Financial Year End at Bangalore

Bangalore beacons again! On eve of end of last Financial Year, 2012-2013 - in India , the cycle starts from 1st April of current year to 31st March of next year. 

Team was lively, participated well and asked a number of questions - perhaps the highest ever. It was over 100 or so during the session and during "caves and commons" discussions! Many were not related to the current session, rather their day to day practical problems. Bravo!  

Of course some like the practical hands on as well as practical questions. Individuals came forward and contributed to learning.

Have backdated this post as it happened on last week of March, 2013.

New White Paper: PMBOK Guide 5th Edition and MS Project 2010 - A Practical Step-by-Step Approach

[ Latest - PMBOK 5th Edition with MS Project 2013 ]

First thing, first. Thanks to PM World Journal and its editorial team for acknowledging, encouraging and publishing the paper. Without whom I would not have wrote the paper in the 1st place. This paper was first written in early 2009, with then edition of PMBOK with MS Project 2007. 

Over the years, the white paper was popular and gained acceptance in the real world management and academia circle. Since 2009, a lot of water gone under the bridge! PMBOK has come up with 5th Edition and MS Project is still number-1 in terms of acceptance in project management, albeit with the new MS Project 2010 tool.

Decided to write on the newer version of it and with an exhaustive analytic approach, with complete practical description on actually how to use MS Project while following up PMBOK 5th Edition! As, mentioned in the white paper:

The major comparisons between PMBOK and MSP are outlined with primary focus on the Time Management. There are various major constraints defined in PMBOK guide, [v.i.z.] scope, quality, budget, schedule, resources and risk. It must be noted that the traditional triple constraints defined in earlier PMBOK Guide has been done away with since the 4th Edition.To have a complete understanding, certain Input, Tools and Techniques and Outputs (ITTO) of other Knowledge Areas (KA), such as Scope Management KA, Human Resource Management KA and Integration Management KA from PMBOK guide, have been used. In some places of the document, PMP and PMBOK Guide have been used interchangeably. 

The white paper completes elaborates in all majors inputs, tools and techniques and outputs of Time Management with certain others from other knowledge areas. 

While applying the MS Project 2010 on various PMBOK's ITTO, it becomes a real pleasure! As and when you learn to apply the practices, I felt truly how both the PMBOK and MS Project has been designed to help out on many things. But, nothing is perfect? Eh! Still, a number of things can be done with it and it is truly a marvel.

Below is one such excerpt for Resource Optimization Techniques, one of the ITTO mentioned in "Develop Schedule" and "Control Schedule" process area. 

4.2.6 Resource Optimization Techniques - Resource Leveling (PMBOK/MSP)“Resource Optimization Techniques” is one of the Tools and Technique defined in “Develop Schedule” and “Control Schedule” PA of Time Management KA as defined in PMBOK guide. One of the Resource Optimization Techniques is the “Resource Leveling”. In order to level the resource, first the critical path of the project is analyzed, the ability of the organization’s to supply resources is determined and over allocated or under allocated resources are properly assigned. In MSP, the concept of resource leveling is same and it can be done manually or automatically. Additional resources can be assigned to task, a task can be delayed or a resource assignment can be delayed. Various Resource Leveling options are available under “Properties” group of “Resource” Tab in MSP...

Below the link for the complete white paper - filled with practical hands on approach on PMBOK 5th Edition and MS Project 2010.

Link: PMBOK Guide 5th Edition and MS Project 2010: A Practical Step-by-Step Approach

Web PDF Copy: Full PDF Link For the Paper

You may also like:
1. PMBOK 5th Edition with MS Project 2013 - A Practical Guide
2. Synergy Between MS Project 2007 and PMBOK Guide 4th Edition

Agile - A Philosophy or A Framework?

I come across this question a number of times. In year 2001, 17 minds come up together with these 4 core values. 

• Individuals and Interactions Over Process and Tools
• Working Software Over Comprehensive Documentation
• Customer Collaboration Over Contract Negotiation
• Responding to Change Over Following A Plan

It must be noted that they did not out rightly reject the values for the items in the right, but they gave more emphasis and value to the items on left. These values are immutable and can not be altered. 

In addition to that they come up with 12 core principles:
1. Early and continuous delivery of valuable software as the highest priority
2. Welcoming changing requirements, even late in the development
3. Frequent delivery of software with a 2 weeks to a 8 weeks cycle, with emphasis on shorter cycle
4. Daily interaction of business folks and software developers
5. Projects with motivated individuals and trusting them, giving them freedom
6. Face-to-face conversation as the best form of communication.
7. Working Software as the measurement of progress
8. Sustained development at a constant pace
9. Regular attention to technical excellence and good design
10. Simplicity - maximizing art of work not done
11. Self Organizing teams deliver the best
12. Retrospection and adjustments at regular intervals

Along with that, we have seen a plethora of methods and practices such as Scrum, XP, Kanban, DSDM, Lean and so on. 

Some of them are called Lightweight approaches or frameworks or methods. And some as Full/Heavyweight Approaches.

Now, if you take Scrum, it comes with many practices or principles internally. So also XP. 

If you are coming from a development background, you will immediately realize what a framework means. A Struts or Springs of Log4J framework, does not ask you rigidly follow a practice. They are quite open ended, you can configure the XML files the way to want to, change the main servlet class and so on. 

In similar fashion, Scrum or XP are not prescriptive at all. They have certain practices or principles - like Pair Programming is an XP principle. 

Okay. But then when people say Agile is a Framework, Scrum/XP/Lean are also framework -  what actually does it mean? Well, again, if you come from a development background, let us say you developed a UI using the Spring framework (which is again on top of MVC). Now some other team wants to use it, but will modify according to its need. Here your code/design/architecture becomes a framework for them to work on.

But, when you learn on it in the beginning, it creates a certain confusion - framework, with framework, within another framework?! To have a better understanding: I say - "Agile is a Philosophy". It is a way of thinking about software development. It is a way of your daily software development life or life cycle - by applying those 4 core values and 12 principles. Scrum, XP etc. can be considered to frameworks under the Philosophy called "Agile". 

To make it more personal - let us consider Hinduism. In Hinduism, we consider Buddha as one of the 10 Avatars or incarnations, in the Dashavatara (in Sanskrit). But, Buddhism starts from Buddha and develops with more set of values. If you ask another person, he or she will say Buddhism again can be used by many with other additional principles. In fact, there are various sects in Buddhism as well. So, Hinduism becomes a philosophy in that respect. Similarly, I think it will be applicable to many other religions that we follow in the world.