Managing Agile Projects: Dispelling the Myths

There is a myth that agile projects do not need project management and that they cannot be estimated and planned. In this session we will dispel those rumors and learn why the job of the agile project manager is to do more than just buy pizza and get out of the way.

In this session you will learn why a self-organizing team will always outperform a team managed through command-and-control, how to tell when a project is on track, and how and when to make an adaptive action to get it back on track. This session will describe the four types of agile teams and the appropriate project management style for each type. You will learn how to move a team quickly from the Telling phase, through the Selling phase, and into true agility. You will also learn how to achieve unified commitment on your team through powerful focusing tools such as the product vision box, the one-page product data sheet, and elevator statement.

About Mike Cohn

Mike Cohn is the founder of Mountain Goat Software, a process and project management consultancy and training firm. He is the author of User Stories Applied for Agile Software Development and Agile Estimating and Planning, as well as books on Java and C++ programming. With more than 20 years of experience, Mike has previously been a technology executive in companies of various sizes, from startup to Fortune 40. A frequent magazine contributor and conference speaker, Mike is a founding member of the AgileAlliance, and serves on its board of directors. He can be reached at mike@mountaingoatsoftware.com.

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