Case study: Managing a complex engineering project - Nelly Sattari - CPH DevFest 2024

Summary

This session emphasizes the importance of technical leadership, effective negotiation, and maintaining team health in project delivery. Key insights include the value of breaking projects into manageable phases, using data-driven metrics, and aligning agile rituals with project goals. The speaker highlights the challenges of scope creep, stressing the need for clear communication and prioritization. Sustainable delivery is also tied to fostering a supportive team culture, ensuring well-being, and celebrating small wins. The session concludes with practical tips on using tools like dependency mappers and velocity charts to track progress and avoid common pitfalls.

Takeaways

• 😀 Technical leaders should develop strong negotiation skills to balance scope, resources, and timelines, advocating for the team when additional help is needed.
• 😀 Breaking down large projects into smaller, manageable pieces or 'epics' helps improve focus, reduces project fatigue, and allows for better tracking of dependencies.
• 😀 Effective agile rituals such as standups, retrospectives, sprint planning, and backlog refinement must be properly aligned with project goals and encourage open, honest communication.
• 😀 Scope creep is often caused by technical complexity, working on non-MVP stories, poor ticket prioritization, and unclear definitions of 'done' for tasks.
• 😀 Sprint goal alignment is crucial—team members should pull stories that align with the sprint goal, rather than picking random tasks from the backlog.
• 😀 Relying on data and metrics over gut feeling ensures more accurate tracking of team progress, such as through velocity charts, dependency mappers, and issue resolution rates.
• 😀 A collaborative and supportive team environment is key to preventing burnout and project fatigue—practices like pair programming, shadowing, and mentoring help.
• 😀 Fostering a healthy team culture is vital for long-term project success; celebrating small victories along the way and ensuring regular feedback promotes morale.
• 😀 Team health should be monitored regularly through tools like surveys to assess happiness and identify potential issues before they escalate.
• 😀 Estimation is a guideline, not a strict rule—communication about progress and potential risks is far more important than adhering strictly to initial estimates.

Q & A

What is the key role of a technical leader in an agile project?

A technical leader is responsible for negotiating scope, managing resources, communicating with both the team and leadership, and ensuring that the project delivers its core value. They must also guide the team through the project phases, using agile practices to ensure smooth progress and avoid scope creep.

How can a technical leader manage scope creep in agile projects?

A technical leader can manage scope creep by aligning stories in the backlog with the project’s overall success criteria, prioritizing them effectively, and ensuring that work is broken down into smaller, manageable pieces (epics). Communication with stakeholders about what can realistically be delivered is also crucial to prevent unnecessary expansion of scope.

What are epics in agile project management, and why are they important?

Epics are large, high-level user stories that are broken down into smaller tasks or stories during the project. They help to manage complexity by making the project more digestible and tracking progress over phases. Breaking work into epics also helps in managing dependencies and avoiding project fatigue.

What are some common pitfalls that lead to scope creep in agile projects?

Common causes of scope creep include working on non-MVP (minimum viable product) stories, poor ticket prioritization, lack of clear definition of done, and failing to manage dependencies properly. These factors lead to an increase in technical complexity and delay project delivery.

Why is sprint goal alignment crucial in agile project management?

Sprint goal alignment ensures that the team is focused on delivering value that is aligned with the broader project objectives. It helps prevent random selection of stories, leading to wasted time on irrelevant tasks, and ensures that dependencies are handled in a logical order.

How does a velocity chart help in managing agile projects?

A velocity chart measures the rate at which a team completes committed stories in a sprint. It helps track the consistency of the team's output over time and highlights issues such as inconsistent estimation, capacity miscommunication, or blockers that affect progress.

What role do metrics play in managing agile projects?

Metrics provide data-driven insights that allow teams to track progress, assess performance, and identify issues early. Examples include velocity charts, dependency mappers, and health checks that help in monitoring and adjusting project delivery. These metrics replace subjective decision-making and improve transparency.

How can technical leaders promote a healthy and collaborative team environment?

Technical leaders can foster collaboration by encouraging pair programming, mentoring, and shadowing, ensuring that all team members are supported and avoid burnout. Celebrating small wins and maintaining a focus on team health through regular check-ins and feedback sessions also help maintain morale and a positive work environment.

What is the significance of celebrating team success in agile projects?

Celebrating success helps to boost morale and prevent project fatigue. It provides the team with a sense of accomplishment, reinforcing collaboration and motivation. It also ensures that team members feel recognized for their contributions, which is important for sustaining long-term productivity.

What strategies can be used to avoid project fatigue in agile teams?

To avoid project fatigue, it's essential to break work down into smaller, manageable phases (epics), celebrate milestones, and ensure the team has a balanced workload. Encouraging collaboration through pair programming, providing regular feedback, and fostering a supportive team culture are key strategies to keep the team healthy and engaged.