Lean-Agile Practices-Comparative Analysis

Lean-Agile Practices-Comparative Analysis

Introduction

Projects are known to be temporary production systems. Therefore, if project managers structure these projects in a way that the intended product is delivered in a way that value is maximized, and waste is minimized, then the said projects are referred to as ‘lean’ Projects. Hence, in project management, we have the traditional project management, and we have lean agile project management. The difference between lean project management and traditional project management is in the goals that it follows, its phase structure, the interrelationship between phases, and the participants in each stage.

Traditional project management is always plan-driven. In this case, project managers create a detailed plan on what needs to be done, and then, the project is executed according to the established procedure. It is difficult to plan every project detail at the start of the project, and therefore, traditional project management entails change control. Conversely, lean-agile project management is adaptive driven. Here, project managers develop the project vision and advanced project ideas at the beginning of the project, however, the project particulars are developed on an iterative basis. With lean agile project management, once the details project plans have been agreed upon by the management teams, changes usually are not acceptable during the project period. It should, however, be understood that in real life, many projects are managed as hybrids, with both agile and traditional aspects (Lensges, Kloppenborg and Forte, 2018).

The problem with traditional project management is that the project teams usually are given a list of tasks that need to be completed, and the teams must ensure that they plan for the execution of the functions. Conversely, the agile project management teams are, most of the time, self-managed and only receive guidance from a leader that is commonly known as scrum manager. The project teams are the ones who are responsible for the determination of the tasks that are of necessity to complete the iterations that will have acceptable customer outcomes.

Understanding both the lean-agile project management and traditional project management is essential since it will inform the project managers on the best possible decision that they need to make for the best outcomes. For instance, what is critical lean agile project management is the behavior of the project manager as well as the behaviors of the project teams. One problem that manifests is that in lean agile project management, trading the project managers so that they can be equipped to perform these behaviors may be expensive and time consuming for many organizations. Therefore, the project managers may have difficulties in performing their designated duties flawlessly while they are executing other managerial responsibilities. Another dilemma is that it’s difficult to know whether the behaviors are equally important. Therefore, the suggestion is that a list of prioritized behaviors should be provided by an organization for the proper utilization of resources and reaping of maximum project benefits (Lensges, Kloppenborg and Forte, 2018).

Literature review.

Previous research in this area has shown that the application of agile software approaches has been on the increase and is becoming more and more prevalent as opposed to traditional project management. Project management initiatives research indicate that between the years 2008 and 2011, the use of agile tripled, and its application has grown ever since (Landry and McDaniel, 2016).

Nurdiani, Börstler, and Fricker (2016) examines that the software industry has become very competitive and dynamic to the extent that software organizations now need to be accommodative of the frequent changes that exist in their environments. For instance, the software industry needs to accommodate changes in technology, customer needs, as well and changes in regulations to maintain their competitive edge. Nurdiani, Börstler, and Fricker (2016), further explain that there is a need for software organizations to ensure that they deliver better quality within shorter lead times using lower budgets. Therefore, this is the reason why lean agile software development solutions have emerged to provide solutions for situations like these.

Ideas that keep coming up in articles and other sources indicate that project managers who get engaged in interpersonal and organizational behaviors that are appropriate are more successful in achieving project outcomes. It is advised that we should think of a project as any activity in an organization that requires that specific steps be undertaken for the desired outcome attained (Lensges, Kloppenborg and Forte, 2018). Research conducted by Lensges, Kloppenborg, and Forte, (2018), found out that subsequent behaviors in project groups are mostly caused by organizational culture and servant leadership. The findings concluded that culture was a key driver of other agile behaviors. Further, they found out that behavior played out at various levels in any organization, and this had significant effects on project outcomes.

Many of these resources seem to be supporting each other that lean-agile practices have more significant benefits to project management as compared to traditional project management. For instance, an agile practice known as Test-Driven Development was found to have a great positive impact on external quality.

Solutions explored so far on the impact of lean-agile project management practices include the fact that the practices have a great impact on quality, resources, schedule, as well as budget as compared to traditional project management. Agile practices also have an effect on the scope and the risk that the project can be exposed to (Nurdiani, Börstler, and Fricker 2016).

Summary of lit review findings seems to be advocating for the adoption of lean-agile practices as compared to the traditional project management practices. The studies suggest that lean-agile practices like, Fail forward quickly, Face-to-face communication should be embraced more in project management. The reviews on agile practices also indicate that individual interactions in project management should be given more priority instead of the business processes. In project management, emphasis should be put in enabling teams, and risk should be able to be discussed daily during project meetings. However, from the literature reviewed, it was discovered that very literature and research exist on many of the lean-agile project management practices, and therefore further research needs to be conducted.

Research questions

1. Where can lean agile methodologies be applied?
2. What are the models that are used in lean-agile project management?
3. What is the difference between the traditional agile methodology and the lean-agile process?
4. In what ways does the lean-agile project management differ from the traditional project management
5. Is lean agile project management advantageous compared to conventional project management?

Hypotheses            

1. Lean agile methodologies are mostly applicable to software development projects.
2. Different models are used in lean agile project management.
3. Lean agile methodology is better than traditional project management.
4. Lean agile project management differs significantly from traditional project management.
5. The advantages of lean project management, overweigh those of traditional project management.

References

Landry, J., & McDaniel, R. (2016). Agile preparation within a traditional project management course. Information Systems Education Journal, 14(6), 27.

Lensges, M. L., Kloppenborg, T. J., & Forte, F. (2018). Identifying key Agile behaviors that         enhance traditional project management methodology. Journal of Strategic Innovation and Sustainability, 13(2).

Nurdiani, I., Börstler, J., & Fricker, S. A. (2016). The impacts of agile and lean practices on          project constraints: A tertiary study. Journal of Systems and Software, 119, 162-183.