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\n\n | \n Mastering Deadlines with Agile Methods: How to Deliver on Time and Within Budget\nHave you ever been told that agile methods can’t meet deadlines or stay within budget? It’s a common myth that leaves many skeptical about the true power of agility. But what if I told you that agile methods are not only capable of meeting these constraints but often excel at it? \nImagine a world where deadlines are met with confidence, budgets are adhered to with precision, and the end product exceeds expectations. Intrigued? You should be. Let’s dive into the heart of agility and deadlines, bust the myths, and discover how agile methods can transform your projects into success stories. \nIn this article, we’ll explore the Iron Triangle of project management—scope, time, and cost—and why traditional approaches often falter. We’ll uncover the hidden pitfalls of fixing all three dimensions and how agile methods offer a more adaptable and realistic solution. By the end, you’ll have a comprehensive understanding of how to leverage agile practices to not only meet but master deadlines and deliver extraordinary value. Ready to revolutionize your approach? Let’s get started! \nThe Iron Triangle Explained\nFirst, let’s talk about the Iron Triangle. You’ve probably heard of it: scope, time, and cost. In every project, these three dimensions are interconnected, and any change to one impacts the others. Traditional project management tries to fix and control all three aspects. \nIn traditional projects, there’s an awareness that one of the three corners is a resulting variable based on the other two parameters. However, this deduction happens before the project really starts. For example, let’s say a project has a fixed timeline and scope. To calculate the budget, teams are asked to estimate the cost of delivering the entire scope within the given timeline. Once this budget is estimated, it becomes fixed. \nThis fixed budget leaves little room to incorporate learnings and opportunities that arise later by adjusting the scope. Why? Because the budget is typically set once per project or at most once a year. Estimating the entire scope upfront takes a lot of time and resources, and once these detailed plans are in place, there’s a reluctance to discard them. We resist change, feedback, and new information because we’ve invested so much in the original plan. \nThe Problem with Fixing All Three Dimensions\nHere’s the harsh truth: trying to fix all three dimensions (scope, time, cost) doesn’t work. A McKinsey study from 2012 found that 45% of large IT projects run over budget, 7% over time, and deliver 56% less value than predicted. When we force these constraints, something’s got to give. Usually, it’s quality. Teams under pressure often cut corners, leading to technical debt and compromised products. \nTake, for example, a team that’s been asked to deliver a new software feature by a fixed date with a fixed budget. They work overtime, rush through testing, and deploy a buggy product. The deadline is met, but at what cost? The quality suffers, leading to dissatisfied users and a mountain of technical debt to address later. \nTraditional projects often realize that the initial estimation doesn’t fit reality. But instead of adapting to this new learning, they enforce keeping all three triangle aspects fixed and force teams to “somehow make it work.” It’s as if they punish teams for not estimating correctly. This approach stems from a flawed view of human nature: the assumption that teams are lazy and will work harder if pushed enough. \nBut in 99% of cases, the truth is that teams do the best they can with the information they have. When new information emerges that invalidates original estimates or calls for an adaptation of the plan, pressure from management to keep all three aspects fixed forces teams into crunch time or quality compromises. Both approaches lead to significant problems down the line, and despite these efforts, projects are still often late. \nBy understanding the limitations and risks of fixing all three dimensions, we can appreciate why agile methods offer a more realistic and effective approach to managing projects. Agile methods accept that we can’t predict the future with complete accuracy and focus on adapting to change rather than rigidly adhering to initial plans. This flexibility ultimately leads to better outcomes, higher-quality products, and more satisfied teams. \nThe Myth of Agile Methods and Deadlines\nLet’s bust the myth right away: agile methods are not about abandoning deadlines or budget constraints. In fact, agile methods can be even better at managing them! The traditional approach often fails to deliver on time, within budget, or with the full scope. Agile methods, on the other hand, embrace flexibility and continuous improvement, which leads to more reliable outcomes. \nOne common misconception is that agile methods mean no deadlines. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Agile methods thrive on deadlines! But the difference lies in how these deadlines are approached. Instead of rigidly planning everything upfront and hoping for the best, agile teams set clear goals and work iteratively towards them, constantly adapting based on real progress and feedback. \nThe very origins of the agile movement lie in the frustrations of engineers who were working professionally but still facing constant project failures. Traditional projects were often late, over budget, and failed to deliver the expected value despite the best efforts of highly skilled teams. Engineers found themselves repeatedly in situations where initial plans were unrealistic, and there was no room to adapt based on new information. Out of this frustration, the agile movement was born, emphasizing flexibility, continuous delivery, and collaboration. \nIn my TikTok video on this myth, I explain how agile methods can actually improve deadline adherence. \nThe Agile Perspective: Embracing Flexibility and Adaptability\nThe key is to understand that in agile, deadlines are seen as a tool for focus and prioritization rather than an inflexible mandate. Agile teams work towards delivering the highest value possible by the deadline, often surpassing initial expectations because they can pivot based on what they learn throughout the project. \nAgile methods are designed to handle the unpredictability of real-world projects. They accept that we can’t foresee everything and instead prepare to adapt. By keeping one dimension of the Iron Triangle flexible (usually scope), agile methods can ensure that projects stay on track and within budget, while still delivering high-quality results. \nSo, agile methods flip the traditional approach on its head. Instead of trying to predict the future with absolute certainty, agile methods prepare for unpredictability. We work in a way that allows us to adapt to new information as it arises. This means keeping one dimension of the Iron Triangle flexible, typically the scope. \nIn agility, build-quality is sacrosanct. Compromising quality is not an option because it slows us down over time and can even lead to complete rewrites. Instead, agile teams focus on delivering the highest value features first and continuously adapting to ensure the best possible product by the deadline. \nWe understand that the smartest thing we can do is to prepare to adapt to unforeseen and new information. The core principles of agile, such as iterative development, frequent feedback, and prioritizing high-value work, are all designed to make adaptation easier and more effective. \nPractical Application in Agile\nLet’s see how this works in practice with an example. Suppose you have a fixed deadline, like a product launch at a trade fair. Here’s a step-by-step approach to ensure you deliver something valuable: \n1. Set and Communicate the Product Goal\nInstead of focusing on a fixed set of features, define a clear product goal. What value do you want to deliver to the customer? This goal guides all your decisions and helps the team stay aligned. For instance, if the product goal is to showcase a new innovative feature at the trade fair that will attract potential clients, this goal should be clearly communicated and understood by everyone on the team. \nA clear product goal is crucial because it provides direction and purpose. In traditional projects, goals often exist but are buried in documents or only known to a few. In agile, the goal is front and center. Everyone should be able to articulate the goal and understand how their work contributes to achieving it. \n2. Ensure the Goal is Well-Known\nMake sure everyone on the team knows and understands the product goal. This means discussing the goal regularly and integrating it into your daily and weekly routines. The product goal should be visible in the workspace, referenced in meetings, and a constant point of focus. \nIn traditional projects, goals are often hidden away, and teams are only handed down work items and tasks. But in agility, the goal is front and center. This transparency empowers the team to make informed decisions and adapt plans as needed. When the entire team understands and buys into the product goal, they can make better decisions and prioritize their work effectively. \n3. Prioritize Features by Business Value\nYour initial set of features is just a starting point. Prioritize them based on the value they deliver to the customer. This way, even if you run out of time, you’ve delivered the most important features. \nAgile methods prioritize the backlog by business value. This is very different from how traditional methods usually order work items chronologically: They often ordered by how the engineers would build them (e.g. setting up a server, then installing the database, then developing the backend, then frontend, then testing …), which leads to lots of dependencies, makes adapting the backlog really hard, and only gives you a working product at the project's very end. \nSo we prioritize by business value. \nFor example, if the goal is to demonstrate a new feature at the trade fair, prioritize developing, testing, and perfecting that feature over other less critical backlog items. This approach ensures that the most valuable aspects of the product are completed first, providing maximum impact even if time runs short. \nTo be able to prioritize that way, we need to keep backlog items independent of each other and valuable. So we slice requirements very differently from how traditional work packages are sliced. But that's a story for a whole other article. \n4. Measure Progress in Value Produced\nInstead of tracking tasks, measure progress by the value you’ve delivered. \nTraditional project management approaches tend to measure progress in work done. They compare actual tasks done to total planned tasks. But that only tells us how much time and money we spent, not how much value we created. We could work all week long without making progress on value for the business; or we could do something very valuable in just a day. \nThe surprise usually comes at the end of traditional projects when we find that all that work doesn't deliver the value we hoped for. Additionally, we often find hidden undone work like integration, bugs fixing or deployment that we didn't catch during the project. \nAgile teams measure progress in value delivered. \nDemonstrate a working product in short intervals (e.g., every two weeks). This ensures there’s no hidden work left and keeps the team focused on delivering value. \nUse sprint reviews and demos to showcase completed work and gather feedback. This iterative approach allows the team to validate their progress, identify any issues early, and make necessary adjustments. It also ensures that stakeholders can see tangible progress and provide input, keeping everyone aligned and engaged. \n5. Adapt Scope Prediction Continuously\nUse real progress metrics to adapt your scope prediction. This means regularly revisiting and adjusting your plans based on actual progress. By doing this, you can catch potential issues early and adapt accordingly. \nFor instance, if the team realizes that a certain feature is taking longer than expected, they can reassess the remaining scope and make informed decisions about what to cut, what to keep, and what to prioritize. This continuous adaptation ensures that the team remains flexible and responsive to new information and challenges. \n6. Guarantee Delivery of Valuable Product\nSince agile teams deliver working products regularly, you’ll always have a usable version of the product. This eliminates last-minute rushes and ensures you meet the deadline with a high-quality product. Regular feedback loops allow you to incorporate changes and seize new opportunities, often delivering more value than initially expected. \nBy the time the trade fair arrives, you’ll have a polished product that reflects the highest value features, has been tested and refined through multiple iterations, and incorporates feedback from stakeholders and users. This approach not only meets the deadline but often exceeds initial expectations by delivering a product that truly resonates with its intended audience. \nConclusion\nSo, there you have it! The myth that agile methods can’t keep deadlines or budgets is just that—a myth. By keeping one aspect of the Iron Triangle flexible (usually scope), agile teams can deliver high-quality products on time and within budget. Agile methods are about embracing change and using it to our advantage. By continuously delivering value and adapting to new information, we create better products and happier teams. \nRemember, it’s not about rigidly adhering to initial plans, but about being flexible and responsive to change. The next time someone questions whether agile methods can meet deadlines, you’ll know exactly how to respond: with confidence and proof that agile is not only capable but often superior in delivering on time and within budget. \nSo, embrace the flexibility, trust the approach, and watch your products thrive. You’re not just meeting deadlines; you’re exceeding expectations and making a real impact. Keep pushing the boundaries, stay adaptable, and continue delivering incredible value to your customers. You’ve got this! Happy sprinting! \n\n [1] McKinsey & Company, “Delivering large-scale IT projects on time, on budget, and on value,” 2012 \n[2] Watch my TikTok video on the myth of agile deadlines \n\n\n\n\n\n \n
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