Why Change is so difficult?

- Navigating the Agile Transition

Group Member:
Sinian Liu 002790887
Shruti Suresh Nair 002738728
Sahil Gothoskar 002775631
Yao Xiao 002743906
Yang Zheng 002771462
Solution Plans

Actions taken to reduce

the likelihood or impact Clear Communication
Innovative Strategies
of potential risks of this Strategies
transition

Plans to ensure effective and

Creative approaches or transparent communication
Risk Mitigation
technologies to tackle Measures among team members and
challenges or achieve goals stakeholders
Half-way Changes to the project's requirements

Challenging aspects:

• Transition Plan • Sprint Implementation

• Collaboration • Handling Work and Requirements
• Project Management • Addressing Challenges
Transition Plan

• Analyze the status of the current project and identify the works that are already
completed and yet to be done to set realistic expectations
• Agile framework as it involves breaking the project into phases and emphasizes
continuous collaboration and improvement
• Train and coach the team to follow agile methodologies
• Implement agile and try to mitigate the initial challenges
• Ensure Continuous feedback during the transition
• Make sure to document every step for the future
• Follow an iterative approach and ensure active participation from the stakeholders
Collaboration

• Conduct meetings with the entire team to • Provide hands-on Agile training sessions
discuss the client's request and exercises to team members who are
• Identify potential risks of associated with not familiar with Agile
the client's request, such as scope, • Establish clear communication channels
resource constraints, and within the team, such as Slack channels,
timeline constraints dedicated email threads, or
project management tools, to facilitate real-
time communication and information sharing
 Project Management Approach

• Establish Clear Priorities and Timelines • Iterative Planning and Frequent Reviews

- Work closely with the Product Owner to - Conduct regular sprint planning sessions to
clearly define the top priority features and break down the work into manageable sprints and
requirements based on the client's new requests tasks
- Develop a high-level project timeline that - Facilitate frequent team meetings, such as daily
aligns with the fixed contract timeline, identifying standups, sprint reviews, and retrospectives, to
key milestones and delivery deadlines assess progress, identify blockers, and make
- Communicate the revised timeline and necessary adjustments
priorities transparently to the entire team - Encourage the team to provide feedback and
input during these sessions to foster a collaborative
environment
Project Management Approach Cont.

• Risk Mitigation and Contingency Planning

- Identify potential risks and challenges, such as team resistance to change, delays in the
transition, or unexpected technical issues
- Develop risk mitigation strategies and contingency plans to address these challenges
quickly and minimize their impact on the project
- Regularly review and update the risk management plan to ensure it remains relevant and
effective
 Project Management Approach Cont.

• Agile Tracking and Reporting • Adaptive and Responsive Approach

- Implement an Agile project management - Continuously monitor the team's capacity
tool (e.g., Jira, Trello) to visualize the workflow, and adjust the scope, priorities, or timeline as
track progress, and manage the product backlog needed to accommodate the changing requirements
- Provide regular status updates to the client - Be prepared to make quick decisions and
and stakeholders, highlighting completed work, adapt the plan based on the team's feedback and
upcoming deliverables, and any challenges or risks the client's evolving needs
- Utilize burndown charts, velocity tracking, - Encourage the team to be flexible and
and other Agile metrics to measure and responsive, embracing the Agile mindset of
communicate the team's productivity and continuous improvement and adaptation
efficiency
Sprint Implementation

• Sprint Planning Workshops: Conduct initial workshops to familiarize the team with the concept of
sprints, emphasizing their role in fostering flexibility and enabling rapid adjustments to changes.
• Define Sprint Duration: Considering the fixed timeline and the urgency for deliverables, we'll start
with one-week sprints. This duration allows for quick feedback loops with the client and ensures that
the team can adapt rapidly to any changes or additional requirements.
• Sprint Goals and Deliverables: Each sprint will focus on specific, achievable goals aligned with the
client's revised requirements. We'll prioritize work items based on value delivery and risk mitigation,
ensuring the most critical features are developed first.
• Cross-functional Sprint Teams: We'll organize our team into cross-functional units capable of
handling tasks across the development lifecycle within a sprint.
• Daily Stand-ups: Implement daily 15-minute stand-up meetings to discuss progress, address
impediments, and adjust tasks as necessary. These meetings will keep everyone aligned and foster a
culture of open communication and accountability.
• Sprint Reviews and Retrospectives: At the end of each sprint, conduct a review with the client to
showcase the work completed and gather their feedback.
 Audit and Evaluation: Conduct a thorough audit of the work
completed under the Waterfall methodology. Evaluate its alignment
with the client's revised requirements to identify reusable
components and areas needing rework or adjustments.

Backlog Creation and Prioritization: Transform the client's new and

existing requirements into a product backlog. Engage the Product
Owner in prioritizing this backlog based on business value,
dependencies. This prioritized backlog will guide the sprint planning
process.
Handling Work and Incremental Integration: For components already developed,
Requirements integrate them incrementally into the Agile process. This may
involve breaking down larger modules into smaller, manageable
pieces that can be refined and adjusted in subsequent sprints.

Feedback Loops: Establish regular feedback loops with the client to

ensure that the work being done aligns with their expectations and to
incorporate any new changes or insights. This will help in
continuously refining and reprioritizing the backlog.

Documentation and Transparency: Maintain comprehensive

documentation of changes, decisions, and progress. This
transparency is crucial for aligning team efforts and ensuring that
everyone, including the client, has a clear understanding of the
project status
 Addressing Challenges

Identifying Potential Challenges

•Fixed Timeline: The fixed timeline limits our flexibility

in accommodating significant changes to requirements.

•Client Expectations: The client's expectations may be

challenging to manage, especially when requesting
substantial changes mid-project.

•Team Dynamics: The team might face stress and

frustration due to increased pressure to deliver within the
same timeframe despite changes in requirements.
 Approach to Mitigating Challenges

• Transparent Communication: Immediately communicate the situation to both the team and the client.
Transparency about the challenges allows everyone to understand the constraints and collaborate on finding
solutions.
• Prioritize Requirements: Collaborate with the Product Owner and Business Analyst to prioritize the new
requirements based on their criticality and impact on project goals. Ensure that the changes align with the
project's vision and objectives.
• Incremental Delivery: Shift to an incremental delivery approach, breaking down the remaining work into
smaller, manageable increments. This allows for more flexibility in accommodating changes and ensures that
valuable features are delivered incrementally, even within the fixed timeline.
• Empower the Team: Empower the development team to make decisions regarding technical feasibility and
implementation strategies for the new requirements. Encourage them to collaborate and brainstorm innovative
solutions to address the changes effectively.
• Manage Expectations: Set realistic expectations with the client regarding the impact of the changes on the
project timeline and scope. Discuss trade-offs and alternative solutions to meet their objectives while staying
within the constraints.