Let’s suppose that I work as a project manager at Office Green, LLC, a commercial landscaping company specializing in interior plants and greenery for office buildings and other businesses. The market research team noticed a major shift to more workers setting up and working from a home office. To capture the growing market of home office workers, Office Green created a new service called “Virtual Verde” that delivers desk-friendly plants to people’s home offices. They assigned me as the Scrum Master of a new Agile team, and my goal was to deliver this new service quickly.
Applying Agile project management in a VUCA environment
Organizations today face an unpredictable and rapidly changing business environment, requiring them to be flexible and adaptive to stay competitive. VUCA is an acronym used to capture this that stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. It is a term that originated from the military world, but it’s now widely used in business and management to describe the challenges of operating in an unpredictable and rapidly changing environment.
- Volatility refers to the instability and unpredictability of events that can affect a business. It could be sudden changes in the market, unexpected fluctuations in demand or supply, natural disasters, or other external factors that can impact the business’s operations.
- Uncertainty is the lack of predictability of future events or outcomes. It could be due to insufficient information or knowledge about the future, complexity, or interrelatedness of various factors, or other reasons that make it difficult to make accurate predictions about the future.
- Complexity refers to the interconnectedness of various factors and the resulting difficulty in understanding and managing the relationships between them. It could be due to a high number of variables, intricate supply chains, intricate organizational structures, or other factors that make it difficult to determine cause and effect.
- Ambiguity refers to the lack of clarity or the existence of multiple interpretations of events, situations, or information. It could be due to conflicting or insufficient information, cultural or linguistic differences, or other factors that make it difficult to understand what is happening or to communicate effectively.
In the case of Office Green, they faced a VUCA environment due to the sudden shift in the market caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The market research team noticed a sudden shift of workers setting up home offices. The company quickly realized the potential of this new market opportunity, and they didn’t want to lose revenue by sticking to their previous office services. They decided to capture the market of home offices by introducing a new service called Virtual Verde.
However, Office Green faced challenges due to the high VUCA factors that affected their business. They lacked predictability and control over future changes, and the interrelated factors like suppliers and the economy added complexity to the project. Therefore, they adopted an Agile approach to their project management. Through the Agile approach, Office Green remained flexible in how they approached their next project, and they were able to address the VUCA factors that were affecting their business. Instead of allowing their business to slowly or quickly erode due to market forces, they embraced the changing market and remained flexible in how they approached their next project.
Now, you’ll follow along with my work as a Scrum Master of Virtual Verde as I demonstrate how Agile project management can be used to tackle challenges faced by Office Green in a VUCA environment. To give you a better understanding of how I approached the project, I’ll be using the Scrum framework to describe the steps we took to deliver the project.
But before diving into the practical application of Agile, let’s go through a bit of theory about what it is and the principles that underpin it, which will help provide a better understanding of how it can be applied to the Virtual Verde project.
Adopting an Agile mindset
In order to effectively manage a project, it is essential to understand that each project exists within a unique organizational culture, environment, and industry dynamics. These factors can heavily influence the project’s objectives, scope, and success criteria. Therefore, it’s important to recognize that each project is different, and a one-size-fits-all approach may not be suitable for all projects. The project manager must adapt their approach to the unique characteristics of each project and the organization it belongs to. This adaptability and flexibility can be achieved by adopting an Agile mindset, which prioritizes customer value, collaboration, and continuous improvement over rigid plans and processes.
Put simply, Agile is a flexible and iterative approach to project management that emphasizes delivering value to customers through continuous improvement and collaboration. Adopting an Agile mindset is essential when working in fast-paced environments, where change and uncertainty are the norms. In the case of Virtual Verde, an Agile approach is ideal because we are dealing with a new product line in an ever-changing market. Agile provides a framework for teams to work together in a transparent and collaborative manner, allowing for quick adaptations to customer feedback and market changes. The approach encourages frequent inspections and adaptations of the work done, which leads to better outcomes and higher customer satisfaction. By leveraging the Agile mindset, we can tackle the challenges associated with delivering Virtual Verde’s new product line in an uncertain and rapidly evolving market.
Scrum as a project management framework
Scrum is a widely-used Agile framework for managing complex projects. It is designed to help teams develop, test, and deliver products in an iterative and incremental manner. The framework is built around a set of specific roles, events, and artifacts.
The Product Backlog is a prioritized list of features or requirements that need to be delivered for a specific product. The backlog is constantly evolving based on changing customer needs and feedback. It’s a living document that represents the product owner’s vision of what they want to build, including new features, improvements, and bug fixes.
A sprint is a fundamental aspect of Scrum that helps teams deliver valuable product increments in an iterative and incremental manner. The sprint is a timeboxed iteration that usually lasts for one to four weeks, during which the team works to develop a potentially releasable product increment. The sprint starts with the sprint planning meeting, where the team selects a set of backlog items that they believe they can complete within the sprint. The team then works on the selected items and collaborates closely to deliver the work incrementally. At the end of the sprint, the team reviews the work done during the sprint in the sprint review meeting and discusses ways to improve their performance in the next sprint. The sprint is a crucial aspect of Scrum that helps teams remain focused and motivated by providing them with regular opportunities to review their work and make adjustments to the product increment.
The Daily Scrum, also called Stand-up, is a short meeting held every day to keep the team aligned and focused on their goals. The meeting usually lasts for around 15 minutes and is designed to help team members communicate and share information about their progress. During the daily Scrum, team members answer three key questions: what did I do yesterday, what am I going to do today, and are there any impediments blocking my progress? The daily Scrum is an essential part of Scrum that helps team members stay on track and identify any issues or roadblocks that may be impeding their progress. By holding the meeting every day, team members can quickly identify and resolve any issues, keeping the project moving forward smoothly. The daily Scrum also promotes collaboration and communication among team members, helping to build a culture of transparency and accountability within the team.
The Sprint Planning is a time-boxed event that takes place at the beginning of every sprint. It is a collaborative effort between the Product Owner and the Development Team, where they work together to determine what can be delivered in the upcoming sprint. The goal of the Sprint Planning is to create a Sprint Goal that the team can work towards, and to identify the Product Backlog items that will be worked on during the sprint. During this event, the team also estimates the effort required to complete the selected items, and determines how they will deliver the selected items, considering their capacity and capability.
The Sprint Review is an event that takes place at the end of every sprint, where the Scrum Team showcases the work they have completed during the sprint to the stakeholders. During this event, the team demonstrates the working product increment and receives feedback from the stakeholders. The team also reviews the Product Backlog and adapts it based on the feedback received. The goal of the Sprint Review is to review the product increment and ensure that it is aligned with the Product Owner’s expectations, and that it meets the needs of the stakeholders. The duration of the Sprint Review is typically four hours for a four-week sprint, but can be shorter for shorter sprints.
The Sprint Retrospective is a key event in the Scrum framework, where the Scrum team gathers to discuss the previous sprint and identify areas for improvement. During this meeting, team members reflect on what went well and what could have been done better in terms of product delivery, teamwork, and process. The purpose of the Sprint Retrospective is to help the team continuously improve their performance and work towards delivering more value to the customer in the next sprint. It is typically a time-boxed event, with a duration of three hours for a four-week sprint, but can be shorter for shorter sprints.
There are three primary roles in a Scrum Team:
- The Scrum Master is a critical role in a Scrum Team. The Scrum Master serves as a coach and mentor for the team, ensuring that everyone understands and follows Scrum principles and practices. The Scrum Master is responsible for removing any obstacles that may prevent the team from achieving its goals. The Scrum Master facilitates Scrum events, including sprint planning, daily Scrum, sprint review, and sprint retrospective, and ensures that the team is focused and productive during each event.
- The Product Owner is another critical role in a Scrum Team. The Product Owner is responsible for setting the product vision, defining the product backlog, and ensuring that the team is working on the most important items first. The Product Owner works with stakeholders and customers to understand their needs and priorities and communicates these to the team. The Product Owner ensures that the team understands the requirements for each product backlog item and can deliver a potentially releasable product increment at the end of each sprint.
- The Development Team is the group of professionals responsible for delivering the product increment at the end of each sprint. The Development Team is self-organizing and cross-functional, meaning that it contains all the necessary skills to deliver the product increment. The team members collaborate closely to plan and execute each sprint, ensuring that all items in the sprint backlog are completed and that the potentially releasable product increment is delivered on time. The Development Team is responsible for managing its work and ensuring that it meets the Definition of Done.
By understanding these core elements, Scrum Teams can effectively manage their projects in a way that promotes collaboration, transparency, and continuous improvement.
The Definition of Done
The Definition of Done (DoD) is a clear and concise list of criteria that defines when a product increment is considered “done” or complete. It is an agreement between the Scrum Team and stakeholders on the minimum acceptable quality standards for the product.
The DoD is used to ensure that the team delivers a high-quality product increment at the end of each sprint. The criteria in the DoD should be specific, measurable, and objective so that everyone on the team knows what is expected and can work towards achieving it.
The DoD is created collaboratively by the Scrum Team during the sprint planning meeting, and it should be reviewed and updated regularly to ensure it remains relevant and reflects the team’s current understanding of what “done” means for the product.
Some examples of items that might be included in the DoD are: code is thoroughly tested and meets acceptance criteria, documentation is complete and up-to-date, user stories have been demonstrated and accepted by the Product Owner, and the product increment is potentially shippable.
Next steps: The practical application of Agile project management for the Virtual Verde project
In this first part, I’ve introduced the concepts of Agile project management and their importance in navigating the unpredictable and rapidly changing business environment that many organizations face today and how Office Green is no exception. The second part of the Virtual Verde project description will delve into the practical application of these concepts through the use of Scrum as a framework. You’ll explore how my team and I manage the project’s backlog, sprints, retrospectives, and changes to the release plan to deliver the Virtual Verde service.
To learn more about the practical application of Agile for the Virtual Verde project, please navigate to Part 2: Virtual Verde – Part 2.
Appendix: Ready-to-use project templates
As a Scrum Master/project manager, I know how important it is to have the right tools and templates to ensure project success. That’s why I’ve compiled and organized a set of essential project templates that cover the most important aspects of the Agile approach. In addition to detailing the Virtual Verde scenario, I’ve included these ready-to-use project templates in this folder. It includes a product backlog template, a sprint backlog template, and a release plan template. These blank yet crucial templates are designed to help you manage your Agile projects effectively and efficiently.
Here are the links to each of the templates included in the folder:
By providing these templates, I hope to demonstrate my skills in Agile project management and support the success of future projects.
Featured Image by Freepik. Used for display purposes.
Last updated: April 19th, 2023.