Managing agile projects

Annotation When first placed in the position of leading an agile team nearly five years ago, I had precious little guidance to assist me in my job. This is the book that I wish I had thenI have endeavored to capture my subsequent experience and learning and present them in a form that is accessible to managers new to agile methodologies. Other managers more familiar with the agile landscape should enjoy it as well, albeit with the sense of the familiar. In the agile spirit of continuous learning and experimentation, I have drawn on many diverse disciplines to augment and to extend agile methodologies on my projects, including complexity theory, organizational learning, and Lean Thinking. Although there certainly are insights within that will benefit all those who are associated with agile project teams, this is primarily a book for agile managersthose individuals who have been gifted with, or are aspiring to, the privilege and responsibility of leading agile project teams. Some of you might inquire as to how this book differs from others on the agile market. I believe thatManaging Agile Projectsis different in these respects: It presents a holistic, systems view of project teams and the organizations that house them, especially their organizational learning aspects. It squarely addresses the role of the project manager on agile projects and presents practical ways to lead them. It acknowledges the necessary balance between management and leadership, and provides insights around leadership not found in other project management material. Although it draws primarily from XP, it incorporates several principles and practices from Scrum, Crystal, and Feature-Driven Development. It is wholly an "in-the-trenches" practitioner's view of the world of a project manager on agile projects. I have a passion for project management, and I have discovered that it is due in large part to the deep sense of satisfaction and fulfillment, fun, and ever-fresh learning that comes with working with a peer group of skilled individuals in delivering things of great value on agile teams. I trust that reading this book will help create some of those same experiences for you. Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.