Project Hero Blog - Weekly Best Practices and Tips

Whether you are a project manager or a scrum master, if you are leading an agile project, there are some critical things to keep in mind.  Some of these we have covered in past articles and some of them are new. Here are seven tips for agile project managers.  Repetition helps to build retention, so even if these seem old, think of them as new :)

1. Respect client deliverables. ...

The first month of a new year has already past - time flies by!  Perhaps as part of your New Year's resolutions you have decided to acquire new skills or take your career in a different direction.  Now is a great time to get started with project management.

Just a few years ago, Project Management Institute Research showed that there would be a need for around 22m new project managers...

COVID-19 has brought about a lot of change; however, some things remain constant.  In a more competitive environment, with constant change and fewer available resources, the skill of project management is now as important as ever. Projects must be more successful and deliver on their promised value to help organizations realize their strategies.  One of the unique benefits of...

The definition of a project includes having a start and an end date, making a project a temporary endeavor.  Even though more flexibility is required for agile projects, senior management may still have an expectation of some form of high level schedule so other projects in the organization can be planned.

This means that in addition to getting the best possible requirements up front, you...

While agile methods may not fit every project, every project that uses agile automatically gets a boost in customer experience, satisfaction, and engagement.  This is a substantial benefit that most businesses crave!  Check out these  5 ways that agile, if done correctly, can improve customer relationships and propel your business forward.

1. Customer involvement is elevated and...

Let's face it.  Estimation is a necessary evil for all projects.  Having good estimates helps to mitigate time and cost risks and better enables us to deliver successful projects.  While the agile environment may have more flexibility, most organizations cannot tolerate never-ending projects.

As a whole and at a high level, estimation of agile projects is not that different from...

2020 has certainly been a year to be remembered, and perhaps maybe forgotten.  It has created new working habits and patterns that are likely to stay with us for years to come.  Some with online business models remain largely unaffected.  Others have had to scramble and get quickly accustomed to work-at-home routines, shifting work times and priorities, and work with virtual...

I'm dreaming of an agile New Year
Just like the teams I used to know.
Where the backlogs glisten
And product owners listen
To hear improvement in the retro, oh, the retro.

I said I'm dreaming of an agile New Year
With every user story I write.
May your stand-ups be merry and hustle
And may all your New Years' be agile.

Our user story for you?  As a global citizen celebrating any winter...

As an agile project manager, you may need to conduct requirements elicitation or work with a BA team that performs elicitation.  Either way, you will need some familiarity with the common forms of agile requirements.  As with all projects, requirements are an important element for success. 

Having the right requirements and having them understood by those doing the project work...

Holding the project team and others accountable for completing their work is an important skill for a project manager.  It is especially important for agile and other less traditional project management methods where the team is largely self-organizing and self-managing.

To help the agile and other project managers remember how to best hold people accountable, I like to think of the 4Cs:...