Engineering Management Institute

Tevis Holzer

Scrum for Effective Multi-Project Teams (Part 3)

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This is a guest post by Tevis Holzer, P.E.

Multi-Project Teams

Picking up from Parts One and Two in this series, this installment explores another level of the Scrum mindset in the AEC industry. When a design team is comfortable implementing Scrum concepts on the individual project level, they eventually reach a tipping point with the number of projects (and project meetings) that can realistically fit in their schedule.

The Multi-Project or Market-Focused Team

Formalizing a multi-project team consisting of members who commonly work on the same projects together offers collaboration advantages and reduces the number of unique meetings they need to attend.

According to Scrum, the most successful teams have the following attributes:

1. Transcendent

All team members are bought in to achieve common, shared goals that are beyond the capacity of the members individually.

2. Autonomous

The team has the authority to make decisions. A team cannot operate at a high level if they consistently need to obtain permission outside the team.

3. Cross-Functional

The multi-project team needs to have all the necessary skills and knowledge to complete the projects.

Benefits to Applying Huddle Meetings with a Market-Focused Team

[Read more…] about Scrum for Effective Multi-Project Teams (Part 3)

Scrum Techniques for Productive Project Teams (Part 2)

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This is a guest post by Tevis Holzer, P.E.

Scrum In Part One of this article series, keys to collaboration for engineering project teams were highlighted as Team, Communication, and Results. These three keys are fundamentals of the Scrum mindset for project management, promoting efficiency to meet market demand while encouraging growth of our engineering companies and team members.

If you’ve investigated Scrum since reading Part One, you likely realized there is an ocean of information stemming from (and catered toward) software development rather than the AEC industry. Though the techniques originated in software development, Scrum has been successfully adapted into several industries, AEC included. Not all Scrum methodologies are applicable in the AEC industry, but there are key concepts we can apply in our workplace. In fact, many teams are already using some aspects of Scrum, whether they know it or not.

How You May Already be Using Scrum Principles

Scrum Project Management focuses on frequent check and adjust cycles, preventing the team from going too far down one path or procrastinating on progress before being corrected. Many engineering and architecture firms already practice a form of this by implementing submittal reviews at 30, 60, and 90% complete. The design team provides progress documents, such as drawings and specifications, to the client or governing agency at these milestones for review and to ensure the design meets expectations. However, on large effort projects, several months can pass between each milestone, leaving the design team with minimal direction in between. Frequent Scrum or Huddle meetings help keep the team focused on incremental progress toward the same goals.

Scrum

Project teams

Scrum Meetings or ‘Huddles’

Huddle meetings are the pulse of the team’s efforts. These brief and direct meetings are intentionally designed to drive team progress. Each team member reports on the following three updates:

[Read more…] about Scrum Techniques for Productive Project Teams (Part 2)

Adaptive Project Management with Scrum Techniques (Part 1)

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This is a guest post by Tevis Holzer, P.E.

Scrum Techniques

As the quantity and complexity of projects continue to rise across the industry, improving the efficiency for engineering teams is critical to meet demand. When current project demands already over-utilize staff, embracing the growth mindset required to provide career opportunities to staff can also be difficult. Efficiency gains relieve the pressure from current demands and open the doors to new markets and clients, which then provide career growth opportunities. Engineering teams have several buckets of resources to dip into to create efficiency, including People, Processes, and Tools.

A blend of these three resources is likely required to adapt and evolve with the industry. And as engineers, we are attracted to solving problems with Processes and Tools. Processes aid in streamlining tasks for similar projects but require significant effort to establish and maintain. Tools (e.g., innovative technology and software) often allow us to perform tasks faster but also require specialized staff and training. At first glance, we think of filling the People bucket by hiring more people. However, a trickling workforce pipeline and time-consuming onboarding for new hires can make this option unrealistic. This article series will focus on an often-overlooked portion of the People resource bucket: Team Collaboration. More specifically, this series explores how an approach to project management using Scrum techniques can create efficiencies and even reduce workplace stress.

Before digging into Scrum techniques of project management and how they promote collaboration, let’s establish some keys to fostering a collaborative environment. These keys seem obvious, but the consequences of their absence are detrimental. Like the three legs of a stool, these three keys are interdependent: collaboration will not occur without each of them.

1. Team

[Read more…] about Adaptive Project Management with Scrum Techniques (Part 1)