Agile Project Measurement · 2) Welcome to Agile Project Measurement What is the basis of success...

AgileProjectMeasurementContinuously improve projects based on a qualitative project status

Berlin, April 2020

All rights to the SPACE framework, the project analysis tool and described methods are an intellectual property of Kicktools. Feel free to copy and share this document as long as this notice remains in the document. For more information visit us at https://kick.tools

Contents

1) Management Summary 3 2) Welcome to Agile Project Measurement 4 3) The Missing Performance Indicator 5 4) Let’s Analyse a Project 6 5) The five Success Dimensions of Agile Projects 8 6) Continuous Improvement 11 7) The 20 Success Factors 12 8) Start you project analysis 17

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1) Management Summary How are your projects really going? How agile is your company? How can you support your teams focused and targeted? How can you promote self-learning? How can you improve your project’s performance?

Kicktools provides valid answers to all these questions. We measure the performance of projects in five dimensions based on 20 project success factors. The analysis bases on a self-assessment of the entire team plus selected stakeholders. The tool analyses the feedback and creates a qualitative and objective project status. It also provides a concrete list of improvement measures based on the current status.

Teams can use all generated insights and reports to analyze and discuss the project status within the tool, to learn and to find their individual list of improvement measures. The tool provides resources to support the implementation of the improvements. All improvements can be supported by internal and external coaches and consultants. Performance, improvement and progress becomes measurable.

The tool and the entire base framework can be adapted to your company, your corporate culture, your process and templates.


2) Welcome to Agile Project Measurement What is the basis of success in agile project management? How can you ensure that you drive projects to success? The answer is quite simple: Continuous improvement. The continuous loop of building, measuring and learning leads projects in the right direction.

But how does reality look like? 20% of all projects still fail and further 50% do not achieve their objectives. How can this happen when success is so easy? The answer is simple again: Projects do not make the needed time for improvement and do not have the right insights.

Insights build the basis for learning. You can only define the next best step if you can identify where you are standing right now. That’s where agile project measurement comes into place. We provide a tool that measures the qualitative status of agile projects. With this status you can manage your project portfolio, support your teams and continuously improve your project. Our tool also supports the improvement itself and identifies the best improvement measures for each project individually.

Let’s start The next chapter describes how the project status is measured. We then introduce the underlying framework starting in chapter 4 with the success dimensions of agile projects. Chapter 5 dives deeper into the process of continuous improvement. Chapter 6 describes how projects can be strengthened.

We really believe in continuous improvement and appreciate any feedback. If you have remarks, comments, ideas or questions do not hesitate to let us know: [email protected].


3) The Missing Performance Indicator We have seen that the basis of continuous improvement is knowing the current project status. Beside this, stakeholders often need to know the status, too, especially for the management of a project portfolio. Let’s recap how project statuses are created today and discover that there is a blind spot today.

The status report The most common and the most foolish way to get a project status is to request a status report from the team. Most big companies and many others manage their project portfolio this way. But no matter how this report may look like, it is a very limited, political and subjective view on the project.

Product Key Performance Indicators Good projects have well defined product KPIs accumulated on dashboards visible for everyone within the team. Such a command centre is a very profound basis for daily decisions and for learning. But what are they measuring? Mainly the performance of the solution the team is providing. Product KPIs can indicate the performance of the project only indirectly.

Project Key Performance Indicators Many projects have performance dashboards that report the team performance within their project management tools. The most common KPIs are burn down rates, velocity, cycle times and code coverage. These metrics are very useful because they give you daily insights into the project performance. Nevertheless these KPIs only represent the quantitive status of the project.

An objective and holistic project status How can you get an objective and qualitative status? This was exactly the question we started with. A project is a very complex system with many players, interests, motivations and mutual reactions. We set up a framework that represents project complexity and defines the five success dimensions of agile projects. We also developed a method to measure the success dimensions‘ rating in projects. Let’s see how a project status analysis works practically before we introduce the SPACE framework.


4) Let’s Analyse a Project The project analysis begins with an online survey. Each team member and selected stakeholders will be asked about their view on the project. The questions vary depending on the project’s maturity and the respondents‘ roles. Most questions provide multiple choice answers. A survey takes about 10-15 minutes. The logic within the tool combines all views to a qualitative, holistic and objective status.

The SPACE Project Score After all participants have completed the questionnaire, you will receive a link to the status report. First of all, you will see the SPACE Project Score. This indicates the ratings of the five success dimensions in the project. You can immediately grasp the overall status. It also defines a benchmark and brings your project in an objective relation to market standards. Chapter 4 will tell you more about the success dimensions.

The SPACE Project Radar The next metrics shows the SPACE Project Radar that represents the ratings of the success factors. The framework defines 20 of them, each driving one specific success dimensions. The Project Radar shows the strengths, weaknesses and deficits of the project in more detail. It additionally shows the convergence in the team. Non-alignment, conflicts, skill deficits and different fractions in a team will become visible.


Improvement Measures The analysis tool automatically creates a list of improvement measures based on the insights and derived data. The framework currently knows more than 150 measures and preselects the most suitable ones with a transparent score. The preselection helps you to stay focused.

You can additionally use the guided tour in the analysis. It will take you through the status and start a discussion that helps to find optimization potential and the right measures. Read more about improvements in chapter 5.

Further views The analysis provides additional views to better understand the status of the project. The detail view gives you further insights with concrete findings. The team view shows you where each individual in the team stands and where he or she needs support or advise.

Let’s go ahead and introduce the five success dimensions.


5) The five Success Dimensions of Agile Projects The framework behind the qualitative analysis is called SPACE. Each letter stands for one success dimension. If you know the ratings of all success dimensions, you can manage your project with focus. The success dimensions build on each other. The better the condition of the underlaying ones is, the better the overlaying ones will work.

Success Dimension System Every project is a system of actors. The term system describes the interactions and influences of the actors in the project. Actors in a system have a dynamic that drives the project on its own. The rating of the success dimensions system indicates the balance and condition of them.

All success dimensions contains success factors. System has eight of them, each representing one actor. Please take a quick look at the eight success factors in the image above. All success factors have impact on each other from top to bottom. The trend influences the market. The market influences the customer and so on. All dependencies and influences are part of the project score calculation logic.

Success Dimension Productivity A project with a solid system setup has the basis to likely become a productive project. Productivity stands for targeted performance. Targeted means clear objectives and continuous adaptions to learnings and changes in the dynamic surrounding. Performance means common goals, a clear picture of how to get there and a self-critical, focussed work mode.


Success Dimension Agility If the objectives and the focus is clear the project is ready for the agile work mode. All agile methods have the same basic principle: They are carried out in iterations. Within each iteration, a certain amount of tasks is completed in a defined time or with a defined throughput. The results are then checked, ideally by measurement.

At the end of each iteration, knowledge is drawn and measures for optimization are defined and implemented. Tasks and problems are tracked and solved. The better this machine runs, the faster projects can generate useful output.

Success Dimension Connection Stable, agile, well-positioned teams can connect with others to find partners and increase efficiency. Active networks boost awareness, integrate knowledge and accelerate. Well connected teams can focus on their core competencies and integrate parters for additional services and further opportunities. Networking is the basis of sustainable success.

Success Dimension Expansion Expansion consists of two dimensions, a strategic and an operational one. The strategic dimension describes the expansion goal, the operative dimension helps projects to manage their growth.


Operational growth needs a proper expansion strategy with clear objectives. Growth is usually associated with pains. New teams and members have to be integrated and built, productivity drops and the need for coordination increases.

Let’s recap The five success dimensions represent the qualitative project status. The status can be measured. The success dimensions are strengthened or weakened by success factors. All success factors are described in more detail in chapter 6.

We can adapt the framework to your projects We can customize and even create new success dimensions and success factors according to your need and your project types. This customization can also represent your company culture or your internal processes. Contact us.


6) Continuous Improvement Please welcome Ben. He is our improvement algorithm. Ben currently knows more than 150 proven methods and tools that support the daily work and improvement of agile teams. Based on the assessed project status, Ben can identify the most suitable measures to improve projects based on a given qualitative analysis. This helps the project to plan and conduct the right measures.

Improvement needs communication Once the analysis is done, the detail analysis provides deep insights into the project. This information can be used in a dialog. The dialog should have to parties involved: The project and a coach. The project may be represented by the lead, selected members, the entire team or an extended team with customer or further stakeholder. The coach can be experts from us, from your company or external coaches and agile experts. You can choose the option that fits your project and your company best. The detail view can be used as a guided tour through the project to commonly understand and discuss the status to define and plan improvements.

Conduct and measure improvements Sustainable success needs continuous improvement. We recommend a status analysis every quarter. When you plan your improvement measures with the precut analysis tool and continuously measure your status, you will not only get an updated status with next measurement. You will additionally get an objective indicator on how effective the selected measures have been. This helps you and the tool to learn and to better understand what works in your project context and what does not.

Extent the framework The entire framework is flexible and open. We can extend it with individual measures, tools and templates from your company. This adapts the tool to the processes, knowledge and standards of your company. We can integrate extensions exclusively as your protected property or as a common extension available as open source for everyone. We can also integrate and develop new success dimensions and success factors.


7) The 20 Success Factors This chapter is for you if you want to dive deeper into the SPACE framework. Let's move the next step and see each success factor a bit more detailed. This will help you to see how much the framework fits to your context. Feel free to skip forward to the last page of this document and see how you can start if you already have all information you need.

The Success Factors of System The project system describes the interactions and influences of the actors in the project. Every success factor stands for a question word. The trend for Where, the market for When and Where, the customer for What and the sponsor for Why. These four represent the external project system that affects the project but can not be influenced directly.

Under direct influence is the inner project system. The lead stands for How, the team for What, the members for Who and the task for Whereby. With a project analysis you can see in detail how well your project system works and where your conflicts and communication deficits lie. Let’s see the eight success factors:

Trend: The market follows trends The trend controls the market and thus the behavior of customers, competitors and prices. Every project is an investment in the future which turns the trend into a major influencer when deciding whether a project will pay off and which goals should be chosen.

Market: The market determines the rules There is no solution or product without a market and without competition. The market is the environment of the customer. It defines standards, best practices and experience patterns. You don't have to play by the rules of the market, but you have to know them - just like the competition out there.

Customer: The customer defines the benefit The customer defines the benefit, the "job to be done". There is no need for something with no clear benefit for the customer. The customer is the judge for projects. He should be fully integrated, clearly described and all assumptions about the customer questioned and tested.


Sponsor: Projects should start with a vision The project sponsor defines the starting point of the project, the vision and the resources. The project sponsor hardly ever works alone. Groups and people with different tasks and interests can stand next to and behind him. He is influenced by many factors, which he will keep away from the team if he is working well.

Lead: Work needs to be organized Good teams organize themselves. Nevertheless, every project needs an organizational management to define the work organization. If this is not clear, binding and agreed in coordination with the team, a lot of energy is lost through misunderstandings and reactive power.

Team: A project is as strong as its team The team is the sum of the skills of all members and therefore the sole product expert. A team is more than a group of people. It is a complex structure of cooperating and also competing individuals who want to achieve a common goal with each other and complementary. Forming teams, recognizing conflicts and working out strengths is essential project work.

Member: Projects are made by people A team member is primarily a person and therefore an individual personality with all its strengths and weaknesses. They all deliver their skills, performance and quality. Roles and tasks should always be based on people's motivation and interests.

Tasks: Prioritize your tasks and use a task management tool A project, if reduced to a minimum, is a list of tasks that need to be accomplished in quality in the right order at the right time. The better the team performs in prioritizing, managing and conducting tasks, the more successful it is. Tasks need to be clearly defined and properly managed to ensure adequate quality assurance and an appropriate solution space. Without a task management system, you won't be able to control a larger project.

The Success Factors of Productivity Productive is to be understood with two meanings: targeted and performant. Goals are a dynamic system because they are subject to the influences of the project system, reflecting the reality. Productivity means knowing and adapting goals, approaching them in a self-critical and focused manner in a lean setup.


Targeted: Those who know their objectives will find their way Objective management is a continuous adjustment according to the obtained knowledge. Projects need short, medium and long-term goals and the short to medium term goals need to be adjusted continuously. The adjustment should be based on measurable facts. Proper objects transform teams in conquerors.

Lean: Focus your energy Focus means pooling strength and efficiently pursuing a common, clear goal. Success is flexibility and speed. Both can best be reached lean. In order to work in a focused manner, a lean way of working must be deeply anchored in the minds and in the organization.

Challenging: Self-criticism and assumptions Self-criticism stands for the permanent questioning of decisions and the way ahead. Every project becomes operationally blind over time. Teams overestimate themselves and develop a certain arrogance. Good projects break this vicious circle. Self-criticism is based on assumptions and questions. Working with hypotheses should be part of everyday work.

Efficient: Avoid waste Efficiency assesses how well measures are suitable to achieve a given goal in a certain way. Efficiency means not only doing the right things, but also doing things right. For the efficiency analysis one considers the relationship between result and effort in time, cost and quality. "Done is better than perfect" is the motto of agile work.

The Success Factors of Agility The basis of agile work is continuous iterations with permanent learning, transparent rules and clearly prioritized tasks. An agile team demands the necessary resources and the necessary flexibility. Agility requires discipline and a firm position.

Build: Control projects At the heart of every project is the actual solution creation. The project team develops the product or solution step by step. For this, the team needs a control framework, rules and transparency.


Measure: Measure success Good projects continuously measure their performance. Key performance indicators must be clearly defined and results accessible to everyone. Assumptions can only be checked, clear decisions can only be made and factual discussions can only be held based on objective metrics.

Learn: Learn continuously Learning is the basis of continuous improvement. Every project has to find its way to gain and share knowledge. Ceremonies (like retrospectives and daily stand-ups) and knowledge sources (like wikis and dashboards) are a good starting point.

Track: Track topics Projects often have no awareness but an implementation problem. Many topics are recognized, tasks are planned and a need for decisions is formulated. Still, it must be ensured that the topics are processed in a prioritized and structured manner.

The Success Factors of Connection Those who network as a well-positioned team increase their chances of success. There are two basic approaches of networking: The project can use and create third party offerings, or the project actively searches for and negotiates partnerships.

Open: Use what’s already there and offer services Opening up means finding new opportunities and generating knowledge. Opening up can make new partnerships and new business models possible. The range of measures is huge. Opening up saves time, limits effort, supports others. The economy is a network. Be a part of it.

Connect: Support partners Every project needs partners, internally and externally. Networking creates trust, brings awareness, opens up business potential and ensures success. Everyone within the project should find its role for networking, initiating and maintaining partnerships.


The Success Factors of Expansion Sustainably networked and well-positioned teams are ready for growth based on strategic goals and an operational and agile growth management.

Expand: Plan growth strategically In a problem-oriented expansion, the team has to grow because the success or the requirements increase. An opportunity-oriented expansion is based on the assumption that more customers, more market shares or new markets can be won. Growth has to be planned strategically in speed, regions, objectives and conditions.

Grow: Grow agile The larger a team is or the more teams there are, the greater the chaos. Chaos supports creativity and helps to find alternative solutions but it also reduces productivity and performance. Growth is ideally organized in an agile manner in continuous iterations with learning cycles and clear and measurable goals.

Phew As you can see there are many aspects, dependencies, mutual interactions and tools in the framework. You can dive deep into it but you don’t need to. The project analysis identifies the areas which need improvement, sets focus and comes with concrete recommendations and results.

Want to start? Let’s move to the last chapter.


8) Start you project analysis Let's move from theory to practice. The best way to see the impact and the insights of our analysis is a trial. If you would like to analyze the status of a project, you can get started right away. Just go to

https://kick.tools/cost-and-order/

If you have further questions, remarks, comments or ideas please contact us at [email protected] or kick.tools/contact-us/.

You’ll find additional information on our website: https://kick.tools

Thanks for reading.

Frank Löhr [email protected]


mailto:[email protected]

http://kick.tools/contact-us

https://kick.tools

mailto:[email protected]

Agile Project Measurement · 2) Welcome to Agile Project Measurement What is the basis of success...

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