IT Project Recovery Step 1: How to Recognize That Your Agile IT Project is Off Plan

Agile project management has transformed the way IT projects are done. Its emphasis on flexibility, iterative development, and teamwork has delivered great benefits.

However, these same features can make it hard to detect when a project is veering off course.

In this post, I’ll look at the difficulties in recognizing that an Agile project is off plan, the types of monitoring you should employ, how to identify issues the best monitoring is not there, and finally, the right time to start a project recovery.

Why is Recognizing That an Agile Project Is Off Plan difficult?

Agile projects are designed to adapt to change easily. While this is great, it can make it hard to spot problems early. Here are some common challenges:

Frequent Changes:

Agile projects often cope with regular changes in scope. This can make it hard to tell the difference between beneficial changes and issues. Always updating the scope with new features can lead to the overall goal being missed, taking longer, or costing more.

Team Autonomy:

Agile teams are empowered to make decisions themselves. In general, this a good thing and one of the big plusses of agile projects. But, it can also lead to misalignment if teams pursue goals away from the main project objectives.

Short Feedback Loops:

Agile’s iterative approach involves short sprints and regular feedback. While this helps in identifying and fixing immediate issues, it can also create a false sense of progress and security, masking long-term issues or systematic problems that need more fundamental solutions or a strategic pivot to solve.

Limited Documentation:

Agile methodologies prioritize working software over extensive documentation. This can lead to knowledge gaps in the project’s history and current status, making it harder to spot when the team is going off plan. Without good records, it’s difficult to trace where and why things might be going wrong.

Types of Monitoring You Should Be Using

Effective monitoring is essential for keeping your Agile project on track. Here are some key tools that I can recommend:

Epic Schedule:

Epics are the larger pieces of work that an agile project is due to deliver. The epic schedule tells you when the team expects to deliver these larger items. By tracking epics instead of stories, you keep your focus on the timely delivery of the overall solution.

Burndown Charts:

These charts show the amount of work remaining versus the time left. A healthy burndown chart should show a steady decline in work. If the chart is flat or erratic, it may mean that the team is struggling to complete tasks on time.

Velocity Tracking:

Velocity measures the amount of work a team completes in each sprint. Tracking velocity helps with predicting future performance. When compared with the work left to do, it lets you estimate when the project will complete. The velocity should be relatively stable with small changes due to team vacation or other known reasons. Wild velocity changes or velocity slowing down over time, can be signs of an underlying issue.

Kanban boards:

These show where tasks are at any time in the delivery process. They help identify bottlenecks in the workflow which are stopping the project team from delivering on time. If work regularly gets backed up in one team or in a key function, then you have a clear pointer on where improvements could be made.

Recognizing You Are Off Plan Even Without Monitoring

Even with good monitoring, some issues might slip through the cracks. Here are some pointers on how to tell if you are off plan, even if your monitoring isn’t catching it:

Stakeholders are not happy:

Complaints from stakeholders about work being late, the overall timeline, or project direction can be a strong hint that something is amiss. Take feedback seriously. It is a vital source of insight into the project’s health.

Missed Deadlines:

Regularly missing deadlines or failing to meet sprint goals, despite appearing to be on track, it is a clear sign of trouble.

Team Burnout:

High levels of stress, frustration, or burnout among team members are signs of underlying issues with either the project or the workload. Try and catch this one as early as possible during sprint reviews.

Quality Issues:

An increase in defects, bugs, or a general loss of quality in results shows that the project is not working well. Quality problems often indicate rushed work or poor testing. Both of which are signs of deeper issues.

When Is the Right Time to Start a Project Recovery?

Recognizing the need for a project recovery is the crucial step to save an Agile IT project. Here’s when you should consider starting an agile IT project recovery:

Repeated Sprint Failures:

If multiple sprints fail to meet their objectives despite corrective actions, it is time to consider recovery strategies. Regular sprint failures suggest that the project is fundamentally off track.

Persistent Stakeholder Complaints:

When stakeholders are consistently at odds with the project’s progress and/or quality of the work done, even after attempts have been made to address their concerns, you have an issue. Ongoing stakeholder dissatisfaction is a red flag that cannot be ignored.

High Defect Rates:

A sustained increase in defects with new code is a strong sign that the project is off track and needs a recovery effort. This often means that the project team is rushing through the work without adequate testing.

Resource Constraints:

If the team is often overworked or key resources are missing, action is needed to support the team. Otherwise, the team will not be able to deliver good results over the long to medium term.

Conclusion

Recognizing that an Agile IT project is off plan can be hard due to the flexible nature of Agile ways of working. However, once you know the signs for trouble and take timely action, you can ensure that your project remains aligned with its goals and delivers successful outcomes