There are a wide range of Martial Arts techniques that can be applied in different situations Finesse and […]

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Using an Adaptive Leadership Style in Agile

Adaptive Leadership

Adaptive Leadership in Agile What is the importance of adaptive leadership in Agile? I’ve been a Project Manager for many years and, over the years, I’ve gone through a lot of job interviews, particularly as a consultant where you might change roles every 3-6 months. One of the questions I’ve often been asked in interviews

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Agile Estimation Practices – What Is the Role of Estimation In Agile?

Agile Estimation

I participated in a discussion recently on the subject of Agile estimation practices: The individual who started the discussion indicated that his team was not very good at estimating. He asked whether it was important for them to become more proficient in estimating the level of effort required Overview Estimation can be very important and

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Agile Product Backlog Grooming Iceberg

Agile Product Backlog Grooming Iceberg

An understanding of the Agile Product Backlog Grooming process is important. A metaphor of an “Iceberg” is often used to visualize how the process works. What Is Product Backlog Grooming? The “Product Backlog” in an Agile/Scrum environment is a prioritized queue of work to be done. It normally consists of user stories which are short

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People, Process, and Tools in an Agile Project – How to Fix a Broken Project

Enterprise-level Agile Project Management

The inter-relationship of people, process, and tools in an Agile project is important to understand. It is particularly important when you try to fix a broken project. Typical Traditional Project Management Approach On several occasions, I’ve been brought in to rescue a project that was in trouble. In many cases, there is an expectation that,

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What Are Self-Organizing Teams?

What Are Self-organizing Teams?

Agile is very much built around the idea of self-organizing teams. But what are self-organizing teams? There is some confusion about that topic. Some teams have taken that to mean complete flexibility to do whatever they want without any management or leadership. That amounts to “anarchy” and there is a big difference between “anarchy” and

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Functional Decomposition – How Does It Apply to Agile? Why Is It Important?

Enterprise-level Product Backlog

What is Agile functional decomposition? (and why is it important?) Investopedia defines “functional decomposition” as follows: “A method of business analysis that dissects a complex business process to show its individual elements. Functional decomposition facilitates the understanding and management of large and/or complex processes and can be used to help solve problems: Basically, functional decomposition

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The Importance of Agile Project Governance

Agile Project Governance

Is Agile Project Governance an Oxymoron? Do the words “Agile Project Governance” sound like they go together? On first glance, your answer might be “No”. The idea of superimposing a Project Governance Model on an Agile project sounds like mixing oil and vinegar However, I don’t believe that is necessarily the case especially when you

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What is an Agile Business Analyst? What Training Is Needed?

What is an Agile Business Analyst?

Many software development projects are moving rapidly to an Agile development approach: That has dramatically impacted the role of a project manager in an Agile environment Agile also has a significant impact on the role of a Business Analyst In this article, we will explore “What is an Agile Business Analyst?”, “How is the role

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Agile and Corporate Culture – How Do You Make it Work?

Enterprise-level Product Backlog

Agile and Corporate Culture It’s important to understand the relationship of Agile and corporate culture. Adapting an Agile development process to a corporate culture can be a very difficult thing to do. Especially if it involves changing a well-established corporate culture If you ignore this problem and implement an Agile development process without attempting to

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