Managing Agile Projects

Principle 3: Institute Learning and Adaptation

Traditionally, projects have been controlled in thermostat fashion. A baseline plan is created, and any changes or deviations from the baseline are believed to merit corrective action. This form of control engenders the necessity for a conformance-to-plan style to control change. It is usually accompanied by an administrative mindset toward team leadership. Agile projects, in contrast, employ decentralized control (as seen in Chapter 8, “Light Touch”) that accommodates double-loop learning and adaptive action in iterative cycles (as seen in Chapter 9, “Adaptive Leadership”). This form of control creates the necessity for an experimental test, learn, and adapt style required to both embrace and manage ...