Agile Project Management: How it Relates to PRINCE2 and PMBOK

Scott Berkun spoke at the PMI Asia Pacific congress in Melbourne earlier this year and said that the agile techniques that he used at Microsoft were not intended for NASA.  But in today’s changing world of ever increasing urgency to deliver projects quickly and successfully, should we be using these alternate agile methods?  What is their impact on business and industry?  Is it for everyone?

Born out of software development techniques like Scrum and Extreme Programming, Agile has become the way of life for projects at large, successful organisations such as Google, Redhat and Suncorp.

But not only are these methods being used for software development. They are now moving into business projects and being used to reduce risk as well as deliver quickly and successfully. Locally in Brisbane, Agile techniques are at work on many large and successful projects, including $20 million multi-faceted programs.

The hearsay about Agile is that it dismisses planning, that it does away with documentation and that it increases risk. So how can project management professionals embrace Agile successfully?  When should we use Agile and when should we not?  How does Agile relate to PMBOK and PRINCE2?

The answers to these questions lie in carefully investigating the details of a documented Agile method. Now there is such a documented method and training to go along with it.  Soon the training will earn you an accreditation and even now it earns you PDUs. The Agile Academy (with whom the author has no commercial connection) provides this clarity.

This presentation introduces the fundamental principals of Agile and takes the audience through an alignment of Agile and the Project Management Body Of Knowledge (PMBOK), Phase by Phase. 

References are provided to Communities of Practice and other helpful sources of informatio, supporting the evidence in this presentation.  Finally training options are provided and references to where you can find out more about Agile both here in Australia and internationally.

Dave Wright, Director, QVC Solutions

Dave moved to Australia in 1986 from the UK and worked in New Zealand and Asia for 6 years.  He has a varied background with more than 25 years experience in project management across finance, energy/utility, government, travel and oil/gas.

Motivated by helping people, Dave runs a mentoring program and outside of work is passionate about travel, photography and football.