Introduction:
In traditional ‘waterfall’ style software development projects, the role of the project manager is well established and understood. Agile is somewhat different. For example, many of the more popular Agile methodologies eschew medium term and long range planning; most describe the virtues of self-organising teams. This makes the role of the project manager – and the value of a project manager – less clear cut.

Many organisations are moving towards a more Agile approach without a clear understanding of how Agile projects should be managed, especially when many of the ‘tried and trusted’ project management tools – Gantt charts, actual vs. budget reports, etc. – seem no longer to be relevant. Indeed, the question is, is a project manager needed at all?

In this workshop we look at the leading Agile development methodologies and, applying real world experience, take a pragmatic look at the role that a project manager should play on an Agile project.

Why attend:
This practical, concise, one-day workshop looks at Agile from a project manager’s perspective and details where a project manager can and should add value to a project.

The workshop leader will describes the different roles team members play in an Agile project team, and will identify what the project manager’s role should be.

Throughout the day the workshop leader will look beyond the theory of Agile and explore what actually happens on Agile projects. Using real-life case studies, the workshop describes the day-to-day tasks a project manager actually needs to perform, considers how senior managers’ requests for weekly or monthly status reports can be reconciled with an Agile approach to planning, explains how to handle changing requirements and sets out a sensible approach to managing issues and risks to ensure the success of an Agile project.