Agile Programme Management book review

I just spent the weekend reading my copy of the new guidance on Agile Programme Management. As a consultant active in delivering Agile environments, knowing how to apply an agile approach to programme management is an important factor in driving support for Agile Project Management. Most organisations I work with group projects into programmes and are unwilling to commit to using agile project management unless they can understand how this will affect the programme. It’s also important for those who want to adopt agile working to see how it easily translates into wider business transformation initiatives, continuing the argument that agile project management is not just for IT projects.

Reviewer perspective

My views are formed from several perspectives:

1. As an accredited trainer for the Agile Project Management qualification I wanted to know how much knowledge about Agile Project Management is assumed.

2. As an experienced programme manager I wanted to know if I would learn anything new.

3. As an author of several programme management books including Think MSP and Managing Business Transformation, I wanted to see if this text builds upon existing programme management approaches.

The Book

So lets dig into the book and see what it has to offer…

Early benefits

The main thing that Agile Programme Management provides is an understanding of how to deliver a programme on time, whilst maintaining a constant emphasis on delivering benefits as early and as frequently as possible throughout the life of the programme. This is different to other programme management texts that define how to identify all of the necessary projects and how to manage them as a whole, delivering all outputs, however long it takes.

Lean & mean

Agile Programme Management supports lean concepts because the philosophy underpinning an agile programme is to deliver what is required when it is required, no more and no less. Therefore, projects are only included in the programme if there is clear line of sight to the benefits that they will enable.

Change is integral

The emphasis on realising benefits that is core to this book means that every chapter include change management tasks. Chapter 5 includes an excellent organisation structure on page 33 that demonstrates how to pull in the business with clearly defined business change and transformation responsibilities that will help anyone in a PMO widen their stakeholder map and draw in all those impacted by the programme.

Conclusions

1. Whilst the title is Agile Programme Management I think this book provides an excellent framework for transformational change.

2. It demonstrates that those operating at the programme level need to be well versed in project management and change management.

3. Readers would benefit from an understanding of Agile Project Management as the book does not provide any background to agile or describe how agile projects are run.

4. Readers need to understand what programme management involves. The book made sense to me because I am already an experienced programme manager and a qualified MSP Practitioner.