Reference no: EM133655856

Agile Project Management

Assessment - Research Report on Agile

Learning Outcome 1: Undertake research to demonstrate an understanding of Agile concepts, tools and techniques

Task Summary
"Chaos in the world brings uneasiness, but it also allows the opportunity for creativity and growth." - Dr Tom Barrett

Manifestos communicate beliefs, aims, intentions and views - they are a philosophy rather than a method. The Agile Manifesto is the philosophy from which Agile methods and frameworks have emerged.

This assessment is about ensuring that we understand the thinking or the ‘what' of Agile in preparation for learning the methods, practices, tools, and techniques associated with the ‘how' of Agile.

Context
Because careers in the world of Information Systems require being able to ‘do', we focus on techniques that enable capability building. Agile is a complex and multi-facetted discipline. Because we are preparing you for professional practice in your future workplace - the assessment pathway takes a laddered approach to your learning to embed theoretical knowledge through active practice:
Assessment 1 - Prepare - Understand the theoretical foundations of Agile.
Assessment 2 - Reflect - Develop your Agile Mindset and capability to work in an Agile team.
Assessment 3 - Perform - An authentic assessment where you will apply the knowledge and skills you progressively develop in the subject to a business problem using Agile Project Management.

Task Instructions:
To complete this assessment task, you must:
There is no requirement for writing an introduction or conclusion.
The report must include a title page with the course code, course name, assignment title,
student's name, student number, lecturer's name, class CRN, Enrolled Program (Master of
...), etc.
Table of Contents
The body of the report will need to cover the following specific areas:

You will need to read this article: Kraaijenbrink, J. (2018, Dec 19). What does VUCA Really Mean?

Superficially, VUCA is often used to apply to threats to conducting ‘Business as Usual'. However, companies that are well-prepared to respond to these threats are well- positioned to achieve market advantage over competitors that are less prepared. For this question, you will need to look at the four dimensions of VUCA and demonstrate your understanding of Agile by explaining how Agile supports companies responding to each of these dimensions. Note referencing is required and this is not a creative writing exercise.

The Agile Manifesto:
The Agile Manifesto is not a rule book - but rather a philosophy or set of patterns that are meant to be useful for achieving good results. In the world of Agile the term ‘anti- pattern' is used to describe practices that are not considered helpful - below is a list of anti-patterns that contradict the values of the Agile Manifesto. Looking at each statement, identify which value it is contradicting and explain why you say this by sharing your reasoning:
‘It is the tool that makes us Agile'.
‘Hierarchies where you do what your boss tells you to do are the best way of working'.
‘We are too busy working to talk - we know what we are doing'.
‘You must document everything to make sure that you are ‘covered' in case
something goes wrong'.
‘I am a developer, I don't need to know what customers want, I just need the
Business Analyst to give me documented requirements'.

The Case for Agile:
Several cases and examples have been included in the essential resources for this subject which illustrate how Agile can be beneficial for projects. Select one of these cases - either the Cutter Consortium case or the No Sneezium/Cold Riddance case - ensuring that you clearly identify the case to which you are referring in your response

with appropriate referencing techniques. Consider the ‘triple constraint' of Project Management, also known as the ‘Iron Triangle' - this reading will help you - Measey,

How does the Waterfall implementation of the Iron Triangle differ from the Agile Implementation of the Iron Triangle?
What is the specific impact on quality? Include specific figures to back your position and explain why you believe this quality outcome was achieved.
Why do you believe this change has this effect?

A Comparison of Scrum and Kanban:
Kanban and Scrum are compatible Agile techniques which have both similarities and differences. Review your readings on Scrum and Kanban and explain how you can combine and use both methods together to improve the outcomes of your group project. Make specific reference to tools and techniques and how they will help the team to achieve their goals. Compare these Agile ways of working and select which you would consider as the optimal way of managing the work of the cyber security engineers moving forward.

The Influence of Lean on Agile philosophy and practices
Kaizen is a very well-known Lean philosophy that originated in Lean manufacturing. Transparency, Adaptation and Inspection are the three pillars of Scrum. It is suggested that you read some of the texts like Measey (2015) and undertake additional research of your own to answer the following questions:
Describe and explain the three pillars of Scrum.
Describe and explain the Lean concept of Kaizen.
Explain how the three pillars on Scrum contribute to the achievement of Scrum
The report should use font Arial or Calibri 11 point, should be line spaced at 1.5 for ease of reading and page numbers on the bottom of each page. If diagrams or tables are used, due attention should be given to pagination to avoid loss of meaning and continuity by unnecessarily splitting information over two pages. Diagrams must carry the appropriate captioning.
There are requirements for referencing this report using APA referencing style and it is expected that students reference any lecture notes used and five additional sources in the relevant subject area based on readings and further research.
When diagrams or tables are used, due attention should be given to placement.
Diagrams or tables must carry the appropriate captioning.
A reference list is to be included on a separate page that meets the format requirements.

Referencing
There are requirements for referencing this report using APA referencing style. It is expected that you reference any appropriate resources that were used in class and that you include five additional resources in the relevant subject areas based on readings and further research.