PMI Community Development
PMI Forum
Business Plan Template
Agile Forum
Year 1
VERSION 1.0
Document Owner:
Version:
Status
Document storage:
PMI GOC
Version 1.2
Final
PMI GOC
Date of preparation:
Date of last modification
2008.08.04
2016.03.06
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Content
1.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................... 4
1.1.
1.2.
1.3.
1.4.
2.
ENVIRONMENT SUMMARY .................................................................................................... 4
COMMUNITY NEEDS AND DRIVERS........................................................................................ 4
STRATEGIES FOR VALUE DELIVERY ...................................................................................... 4
OUTCOME METRICS............................................................................................................. 4
COMMUNITY CHARACTERISTICS ........................................................................................ 4
2.1. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS.................................................................................................. 4
2.1.1.
Agile Is Not New ........................................................................................................ 4
2.1.2.
Agile in the Media ...................................................................................................... 4
2.1.3.
Size (Agile Associations and Certifications) .............................................................. 5
2.1.4.
Growth Rate ............................................................................................................... 5
Major Industries ( .............................................................................................................. 6
2.1.5.
Agile is Not Just for IT Anymore) ............................................................................... 6
2.1.6.
Basic State of Project Management .......................................................................... 6
2.2. KEY STAKEHOLDERS ........................................................................................................... 7
2.2.1.
Universities/Colleges ................................................................................................. 7
2.2.2.
PMI REPs and other PM Education Providers .......................................................... 7
2.2.3.
Significant Employers in the Area of Focus ............................................................... 8
2.2.4.
Other PM Organizations ............................................................................................ 8
2.2.5.
Other Associations/Organizations/Government Agencies ......................................... 8
2.3. CONSIDERATIONS ................................................................................................................ 8
2.3.1.
Legal Considerations (Intellectual Property, Contracts, etc. ***Required for
Transitioning Communities Only) ............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.3.2.
Cultural Considerations.............................................................................................. 8
2.3.3.
Ethical Considerations ............................................................................................... 9
2.3.4.
Other Considerations ................................................................................................. 9
3.
ENVIRONMENTAL NEEDS AND DRIVERS........................................................................... 9
4.
COMMUNITY PURPOSE....................................................................................................... 10
4.1.
4.2.
4.3.
4.4.
4.5.
4.6.
COMMUNITY NAME: ........................................................................................................... 11
COMMUNITY FOCUS:.......................................................................................................... 11
COMMUNITY VALUE TO MEMBERS: ...................................................................................... 11
COMMUNITY VALUE TO VOLUNTEERS: ................................................................................. 11
COMMUNITY VALUE TO OTHER PMI COMMUNITIES: .............................................................. 12
COMMUNITY VALUE TO PMI: .............................................................................................. 12
5.
SWOT ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................. 13
6.
PLAN FOR VALUE DELIVERY:............................................................................................ 13
6.1. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ............................................................................................... 13
6.1.1.
Plan to attract and retain community members ....................................................... 13
6.1.2.
Plan to recruit and develop volunteers .................................................................... 14
6.1.3.
Plan to collaborate with similar or closely related communities............................... 15
6.1.4.
Membership level impacts for proposed and existing communities ........................ 15
6.1.5.
Outreach Plan .......................................................................................................... 16
6.2. COMMUNITY OBJECTIVES................................................................................................... 17
6.2.1.
Year 1 Priorities ....................................................................................................... 23
6.2.2.
Year 2 Priorities ....................................................................................................... 23
6.2.3.
Year 3 Priorities ....................................................................................................... 23
6.3. PROGRAMS, INITIATIVES, TARGETS, AND METRICS .............................................................. 23
6.4. OPERATIONS ..................................................................................................................... 29
6.4.1.
Website .................................................................................................................... 29
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6.4.2.
Communications ...................................................................................................... 29
6.5. ORGANIZATION .................................................................................................................. 30
6.5.1.
Organization Structure ............................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
6.5.2.
Community Administration ....................................................................................... 31
6.5.3.
Founding Members/Steering Team (Option for Newly Forming Communities). Error!
Bookmark not defined.
7.
BUDGET ................................................................................................................................ 36
OPERATIONAL BUDGET – YEAR 1 (FOR NEWLY FORMING COMMUNITIES, STARTUP PLUS 1ST
YEAR) ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
7.2. OPERATIONAL BUDGET – YEAR 2 ....................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
7.3. OPERATIONAL BUDGET – YEAR 3 ....................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
7.1.
8.
LAUNCH PLAN ..................................................................................................................... 36
9.
RISKS..................................................................................................................................... 38
10.
APPENDIX : REFERENCE AND SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS ..................................... 42
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1. Executive Summary
The purpose of this document is to provide the community and PMI with information to help
assess the needs of the community and create a plan to effectively deliver value to the
membership and stakeholders of PMI through the community.
1.1.
Environment Summary
Interest in adoption of Agile practices is large and growing. Section 2.2.5 provides a list of some
fortune 500 companies using Agile practices. Additionally, many companies are considering
adapting Agile practices. In one survey, over 50% of companies not already using Agile practices
have interest in adapting these practices. A large number of Agile practitioners are project
managers – in the Agile 2008 conference, 18% of the attendees were project managers, the
largest single category of attendees.
1.2.
Community Needs and Drivers
1.3.
Strategies for Value Delivery
1.4.
Outcome Metrics
2. Community Characteristics
2.1.
Environmental Analysis
2.1.1. Agile Is Not New
According to Gartner Inc., Agile has 'formally' been around since 1994, with the
publishing of DSDM. Other methods, like Scrum and Extreme Programming, have been
around since the mid-1990s. The advent of the Agile Manifesto in 2001 put the Agile
methods collectively on the map. Carey Schwaber, of Forrester, stated in August of 2007
that "more than half of the enterprises not already using Agile practices are interested in
adopting them." [need proper reference: Enterprise Agile Adoption in 2007, Forrester]
2.1.2. Agile in the Media
"Most large IT organizations are using Agile in some capacity whether the management
team knows it or not," said Charlie Rudd, CEO, SolutionsIQ. "The shift we have seen
recently is that Agile is now appearing on the CIO's agenda as a top-down initiative in
many organizations, which has major implications for existing project management and
development processes. This has IT directors trying to set a course that embraces
application development's aspirations to become more Agile while simultaneously
meeting IT management and business stakeholder demands for transparency and control
of the portfolio, resource, and financial management functions." - Charlie Rudd, CEO
SolutionsIQ in Serena Software Offers New Agile in the Enterprise Program to Enable
Successful Agile Adoption [BusinessWire, August 1, 2007:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2007_August_1/ai_n27329144/pg_2?tag=a
rtBody;col1]
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Agile is listed on CNN's The 50 Who Matter Now, a list of people, products, trends and
ideas that are transforming the world of business.
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/biz2/0706/gallery.50whomatter.biz2/33.html
2.1.3. Size (Agile Associations and Certifications)
The following data represent premier Agile organizations' memberships as of this
document’s creation
Agile Association
Scrum Alliance
Agile Alliance
Agile Project Leadership
Network
DSDM Consortium
Attendance (as of 9/25/2008)
30,000+
5,600+
600+
[awaiting]
Of particular interest to the Agile Forum is the 2008 VersionOne State of the Agile
Industry Survey. This year’s survey indicates that Project Managers comprise the single
largest category of Agile practitioners that are actively engaged in the industry (18%).
To date, nearly 40,000 Agile certifications have been awarded. Below is a listing of the
most popular certifications;








Certified Scrum Master (CSM)
Certified Scrum Practitioner (CSP)
Certified Scrum Trainer (CST)
Certified Scrum Coach (CSC)
DSDM Foundation
DSDM Practitioner
DSDM Trainer/Coach/Executive
DSDM Consultant
There is currently no measurement available of how many certified Agile practitioners
also hold PMI credentials.
2.1.4. Growth Rate
The number and frequency of gatherings to support an offering indicates the maturing
market for that offering. Agile conferences, gatherings and workshops [both profit and
non-profit] are prevalent the world over. Below are the most prominent examples






Agile200x
SD StarWest/East
SQE Development Practices
Better Software Agile Conference
ScrumAlliance Scrum Gathering (US and abroad)
XP Germany
As one example, the conferences conducted by the Agile Alliance have grown in recent
years to attract registrations that mirror rival any other conference on technology project
methods.
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Conf erences by Agile Alliance
1800
Registered Attendees
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
Agile200x
600
Agile Development
400
XP Agile Universe
200
0
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Years
2.1.5. Major Industries (Agile is Not Just for IT Anymore)
Other developments point to a growing interest in Agile outside the technology industry:



The significant alignment between Agile and Lean disciplines. The well-known
success of Lean disciplines in the automobile, manufacturing, and retailing
industries illustrates the potential.
More published articles which explore the tailoring of Agile to innovative
adoptions, such as Business Process Reengineering projects.
Anecdotal evidence of increased attendance by non-IT professional at the varied
Agile conferences.
2.1.6. Basic State of Project Management
There is no clear consensus on the role of project management within the Agile community.
Viewpoints range from the irrelevance of formal project management within a high performing
team to
 There is no role or need for project management within Agile product
development, because a high-performing team generates the results that
process is intended to generate.
 There is some value to project management within Agile environments, to
address whatever risks or obstacles are identified by the team.
 The entire value of Agile comes from a value-based approach to project
management, and the two cannot be distinguished.
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Both the nuance and the fervor associated with this debate are driven by practitioner
experiences. Whether positive or negative, these experiences lead to stereotypes that undermine
the success of PMI members to deliver project results. A key element of the Forum’s mission is to
equip members with the right tools to articulate to skeptics what Agile project management is and
is not.
2.2.
Key Stakeholders
2.2.1. General body of Project Managers
Agile principles, practices, and techniques affect how work is done and how it is managed. As
such, one key set of stakeholders for the Agile Forum are those project managers leading Agile
development projects. Other management stakeholders include program managers and
program/project management offices (PMO).
Existing project managers and PMOs have a need to understand Agile practices and techniques,
and how these Agile practices can be blended into existing project management practices, both
for individual development and to refine organization wide practices.
2.2.2. Other Agile Professional Organizations
There is a large body of Agile Professional Organizations (see Section 2.1.3). These
organizations are actively
 Extending the Agile body of knowledge
 Training and mentoring Agile practitioners including, programmers, testers, line managers
and project managers.
 Promoting Agile practices and techniques
For the Agile forum these organizations are a key source of:
 Knowledge and training materials on Agile principles and practices
 Speakers and presenters at various education opportunities
 Potential new members for PMI
2.2.3. Universities/Colleges
Universities and Colleges have existing Project Management curriculums – from courses and
certificates to complete degree programs. Additionally, they are offering Agile courses (examples
below) in their continuing education programs in Agile topics including project management.
Limited research exists around the demonstrated effectiveness of Agile project management
practices. An opportunity exists for the Agile Forum to collaborate with Universities and Colleges
to develop more formal research into the area of Agile Project Management.
Example Agile Project Management Programs
 University of Wisconsin Milwaukee http://www3.uwm.edu/sce/course.cfm?id=10545
 New York University http://www.scps.nyu.edu/course-detail/X52.8642/20091/Agileproject-management
2.2.4. PMI REPs and other PM Education Providers
PMI REPs and other PM education providers are already beginning to deliver Agile training as
part of their courses. As Agile project management techniques become more widely practiced,
these education providers will need to update their core project management training materials to
reflect
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The Agile Forum has an opportunity to work with education providers to update their course
materials (both core and supplemental) to reflect Agile principles and practices
2.2.5. Significant Employers in the Area of Focus
According to VersionOne CEO Robert Holler at the Agile Project Leaders Summit Atlanta 2007,
the following are employers that have adopted Agile either on a large scale or for noteworthy
projects
 Allstate
 Adobe
 America Online
 Canon
 eBAY
 EA Games
 FannieMae
 Fidelity Investments
 Hewlett-Packard
 GE
 Gap Inc. Direct
 Google
 Lockheed Martin
 Medtronic
 Ratheon
 Siemens
 Symantec
 Yahoo!
2.2.6. Other PM Organizations
Within the PMI space, there are approximately 40,000 members of Special Interest Groups. The
Information Systems SIG and the Information Technology and Telecommunications SIG have
roughly 12,000 and 6,000 members respectively. Both of these communities have already
demonstrated a level of engagement with Agile practices through support of presentations at
Congress, speakers they have brought in and webinars they have led. There is a demonstrated
hunger for Agile project management within these components.
2.2.7. Government Agencies
A Feb 2008 survey by Scott Ambler (http://www.ambysoft.com/surveys/agileFebruary2008.html)
had responses from 44 government organizations, with 25 of these organization having adopted
Agile techniques. This represents a fairly significant penetration of Agile practices into
government organizations.
2.3.
Considerations
2.3.1. Cultural Considerations
There are significant differences between the culture of the PMI community and the various Agile
Communities. In bridging the gap between the PMI and Agile worlds, care will need to be taken
around how the cultures are introduced and the relationships that are established. Open Space
talks provide a great example of this. They are a matter of course at Agile gatherings, but have
never been done in a PMI conference. The extent to which we are able to blend the more
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formalized PMI culture with the more organic nature of the Agile culture will have a direct impact
on our ability to succeed with the development of this new community.
2.3.2. Ethical Considerations
Whether in leadership or participation of the community, the Agile Forum will make no distinction
among PMI members who may also hold memberships in other Agile organizations. However, it
will be expected that those who do hold multiple memberships will support the overall mission of
PMI to promote the Project Management profession, and help organizations attribute mission
success to Project Management.
2.3.3. Other Considerations
Significant concern exists within the Agile community that Agile Forum will signify a PMI objective
to “take over” the Agile market. Much of the concern is based on misconceptions over the mission
of PMI, and the intent of its offerings to members. Some of these perceived risks include, but are
not limited to the following:
 PMI asserting itself as the final authority on Agile
 PMI issuing an Agile credential
 PMPs assuming and asserting they are “Agile certified”, by virtue of Agile Forum’s
existence
 The industry perception of Agile to “just another methodology”
 A dramatic increase in projects adopting Agile practices prematurely or poorly, without
sufficient training and accountability
3. 3. Environmental Needs and Drivers
Community needs and drivers were initially assessed using expert judgment from a panel of
experienced project managers. These needs and drivers were then combined with an early
membership survey of 46 responses from the formation-era community members; most
respondents were Advancing (26% with 5-10 years of PM experience; or Sr. Practitioners with
over 10 years of experience (52%). (Note from our last iteration meeting – PMI had an action
item to provide additional information about Sr. Practitioners and how to target them).
The Green Movement. “Green” is a phrase used to describe an environmentally sensitive and
sustainable approach to product development and delivery. Agile approaches fit nicely into the
green model due to their emphasis on the elimination of waste in the process. Many Agile
practices are proven to be more resource efficient and more effective in product delivery: the
reduction of unnecessary documentation, iterative deliveries of product increments that allow for
change with less delay, the use of generalized specialists on Agile teams, and the collaborative
decision-making power of the team are just a few examples. This is part of what has driven the
growth of Agile adoptions – its ability to produce more, sooner, with less waste.
The Economy. With many national economies currently in a depressed state, business owners,
government agencies, and non-profits will be looking for ways to do more with less and to ensure
their investments quickly result in additional business value. Agile’s focus on being lean helps
these businesses to eliminate waste and realize a greater ROI as a result. This interest will not be
limited to times of poor economic indicators, however. As it was prior to the economic downturn,
interest in Agile approaches will continue to grow as a result of its ability to guide teams in getting
the product to market faster. In our global economy with its expansion of competition, getting a
quality product to market first can increase the speed to value and revenue realization. 28% of
survey respondents indicated that their organizations were considering implementing Agile
methods; and 22% indicated that their organizations were affected by the economy and
subsequently embracing lean techniques.
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Leadership Training. In keeping with PMI’s Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, an
emphasis on ethics and values and the importance of leadership is required. Agile approaches
move beyond a focus on process and tools and instead stress the importance of vision, values,
transparency and leadership. As part of PMI’s mission to create a “better prepared project
management workforce for the future,” this focus on leadership is critical. Successful delivery on
Agile projects requires fully participative leadership styles rather than traditional command-andcontrol management styles. As a result, part of learning about Agile project management is
learning about how to become a better leader. Skills such as listening, diplomacy, facilitation,
conflict resolution, consensus building, empowering teams and effective decision-making are all
required skills of Agile project managers. 98% of survey respondents expressed interest in topics
on leadership in Agile projects.
Project Management Execution. An additional driver for solid information about Agile in the PMI
community is the dramatic increase in projects adopting Agile practices prematurely or poorly,
without sufficient training and accountability. Many who adopt Agile are expecting to simply
exchange one set of practices for another, when the reality is that successful adoptions extend
beyond the practices to the adoption of cultural change, new leadership styles, organizational
change, and often a new value system. This trend is supported by numerous comments from the
membership survey.
Growth of Interest in Agile Within PMI. There is both anecdotal and metric evidence that there
exists a strong and growing interest in Agile by PMI members. Project Managers are
appropriately interested in every tool, technique or approach available for achieving project
success, and as the use of Agile expands, it follows that PMI members want this knowledge as
well. Agile is a huge draw at the PMI Congresses, SeminarsWorld, and continues to be a hot
topic at local chapters. It is also true that if Agile information is not available within PMI, members
will find it elsewhere. For example: average attendance at monthly meetings of the Bay Area
Agile Project leadership Network in San Francisco has grown from 10-15 to 60-70 in the last two
years; the average number of PMI members attending these meetings has grown from 1 to 1015. It is evident that there are an increasing number of organizations attempting to go through a
fundamental change in how their solutions are designed, developed and delivered due to the
emergence of Agile. PMI should be at the forefront helping organizations to enhance and
accelerate organizational change - driving innovation, improving bottom line performance, and
strengthening competitive advantage.
Opportunity to Strengthen PMI’s Ability to Achieve Its Mission. The upside to our
membership from addressing Agile approaches within the context of the PMBOK is tremendous.
PMI has at the ready an extensive network where information can be shared. Rather than
searching out Agile community forums and user groups, PMI members can hear first hand from
PMI on the effect of Agile on the role of the PM. By addressing the Agile methods in light of the
role of the PM, practitioners will be drawn to PMI, increasing our membership rate. The upside to
the increasing community of Agilists is that a renowned, mature organization such as PMI can
lend credibility to Agile methods, voice opinions and provide valuable insight into the role of the
PM on Agile teams and increase overall solution delivery effectiveness. This is supported by the
39% of survey respondents who indicated that they would like to better understand how to apply
PMBOK principles in an Agile environment.
4. Community Purpose
The purpose of the community is driven by two primary attributes: The community’s focus and
the value that it provides. The identification of the focusing point of all of the efforts of the
community is critical. The values that it provides to its stakeholders are the factors that allow it to
be worthwhile to the project management community at large. Much like a business that only
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stays in business when it has a value to return to its stakeholders, a community with no value to
its membership and other stakeholders will soon be struggling to remain viable.
4.1.
Community Name:
The community being formed will be named: Agile Forum
4.2.
Community Focus:
The Agile Forum will focus on delivering knowledge and providing a forum for virtual
networking for stakeholders interested in, working in, or impacted by developments in the
collection of good practices, principles, and techniques in Agile approaches to project
management. Specifically, this community hopes to explore the relationship of “Agile”
principles and practices to those of PMI, and how they may differ from or complement the
teachings within the PMBOK® Guide.
Significant focus will also be invested to promote mutual understanding and awareness of
the common goals shared by PMI and Agile practitioners. In order for both PMI and Agile
memberships to reach their fullest potential, lingering stereotypes must be directly
addressed and overcome.
4.3.
Community Value to members:
The membership of the Agile Forum will find value within the first year in the following
ways:
 Understand what Agile is and what it is not
o Learn about the Agile Manifesto and its associated principles and values
o Learn about common misconceptions about Agile
o Learn about the different Agile frameworks, practices and tools
o Learn about the benefits of Agile
o Learn about the (new) roles and responsibilities of each Agile team
member
 Develop a shared lexicon via a mapping of PMI terminology to Agile terminology
 Meet others who are using Agile
o Network
o Share lessons learned, approaches, and techniques
 Expand the knowledge base of Agile project management principles and
practices
 Provide outreach to the non-PM focused Agile community in order to provide
them with tools and techniques that will enable them to manage their work better
and ideally, find their way towards the good practices that members of this group
are working to promote. (The community may be stronger if it can be a two way
bridge between the Agile and PM worlds.)
Provide novice Agile project managers a new set of techniques and tools to use on their
real world projects in addition to their traditional PMBOK® Guide based techniques
4.4.
Community Value to volunteers:
The volunteers of the Agile Forum will find value within the first year in the following
ways:
 Network with Agilists who have years of experience
 Discover new ways to share their experiences with a broader base
 Truly make a difference in the lives of project managers who are curious about
Agile or who need help with their Agile adoption
 Get involved at the beginning of a most likely very popular PMI component
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


4.5.
Establish themselves as leaders in the movement to help spread the value of
Agile practices for project managers
Learn new techniques with real world examples
Increase the marketability of members who, through their involvement in the
Agile Forum, can apply their learning in both Agile and non-Agile environments
Community Value to other PMI communities:
Other PMI communities will find value in the Agile Forum through the following activities
and services:
 Any community that is involved in technology project management will benefit
from learning about Agile via the Agile Forum’s various chapter speaking events,
round tables, and newsletters
 As more projects are adopting Agile techniques and principles, the Agile Forum
can provide a point of reference to the PMI communities to begin or deepen their
research into Agile
 Explore the relevance of applying Agile principles and practices to other PMI
interest areas.
 Learn from the successes and setbacks associated with launching a new
community using PMI’s component Governance Framework
4.6.
Community Value to PMI:
Through the formation of the Agile Forum, PMI will find value through the following:
o Re-establish that the PMBOK® Guide does not advocate any one particular
methodology
o Reconcile the traditional and Agile project management communities
o Revitalize the project management community with Agile’s new way of looking at
how teams can work together in a sustainable and fulfilling fashion
o Emphasize the importance of ethics, values, and the code of conduct, regardless
of the approach being used (Agile or non-Agile)
Alignment to PMI Strategy will be demonstrated through the following:
o The mapping of Agile practices to PMBOK® Guide knowledge areas
o The mapping of PMBOK Guide knowledge areas to Agile practices
o The emphasis on ethics and values in the use of Agile approaches, as also
outlined in the PMI’s Code of Conduct
o The Growth in PMI membership resulting from Agile interest
o Annual reporting on core services through the SAPR cycle
4.7.
Community Value to other stakeholders:
Through the formation of the Agile Forum, the following stakeholders will find value:
 The broader Agile community will be encouraged to join PMI to experience the
benefits mentioned above
 Other Agile Project Management associations will have a single organizational
point of contact for interacting with PMI on Agile concepts and practices. These
organizations include, but are not limited to the Agile Project Leadership
Network (APLN), Scrum Alliance, Agile Alliance, and the DSDM Consortium.
 Other Agile practitioners will have access to a larger market for Agile training,
products, and consulting.
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5. SWOT Analysis
5.1.

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

Increasing awareness of and usage of Agile techniques has generated a desire for more
information and training within the PMI community
Current recession and associated job cut-backs has increased emphasis on delivering
more value (e.g., shorter project timeframes, higher quality functionality) with fewer
resources.
PMI can provide resources (e.g., process, technical, credibility) for forming the Agile
Forum.
As the first community formed under the Virtual Community Program (VCP), Agile Forum
will receive support and visibility from PMI.
Organizational support from Agile organizations and companies.
Organizational support from PMI components such as the IT&T and Information Systems
Special Interest Groups (SIGs).
Interest from chapters to support local outreach efforts for the Forum.
5.2.






Strengths
A strong steering committee made up of experts on both PMBOK and Agile techniques
including a number of members who hold both Project Management Professional (PMP)
and Certified Scrum Master (CSM) certifications
Growing momentum of interest in Agile project management at the chapter level.
5.4.

Threats
Perception by members of both the PMI and Agile communities that the PMBOK is
relevant to only the subset of projects that PMI supports only waterfall style projects.
This perception can undermine practitioners wishing to use Agile and/or PMBOK
techniques on a given project.
The PMI Agile Forum may be perceived as attempting to co-opt or dilute Agile
techniques.
Evolving VCP process may require extra effort from the Steering Committee and or may
adversely impact formation of the Agile Forum.
SIGs that do not support the new VCP model may take their membership to form one or
more new organizations.
5.3.

Opportunities
Weaknesses
Limited number of members (102 on the yahoo forum) 6-8 active in the postings and
working on the Business plan.
Group’s experience is predominantly software development and IT. May not have
experiences relevant to other project management fields.
6. Plan for Value Delivery:
6.1.
Community Development
6.1.1. Plan to attract and retain community members
The approach to attracting and retaining the PMI Agile community membership is based
on an organic growth model. This organic growth model consists of the following three
stages, which are further described below:
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PMI Community Development



Recruit and develop volunteers to build a strong core team
Leverage volunteers to collaborate with related communities
Outreach to increase awareness within PMI and related communities
Outreach to increase awareness
Collaborate with related communities
Recruit and develop volunteers
6.1.2. Plan to recruit and develop volunteers
A key element to membership recruitment is to provide professionals with meaningful
volunteer opportunities. PMI members are interested in furthering their skills and
experience base, and as such are more likely to be drawn to a community that provides
many chances to contribute to a mission of impact. To achieve a sustainable momentum,
the PMI Agile Forum will initially focus its recruitment in two categories:

Community Leadership – Project Management professionals are motivated by
the need for strong leadership. Whether the tasks are vision casting, strategic
planning, or logistical support, PMI members will be drawn to formally defined
roles in high-profile components. For example, during the formation process, the
forum drew significant response to its call for a formal Steering Committee. As
VCP’s first formation community, focused on an increasingly popular Agile
market space, the forum will provide high-profile that environment to grow one’s
skills and experiences.
For individuals looking to gain practical experience using Agile methodologies,
the PMI Agile community will offer a unique opportunity for individuals who do not
have the opportunity to explore this avenue in their current job. The work of the
community would be conducted using the Agile values and practices it espouses,
offering all community members the opportunity to practice and learn in a safe
environment.
The formal roles currently under consideration are described in the section of this
document dedicated to Operations.

VERSION 1.0
Knowledge Leadership – The relationship of Agile/Lean management theory to
the PMBOK has drawn considerable attention. Authors and speakers from both
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PMI Community Development
the Agile and PMI markets have been examining the underlying concepts and
principles that drive the respective schools of thought. The forum will facilitate the
ongoing discussion of and research into these topics as follows:
o Offering formal online publication opportunities on the Forum. The Forum
website can organize and highlight its knowledge content as syndicated
columns, blog postings, peer-reviewed articles, or recorded
presentations.
o
Matching qualified speakers to high-profile venues. The Forum will
maintain a list of knowledge experts that have been screened and
qualified by the community. That speaker list will be offered as a
resource to PMI chapters, branches, SIGs, and other components that
may be looking for such experts.
o
Posting a list of publication and speaking opportunities. The Forum will
make known to community members specific knowledge events that
relate most directly to the PMI Agile community. This will encourage
more PMI members to present at Agile conferences, and more Agile
experts to publish in PMI publications.
6.1.3. Plan to collaborate with similar or closely related communities
The PMI Agile community will not focus on hosting its own, independent events. Rather,
the Forum will be focused more on facilitating interaction and collaboration between
established PMI and Agile communities. These collaborations will create more value
opportunities, more awareness, and more buzz than the Forum would be able to create
on its own. These efforts are categorized as follows:
 Facilitate the interaction between PMI and Agile organizations at the global
levels, to offer valuable presentations, tables and interactive workshops at
conferences and congresses throughout the year.
 Facilitate the formal partnership of PMI chapters and local Agile organizations
such as Agile Project Leadership Network (APLN), Software Process
Improvement Network (SPIN), and Scrum User Groups.
 Collaborate with other PMI SIGs to provide Agile experts and knowledge to their
specific domain.
 Engage larger corporations who have chartered internal Agile interest groups,
such as the Hewlett Packard Agile SIG.
 Encourage the cross-pollination of community leaders and thought leaders in
PMI and Agile organizations.
To date, this model has proven successful on an informal basis during the recent past:
 In early 2008, The Washington DC chapters of both PMI and the Agile Project
Leadership Network have a strategic partnership in place to promote awareness
of project management best practices within each other’s membership
 In August of 2008, Dallas, Texas chapter of PMI collaborated with the Dallas
chapter of the APLN to offer an Agile track at the annual University of Texas
Project Management Symposium.
 In the fall of 2008, The Information Technology & Telecommunications SIG
collaborated with the Scrum Alliance to offer a webinar series on Agile and
Scrum methods.
 The Steering Committee includes former board members of the Agile Alliance
and the Agile Project Leadership Network. These Steering Committee members
will provide relationships and insights into collaborating with those organizations.
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PMI Community Development

The annual North American Scrum Gathering is one of the premier Agile events
in the world. In 2009, the Gathering will offer a dedicated PMI track.
With the strong relationships represented within the community, the Forum will continue
the success of this model on a broader scale.
6.1.4. Membership level impacts for proposed and existing communities
There are over 40,000 registered Agile practitioners, the largest segments of which are
Project Managers. There are no measurements as to how many Agile practitioners are
also PMPs or PMI members. Accordingly, there are no reliable forecasts for how many
new members PMI will attract simply by launching the PMI Agile Forum. The Forum will
need PMI to provide a mechanism for tracking how many new PMI members were
recruited as a result of community efforts.
The Forum’s regional grassroots outreach is expected to yield an increase in
membership for PMI chapters. By engaging regional Agile communities, PMI will increase
awareness of its value to project leaders, who will in turn seek those valuable services.
Finally, the successful execution by the Forum will also provide much needed confidence
to transitioning PMI components. By demonstrating that VCP governance can support a
high-profile community, the Forum can indirectly help retain current PMI members, who
would otherwise be discouraged by the challenges of transition.
6.1.5. Outreach Plan
As described in the preceding sections, the Forum will develop a strong community
foundation from volunteerism and collaborative relationships. With this strong foundation
in place, the Forum will then be able to increase awareness of the community within both
the PMI and Agile markets. This will be accomplished through the following channels:
Event Presence – The Forum will host a presence at major global conferences. This
may include the PMI Global Congress, the Agile Alliance conference, and the Scrum
Gatherings. By sponsoring a booth presence at these events, practitioners already highly
invested in their careers will be made aware of the PMI Agile community.
Regional Grassroots – The Forum will facilitate awareness at the regional level by
working with smaller, regional organizations. For example, each region that has a
partnership between PMI and Agile organizations will promote the Forum as a joint
resource. In addition, a global perspective will be incorporated in outreach efforts. The
Forum will promote regional awareness in North America, EMEA, Latin America, and the
Pacific coast as well
An additional opportunity exists to aid the chartering and formation of chapter branches
and local interest groups dedicated to Agile Project Management. Already, interest exists
for a Luxembourg Local Interest Group.
Netroots – A variety of online networking tools can be leveraged to engage practitioners
not yet registered with. Provided they are governed properly, free tools such as LinkedIn,
Facebook, Twitter, and others can supplement the VCP web platform to extend the reach
of PMI’s influence.
Survey respondents rated the following delivery methods, indicating that they would most
likely use the following:
Website with content
VERSION 1.0
58.7%
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Recorded webinars (downloadable)
Electronic Newsletter or On Line Forum/Discussion Boards
Live Webinars with Q&A Time
Face to Face event at PMI Global Congress
Virtual Conference
Face to Face Conference
6.2.
52.2%
47.8% (each)
41.3%
37.8%
34.8%
33.3%
Knowledge Strategy and Content Plan
Virtual Communities play a key role in the delivery of project management knowledge to the
stakeholders of the Project Management Institute. The Agile Forum will implement the following
plan for the creation, delivery, and maintenance of knowledge specific to the community purpose.
6.2.1. User Personas
1. General body of Project Managers. These are individual members of PMI who
seek the latest information on good practices in project management, and who
wish to learn more about specific techniques that support these practices. They
would be interested in each of the areas outlined in section 6.2.2.: how to align
Agile practices with the PMBOK Guide, how to adopt Agile and apply Agile
practices in their organizations, and more advanced information on specific
topics/practices they may find themselves struggling with or simply wish to
improve.
2. Other Agile Professional Organizations. These are non-profit organizations
like the Agile Alliance, Scrum Alliance, and Agile Project Leadership Network
(APLN). These organizations support the growth of Agile adoptions and support
those who currently use Agile methods, and thus seek to help the PMI Agile
Forum to do the same. These organizations are interested in extending their
respective influence to a broader audience of Agile practitioners of project
management. The PMI Agile Forum will allow these organizations to see where
areas of interest lay, and what the concerns of the community are. This is
valuable information that will allow them to clarify their message.
3. Universities/Colleges. Many schools of higher learning are offering classes
specific to Agile practices, or they incorporate Agile approaches as part of their
classes (Programming in Java, for instance, where students work as a team in
a collaborative environment with iterative deliveries of their assignments).
Others are doing research and studying agile methods, like pair programming,
to quantify its benefits. Examples of academic involvement in Agile include:
a. Westminster College in Utah has had an Agilist as its MBA Director
(David Spann, CSM and Cutter Consortium consultant in their Agile
program),
b. University of Washington offers a certificate course in Agile Project
Management
c. University of Colorado had a Masters level Software Project
Management course taught by Agile expert Michele Sliger, PMP, CSM,
which focused on Scrum,
d. The annual Agile Alliance conference has a University track where
students and professors polish and present their theses. All of these
would welcome the opportunity to learn more about Agile, and would
likely ask PMI for help from its members by taking surveys used by
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graduates and professors in their Agile and project management
research.
4. PMI REPs and other PM Education Providers. These individuals and
organizations wish to stay current in the latest information on good practices in
project management. They also wish to learn more about specific techniques
that support these practices, so that they in turn can share them with others
through classes and workshops. Like the general body of project managers,
they will be interested in all of the areas outlined in section 6.2.2.
5. Significant Employers in the Area of Focus. Agile employers will wish to
recruit solid performers who have a clear understanding of Agile practices. The
PMI Agile Forum will be a place of interest for them as part of their recruiting
and training efforts. Large employers will want to make sure their Agile staff has
access to ongoing training and a community of peers and experts to build and
hone their expertise. These are organizations who will also be interested in all
of the areas outlined in section 6.2.2, particularly around Agile adoption and
Agile practices in a traditional organization.
6. Other PM Organizations. Due to the growing grassroots success of the PMI
Agile movement, the Forum considers local PMI chapters to be a major
stakeholder. Regional chapters have the “boots on the ground” to support
practitioners with high-value events. Accordingly, these chapters will look to the
Forum to coordinate the participation of Agile experts in those events. For
example, PMI Dallas has collaborated with APLN Dallas to provide an Agile
track at its annual symposium.
Other PMI special interest groups (e.g. Information Technology and
Telecommunication, Information Systems, Government, E-Business) will be
interested in Agile methods, how those methods may be applied in their own
areas, and whether those methods are the most appropriate approach to use.
Additionally PMI chapters will be interested in regional Agile experts to facilitate
local events. The Forum will provide these chapters
7. Government Agencies. Government agencies know that PMI is a trusted
organization committed to sharing the best information available on good and
generally recognized practices in project management. They will look to the
PMI Agile Forum to lead them in the right direction with regards not only to the
items outlined in section 6.2.2., but also as proof that Agile is not a fad and is
indeed appropriate to use when conditions permit. Government agencies, like
other non-profits, will also appreciate the amount of free information made
available through the Forum’s articles, webinars, podcasts, and videos.
6.2.2. Knowledge Topics
1. Aligning Agile Practices with the PMBOK Guide– This would be a primary
topic for building knowledge around as it is of direct interest to members of the
Agile Forum. It is important to (1) show that the PMBOK Guide does not
prohibit the use of Agile practices, and in many cases fully supports them, and
(2) provide a more comfortable learning environment for PMI members who
have already learned a specific lexicon around project management, and who
can use that lexicon and their experience base to better understand what is
different about Agile and how those differences play out in an Agile
environment.
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PMI Community Development
2. Applying Agile Practices in Traditional Organizations – Many project
managers within the PMI work in traditional project management organizations
and are looking to learn more about Agile practices and potentially apply them
in their organizations. The forum will seek to establish a body of shared
knowledge and experience by discussing the application of Agile practices in
traditional organizations. Areas of interest in this topic include how to roll out
Agile in a large organization, how Agile scales, how Agile teams work with
others who are not yet Agile, and how to foster cooperation between Agile and
non-Agile groups in an organization in the midst of an Agile adoption.
3. Adopting Agile – As many members of the Agile Forum and PMI are seeking to
learn more about Agile, the community will specifically seek to provide a source
of knowledge about Agile adoption patterns, such as immediate cutover,
piloting teams, top-down vs. bottom-up adoption, etc. The forum will seek to
establish a body of shared knowledge and experiences around Agile adoptions.
4. Specific In-depth topics regarding Agile Practices and Values – as Agile
practitioners, members of the forum will be interested in any topics relevant to
Agile project management, Lean and Scrum. This topic is very broad and may
encompass any unique perspectives or other topics in the Agile field that would
be valuable to the community, such as agile estimating and planning
techniques, the definition of team working agreements, the use of kanban, good
facilitation practices, defining corporate strategic objectives based on mission
and value statements and what to do if there is a values mismatch between the
organization and the Agile Manifesto, just to name a few.
6.2.3. Knowledge Content Planning Scenarios
The position of the PMI Forum Steering Committee is that Agile Project
Management knowledge must be generated by members on an unpaid volunteer
basis. This policy is based on the following influences:

Authenticity – The success of the Agile industry has much to do with
experts offering their advice from professional experiences. These
experiences have been collected and distributed at conferences and
regional meetings, in the spirit of professional exchange. Certainly,
professionals expected to develop work opportunities through the sharing
of their ideas. But the common ethic within the Agile community is to share
ideas for the betterment of the field.

Availability – There exists today a large body of knowledge on Agile
Project Management. With the maturity of Agile organizations, conferences,
and corporations, there is no shortage of content that would otherwise
require an investment in research.
Pre-Launch
The initial website will be seeded with information created by members of the PMI
Agile Forum steering committee and the volunteer members of the pmiagile Yahoo
group. Basic information will be available immediately, such as
 The intent of the Forum
 Committee contact information
 Upcoming events related to the PMI Agile space
 Links to various Agile experts’ blog sites.
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After this initial set of basic information is posted, iterations of progressive content
will be prioritized and implemented towards the launch date.
Iteration
First 2 weeks after business plan
approval

First 4 weeks after business plan
approval




Potential Content
Pre-existing articles and
presentations on the PMI Agile space
Establishment of a discussion forum
Pre-existing white papers
Pre-existing webinars
Newly created podcasts/webinars
Post-Launch
After the official launch of the Forum, the Steering Committee will increasingly
delegate knowledge and content generation to more sustainable sources:
1. Member submitted content – The primary source of content will be sourced
from the forum’s membership. These may take the form of discussion threads,
blog posts, and articles.
2. Featured experts – The forum may offer premium content by various experts
within the field willing to submit content to the forum in order to spread
awareness. The community may agree to offer publicity in the form of space on
the site or inclusion in email communications, but will not offer financial
remuneration for content provided to the community. This content may take the
form of articles, white papers, presentations, webinars, podcasts, short videos,
and links to other information providers. Members of the existing steering
committee have already agreed to provide many of these objects.
6.2.4. Capture and Communicate Knowledge
1. Online Distribution – The primary means for knowledge exchanging will be
through web-based channels. The Forum website will feature a variety of
content formats that will range from columns by noted experts to online
discussion threads.
2. Volunteer Moderators – Online contributions will be moderated by volunteer
leaders selected by the membership. Moderating member-submitted content
is necessary to prevent or stop personal attacks, offensive language, and
“trolls,” as well as to step in when help has been requested by a participant.
Each volunteer moderator will receive guidance in this task through material
such as:
a. “How to Be An Administrator in an Online Forum” from
www.ehow.com at http://www.ehow.com/how_4549166_beadministrator-onlineforum.html?ref=fuel&utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=ssp&utm_ca
mpaign=yssp_art
b. Netiquette and Moderation/Facilitation Guides on the
http://www.emoderators.com/moderators.shtml website, which is
aimed at moderators of online discussions in both academic and
non-academic settings.
c. Facilitation tips and tricks available at
http://www.fullcirc.com/community/communitymanual.htm
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Additional guidance will be sought from other PMI and Agile online forum
moderators.
3. Local Chapter Engagement –To facilitate more exploration of Agile topics
at local chapters, the Forum will provide
a. A clearinghouse of pre-selected and vetted Agile experts who have
made clear and tenable contributions to the Agile community.
b. A list of speaking topics posted by local chapters, which are viewable
by endorsed experts.
c. A list of regional and local Agile events, equipping all members to
attend knowledge events.
4.
Knowledge Surveys – The Forum will conduct occasional surveys related
to Agile management trends, after first coordinating with PMI so as not to
overwhelm the membership with multiple and frequent survey requests. This
will measure the relative acceptance and adoption of varying Agile
techniques and practices, and thus further guide which knowledge is
valuable and relevant. The Forum will also work with Universities to address
their survey needs as well.
5. Webinars – the Forum will have the ability to use PMI-provided means to
create webinars should schedule permit; and failing that, can use the tooling
provided by some of our members’ organizations to create and host
webinars.
6.2.5. Mapping Knowledge To Community Expenditures
To execute on this Knowledge Strategy, the Forum has identified the following
priorities for its annual expenditures:
Priority 1 : LIM Training
As a new PMI community, the pre-launch membership of PMI Agile Forum is
comprised almost exclusively of practitioners with no previous PMI leadership
experience. Accordingly, the successful execution of this business plan hinges on
the degree to which that leadership is aware of PMI’s proper channels and the
services it provides to communities.
As the first VCP formation, the Forum carries a much higher impact for failed
execution. If Forum leadership is not properly equipped to navigate the emerging
VCP policies and procedures, then its failure will be more publicly scrutinized than if
VCP were already fully mature.
Without properly equipped leadership, the Forum will not be able to generate
valuable knowledge for the identified personas, in a timely fashion. If too much
effort and resources are expended by the leadership to access PMI resources, the
Forum knowledge will quickly become stale, and stakeholders will not be served.
Priority 2: Agile Conference Sponsorship
Over the past decade, the most powerful vehicle for Agile knowledge distribution
has been Agile conferences. The Agile principle of “Individuals and Interactions”
has generated dramatic value through high-value face-to-face events. It is at these
events where the greatest debate occurs; where the broadest array of knowledge is
concentrated into few days; where relationships are formed and solidified.
The Forum places its highest recurring expenditure priority on securing a presence
at these high-value events as follows:
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PMI Community Development

Staking a Leadership Presence. To dispel pervasive negative PMI
stereotypes within the Agile market, PMI must take a leadership role in
supporting the Agile community through sponsorships. That support will be
accompanied by a booth presence that will dialog with detractors, and
communicate the PMI value proposition in an authentic face-to-face
manner.

Engaging Stakeholders. A sponsored booth presence at Agile
conferences will also allow the Forum to “hear its members”. Although
quantitative survey data can be generated at low cost, it is not sufficient. To
make the right strategic decisions about its services and knowledge
creation, the Forum also needs qualitative and anecdotal information to
inform survey data. Forum leadership will need to measure “buzz on the
floor” about emerging trends, popular vendors vs. unpopular vendors,
immediate reactions to controversial topics, PMI’s reputation among those
who would not otherwise respond to a survey.

Support Knowledge Leaders. As a knowledge creation and distributing
organization, the Forum must support its experts. Not all of the conferences
provide reimbursement for their speakers, so the Forum must be prepared
to provide the necessary fund to send its selected experts to high-value
events.
6.3.
6.4.
Community Objectives
In support of the value to members noted above, the Agile Forum will actively pursue the
following objectives, measures and targets in alignment with the PMI and Component Balanced
Scorecards.
1. Webinars - The community will on topics related to Agile project management. Speakers will
include thought leaders in the Agile community, similar to the webinars conducted by the IT &
Telecom SIG in 2008.
2. Discussion Forums – Members of the Agile Forum will have an online discussion board for
posting questions and points for further discussion. As time goes on, this will serve as a
repository of information. The initial goals for this service will be to establish an active
community online posting and answering questions.
3. Expert Forum Q&A – The forum will periodically invite experts to participate in a moderated
Q&A discussion via an online messaging board. Experts will be announced in advance with
information about their background so that the community can prepare questions.
4. Onsite Presentations - Members of the Agile Forum Board will travel to PMI events such as
member meetings and professional development days to present on Agile topics.
5. PMI Networking Events – The forum will continue to hold similar events to the networking
event held at the PMI Denver Congress, The purpose of these meetings is to bring together
leaders in both the Agile and traditional PM communities to share ideas. Similar events will
be held at future congress's, with the purpose of raising awareness within PMI of Agile. The
goal for the first year will be to establish a presence at major PMI and Agile conferences by
hosting these events.
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6. Agile Project Kernels - A set of qualified examples and guidance that can be used in Agile
projects, such as an Agile project charter, backlog list, iteration planning checklist, user story
format etc. These are not intended to be final solutions, but instead guidance on the types of
things Agile novices should be considering
7. Outreach to Agile Communities – in order to increase awareness and membership, the
Forum will reach out local Agile communities and introduce them to local PMI chapters.
8. Originally authored content –periodic electronic publication of original content that may be in
the form of blog posts, articles or research papers. This content will be available on the sight
and incorporated into periodic communications to the membership.
The prioritized list of topics to be addressed by content, presentations and webinars is included
below. This list is based on feedback from the membership
1. Topics on leadership in Agile projects
98%
2. People management/HR in Agile environments
89%
3. Scrum specific topics and Lean project management
87%
4. Lean project management specific topics
87%
5. Agile topics not related to software development
76%
6. Agile topics in software development
67%
7. XP Specific topics
59%
8. Cultural fit of Agile
43%
6.4.1. Year 1 Priorities
(Year 2 and 3 Priorities Sections required for Forums completing the Multi-Year Business
Plan following Year 1)
6.4.2. Year 2 Priorities
6.4.3. Year 3 Priorities
6.5.
VERSION 1.0
Programs, Initiatives, Targets, and Metrics
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The Agile Forum will undertake the following programs and initiatives to support the PMI Balanced Scorecard Objectives.
PMI BSC Perspective: Stakeholder Intimacy
PMI BSC
Community
Community Initiatives
Objectives
Programs
(Services, Projects,
Products)
Provide
knowledge
and tools
with great
service
Strengthen
stakeholder
loyalty
Demonstrate
benefits from
project
management
Community
Program
SWOT
Analysis
(Yes/No)
Agile Project Kernels
No
On-going annual survey of SIG
membership
Yes
On site
Yes
VERSION 1.0
PMI Target for
Services
65% Membership
retention
Good overall
membership
satisfaction
Community Service Targets
(Year 2 and 3 Targets Sections
required for Forums completing the
Multi-Year Business Plan following
Year 1)
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Preliminary
set of
templates
available
online
65%
Good
Outreach
to at least
6 meetings
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PMI Community Development
PMI BSC Perspective: Internal Business Processes
PMI BSC
Community
Community Initiatives
Objectives
Programs
(Services, Projects,
Products)
Thought
leadership
Profession
enablers
Partnering
Community
Program
SWOT
Analysis
Online discussion forum – Free
form discussions among
members and occasional
moderated sessions with
experts
No
Knowledge Delivery – Periodic
newsletter with original content
No
Community Events - Hosted
webinars and Onsite
presentations at PMI chapters
and PDS events
Strategic Alliances and
Collaborative Agreements with
other Agile Organizations
No
PMI Target for
Services
Community Service Targets
(Year 2 and 3 Targets Sections
required for Forums completing the
Multi-Year Business Plan following
Year 1)
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Minimum of 10
topics per year
Good
membership
satisfaction with
topics
Minimum of 2
items per year
10 topics in
Year 1
Good
Good
membership
satisfaction with
items
Minimum of 1 8
PDU Event hours
offered per year
Good
Good
membership
satisfaction for
events
1 agreement in
first year
2 items in
Year 1
18 PDU
Hours
between
webinars and
on site
presentations
Good
1 agreement
in Year 1
Advocacy
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PMI BSC Perspective: Culture and Capability
PMI BSC
Community
Community Initiatives
Objectives
Programs
(Services, Projects,
Products)
Make PMI a
customer
centric
organization
Make
leadership
excellence a
strategic
competency
Make
market and
business
Community
Customer Centricity
Program
Community
Leadership Dev.
Program
Community
Program
SWOT
Analysis
Community web site
Yes
Communication with members
via newsletter and/or email
No
Marketing introduction and
benefits package
No
Recognition for new members
and/or credentials earned by
members
Transition of new leaders
No
LIM or regional leadership
meeting attendance
No
Meeting to complete strategic
alignment and review business
plan
No
VERSION 1.0
No
PMI Target for
Services
Web site is
updated monthly
Minimum of 10
comms per year
Good
membership
satisfaction with
comms
Package exists
and is updated
annually
Minimum of 10
comms per year
Transition plan
delivered
annually
Community Service Targets
(Year 2 and 3 Targets Sections
required for Forums completing
the Multi-Year Business Plan
following Year 1)
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Updated
monthly
10
comms in
Year 1
Good
Package
created
in Year 1
10
comms in
year 1
Annual
transition
plan
2 board
members
attend
per year
2
meetings
per year
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PMI Community Development
development a
strategic
competency
VERSION 1.0
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PMI BSC Perspective: Resources
PMI BSC
Community
Community Initiatives
Objectives
Programs
(Services, Projects, Products)
Leverage
resources /
investments
in the
marketplace
Maintain
financial
viability
Maintain financial records and
complete Scorecard Report
VERSION 1.0
Community
Program
SWOT
Analysis
PMI Target for
Services
Complete
scorecard
annually
Community Service Targets
(Year 2 and 3 Target Sections
required for Forums completing
the Multi-Year Business Plan
following Year 1)
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Completed
Year 1
Scorecard
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PMI Community Development
6.6.
Operations
You have already stated your focus and the value or the “What” that will be provided to your
constituents. Operations cover the “How” you will get to the objectives that measure your level of
success. All core services listed in Section 6.3 of this document are already listed here. Any
extended services included in Section 6.3 must also be added to this section below by adding
additional subheadings under Section 6.4.
6.6.1. Community Events
The technology to deliver community events will be provided and managed by PMI.
Creation and selection of community events content and registration of events for PDU
claims will be administrated by the appropriate individuals on the Community Council.
The following services outlined in Section 2.8 will be delivered through the community
events program:


Professional development webinars
PDU registration (?)
6.6.2. Website
The technology to host and maintain the website will be provided and managed by PMI.
Updates to the website and the management of content on the website will be
administrated by the appropriate individuals on the Community Council. The following
services outlined in Section 2.8 will be delivered through the website:




Calendar of events
Discussion topics posted and managed
Knowledge content items posted and stored
Marketing introduction and benefits package posted and stored
6.6.3. Communications
The technology to deliver communications to community members will be provided and
managed by PMI. Should the community require the use of additional technologies they
wish to manage, an exception request will be submitted and reviewed by PMI. The
development and delivery of communications content will be administrated by the
appropriate individuals on the Community Council. The following services outlined in
Section 2.8 will be delivered through non-web based communication channels:



Newsletters
Mass distribution emails
New member / credential earner recognition
6.6.4. Leadership Development
The technology and infrastructure to facilitate leadership development will be provided
and managed by PMI. Development of community specific leadership content will be
administrated by the appropriate individuals on the Community Council. The following
services outlined in Section 2.8 will be delivered through the community leadership
development program:




VERSION 1.0
Development and maintenance of community leadership transition plan
Creation and maintenance of community leadership transition content
Implementation of community leadership transition plan
Development of community leadership through LIM attendance, as appropriate
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PMI Community Development
Organization
Practitioner
Community Council
Focused
Support Teams
Practitioners
6.7.
Practitioner
Practitioner
Practitioner
Volunteers
Regional
Support
Practitioner
Volunteers
Event Support
Volunteers
Marketing
Volunteers
Content
Community Involvement
Community Manager
Figure 1 PMI Agile Forum Organization
This community will be organized as a Forum. The Agile Forum is a community of Agile Project
Management practitioners. The organizational structure of the community will be centered on the
identified needs of PMI members and Agilists. The structure will consist of the following tiers of
practitioner support.
Practitioners – The Agile Forum will consist of practitioners who belong to other organizations
and associations, whether formal or informal. Practitioners may already be adding value to each
other, but will be drawn to the PMI Agile Forum for specialized support or the opportunity to
contribute to the community.
Focused Support Teams – To support the identified needs of practitioners, the Agile Forum will
charter Focused Support Teams. These teams will consist of self-selected volunteers, targeting a
specific need. For example, The Event Support lead may choose to form an “Agile Conference”
team to coordinate a booth presence and encourage PMI Agile speakers at the annual Agile
Alliance conference. Specific teams will be chartered or canceled during the course of a year, on
an as-needed basis. These teams may include the following:
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PMI Community Development
Focused Support Team
Regional Support Teams
Agile 2009 Team
PMI Global Congress 2009
EMEA
Sponsorships Team
Netroots Team
Alliances Team
Forum Moderator
Editor-In-Chief
Charter
To support the growth and
maturity of Agile PM at a
specific local / regional level
through user groups,
chapters, and regional
events
To coordinate the booth
presence, speakers,
finances related to PMI, for
the Agile 2009 conference
To coordinate the booth
presence, speakers,
finances related to Agile for
the PMI Global Congress
2009 EMEA
To work with the Regional
Support and Event Support
teams to execute provide
financial sponsorship or
booth presence
To leverage Web 2.0 tools
in generating awareness
and momentum for the PMI
Agile community
To broker alliances with
other Agile and PM
organizations, as
appropriate
To monitor Agile Forum
discussion threads and
enforce online code of
conduct
To facilitate the submission
and peer review of Agile
Forum articles
Supported By
Regional Support Lead
Event Support Lead
Event Support Lead
Marketing Lead
Marketing Lead
Marketing Lead
Content Lead
Content Lead
Community Council –The Council will consist of individuals assigned to remove
impediments and obstacles to the successful execution of the Focused Support Teams.
Additionally, some roles of the council will be focused on internally supporting other
council members (e.g. Community Involvement Lead and Community Manager)
6.7.1. Community Administration
Within each virtual community, a group of volunteers will serve as the leadership, to be known as
the Community Council, which is originally derived from the steering team. The Community
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PMI Community Development
Council is responsible for executing the community’s business plan and ensuring the
communities’ alignment with the PMI Strategic Plan and the SAPR Process.
Role
Regional
Support Lead
Event Support
Lead
Marketing Lead
Content Lead
Community
Involvement
Lead
Community
Manager
Responsibilities
 Monitors the PMI Agile community in
region-specific areas
 Remove obstacles and for regional
support teams
 Charters event-specific support teams
 Primary liaison with other PM and Agile
organizations
 Facilitates alliances and partnerships with
other PM and Agile organizations
 Encourages awareness of the Agile
Forum through diverse channels (e.g.
netroots 2.0, event sponsorships, press
releases)
 Moderates the online content of the PMI
Agile Forum
 Solicits contributions and submissions
from practitioners and experts
 Supports the recruiting of volunteers for
Specialized Support Teams
 Planning and facilitating council meetings
 Primary spokesperson for the community
 Primary “Product Owner” of prioritizing
stakeholder interests and needs
 Speaking at PMI / Agile events as needed
 .
Requirements
 PMI Member in good
standing
 PMI Member in good
standing
 PMI Member in good
standing
 PMI Member in good
standing
 PMI Member in good
standing
 PMI Member in good
standing
 Must have previously served
on the Steering Committee
or Community Council
6.7.2. Founding Members/Steering Team
The founding members make up the members of the steering team during the formation period.
PMI recommends that a steering team consist of at least four (4) individuals to begin formation.
Qualifications and experience must include current employer whether it is relevant to PMI or not.
Jesse Fewell (Sponsor) is a technology management consultant for Excella Consulting,
providing project management and IT support to Fortune 1000 companies in the Washington, DC
area. Over the course of his career, he has acquired a broad array of experiences in a variety of
vertical markets including National Security, Aerospace, GIS, Stock Multimedia, Telecom, and
Hospitality. He also serves as the Director of Excella’s Project Management Center of
Excellence, where he oversees ongoing innovation in the firm’s PM offering. A graduate of Johns
Hopkins University, he is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®) and a Certified
Scrum Master (CSM).
Sanjiv Augustine (Founding Member) is an industry–leading Agile and lean expert, and the
President of LitheSpeed, an agile consulting, training and coaching firm. For over 10 years,
Sanjiv has assisted several leading clients adopt agile methods, including Nationwide Insurance,
Capital One, CNBC, NBC Universal, Sprint Nextel, Freddie Mac, Genworth, T. Rowe Price and
StreamSage. He is also the author of several publications including Transitioning to Agile Project
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Management: A Roadmap for the Perplexed, The Lean–Agile PMO: Using Lean Thinking to
Accelerate Agile Project Delivery and the book Managing Agile Projects (Prentice Hall 2005); and
the founder and moderator of the Yahoo! Agile Project Management discussion group.
Sanjiv is also a founder and advisory board member of the Agile Project Leadership
Network (APLN). He presents regularly at several agile and PMI user groups and conferences
worldwide. As an in–the–trenches practitioner, he has personally managed agile projects varying
in size from five to over one hundred people, trained thousands of agile practitioners via public
classes and conference presentations, and coached numerous project teams.
Rodney Bodamer (Founding Member) is a Managing Consultant for the Enterprise Solutions
Practice at CC Pace and provides leadership in helping enterprise level clients adopt the use of
both agile and lean methods. Rodney has led numerous agile product development teams as a
Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) and has successfully coached numerous Fortune 100 clients in
their transition to Agile. Rodney has trained executive management on approaches and solutions
involving lean-agile institutionalization and organizational change management adoption
challenges. He has over 15 years of project, program, and release management experience
leading large, complex, mission-critical IT projects in the financial services, government/defense,
insurance, and healthcare industries. Rodney has a B.B.A in Computer Information Systems
from James Madison University and is a Project Management Institute (PMI) Project
Management Professional (PMP).
Brian Bozzuto is an Agile Consultant at BigVisible Solutions. With an extensive background in
large financial service companies, he has worked as a developer, analyst, project manager, and
coach. His current focus is working directly with teams as they adopt Agile and Scrum practices
and incorporating these behaviors into the processes and cultures of established organizations.
He has a broad range of experience using various frameworks including Scrum, Six Sigma, and
CMM as well as being a Certified Scrum Practitioner (CSP) and Project Management
Professional (PMP). Brian has worked on numerous large integration projects involving enterprise
portals and other web technologies. He has worked, in various roles, at Harvard Pilgrim
Healthcare, Fidelity Investments, Investor's Bank & Trust, Bank of America, and Fleet Bank.
Gene Johnson (Founding Member) has over 25 years of experience in software development
for various domains including Department of Defense, Retail, Financial, Insurance and
commercial product development.. Gene is sought after for his experience with a variety of Agile
solution delivery approaches as a strategist, change agent and coach. He is President of the
Columbus Chapter of the IIBA, a Member of PMI, Tau Beta Pi Honor and Phi Kappa Phi Honor
Societies, and is active in several Agile communities including Agile Project Leadership Network
and the XP Users Group. Gene has a Masters in Systems Engineering from Wright State
University. He founded Fairhaven Solutions, LLC in May 2000 as a Business and IT consulting
firm. Fairhaven offers solutions to help clients leverage enterprise-wide solution delivery
methodologies based on best practices from PMBOK, Agile, Scrum and RUP.
Mike Griffiths (Founding Member) was involved in the creation of the agile method DSDM in
1994 and has been using agile methods (Scrum, FDD, XP, and DSDM) for the last 15 years. He
is active in both the agile project management community and traditional PMI-based circles. He
served on the board of the Agile Alliance and the Agile Project Leadership Network (APLN); he
was a contributing reviewer to the PMBOK v3 Guide, and is a trainer for the PMI SeminarsWorld
program.
Ainsley Nies PMP, CSM (Founding Member). As an independent consultant Ainsley works
with individuals, teams and organizations who want to perform at their highest level. She
specializes in facilitating retrospectives and Open Space gatherings, training retrospective
facilitators and developing environments for learning and continuous improvement. Ainsley has
an M.S. in Educational Psychology and spent 20+ years at Hewlett Packard before launching on
her own. She is on the Leadership Team of the Bay Area APLN, initiated Agile Open California,
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PMI Community Development
is Board President of the Computer Technologies Program in Berkeley and President of the
Pacifica Branch of the American Assoc. of University Women.
Katie Playfair (Founding Member). As a Certified Scrum Practitioner and Director of Client
Services, Katie Playfair helps guide the activities of Danube's ScrumCORE™ team, comprised of
five Certified Scrum Trainers, several partners and client service representatives. She
collaborates with Danube trainers to develop customized Scrum and agile transition plans that fit
each client's business and budgetary needs. Prior to joining Danube, Playfair worked in finance,
human resources, contract management, and client relations for Edelman and Deloitte and
Touche, Human Capital Advisory Services. Playfair received her bachelor's degree in psychology
from the University of California at Berkeley. Currently, she lives in Portland, Ore., where she
enjoys cycling, backpacking, cooking for friends, and practicing yoga.
Dave Prior (Founding Member) is a Senior Consultant for EMC and serves as the Past Chair of
PMI’s IT & Telecommunications SIG. He has been managing projects in the technology space for
the past 15 years. Dave also teaches PMP Certification and Project Management in the US, Latin
America, EMEA and Asia Pacific. He is a PMP, CSP and has an MBA from the University of
Texas at Dallas.
When he is not working, Dave spends a significant amount of time trying to teach his cat,
Coltrane, to play blues guitar. The primary impediment seems to be the cat’s issues with holding
the slide correctly but he is hopeful that someday he’ll hear his tiny friend let loose with some
delta sounds that would make Son House proud.
Patricia Reed (Founding Member) is the Sr. Director of IT at Gap Inc. Direct, leading Project,
Portfolio, Release Management and Strategy with over 30 years of experience leading Lean Agile
Project Management and Software Development/Delivery in the Mental Health, Criminal Justice,
Criminal Intelligence, Entertainment & Retail Industries. Pat’s expertise includes methodology
and leadership and has implemented PM Centers of Excellence, Six Sigma and TQM, Lean and
Agile Methodologies. Pat also has 30 years of experience teaching as an adjunct professor
teaching Agile Software Development and Systems Analysis and Design at Woodbury University.
Pat holds an MBA and BS in Psychology and is an active member of PMI and active in the Bay
Area Project Leaders Network and Open Space Communities and has recently presented at the
SF PMI 35th Anniversary; on the Expert Panel at QCON
(http://bayapln.org/index.php?option=com_mambowiki&Itemid=34); Bay Area Project Leaders
Network Agile Clinic http://bayapln.org/index.php?option=com_mambowiki&Itemid=34 and two
workshops at the 2008 Agile Conference in Toronto.
George Schlitz, CSC, PMP (Founding Member) is a founder of BigVisible Solutions, an agile
coaching, consulting, and training firm. George has been involved in the introduction of agile
methods in large organizations since 2000. He has extensive experience with the organizational
change aspects of major process change efforts, as well is in leadership of large/complex
programs. George’s educational experience includes undergraduate degrees in operations
management and resource economics, as well as an MBA. George is a former commissioned
officer in the U.S. Army.
Michele Sliger (Founding Member) is the owner of Sliger Consulting Inc., where she consults
with businesses ranging from small start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, helping teams with their
agile adoption and helping organizations prepare for the changes that agile adoption brings. A
frequent conference speaker and regular contributor to software industry publications, Michele is
a strong advocate of agile principles and value-driven development practices. She is the coauthor of The Software Project Manager’s Bridge to Agility, a certified Project Management
Professional (PMP®), a Certified Scrum Trainer (CST), and holds an undergraduate MIS degree
and an MBA.
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Robert "Sellers" Smith (Founding Member) leads teams and projects developing Software As
A Service platforms in Virtual Infrastructure. Previously, he has worked as Development
Manager, Software Project Manager and System Architect in a number of organizations including
Turner Broadcasting, iXL and the MITRE Corporation. Mr. Smith has worked across a wide
variety of projects using both traditional and Agile practices. Mr. Smith holds a M.S. in Software
Systems Engineering and an M.B.A. He is a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) and Project
Management Professional (PMP).
Bob Tarne (Founding Member), PMP is a Senior BPM Program Manager with Lombardi
Software, where he specializes in implementing Business Process Management (BPM) software
and leading process improvement initiatives following agile project management techniques. Bob
is a Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Project Management Professional(PMP), and Certified Six
Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB). Bob is the past chair of the PMI IT & Telecom SIG and a PMI
volunteer since 2000.
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PMI Community Development
7. Budget
The PMI Agile Forum budget is under review by VCP.
8. Launch Plan
Launch Milestone Chart for Forming Communities
1
Milestone
Submitted to VCP
2
Chartered by VCP
3
Community Placed in
Formation Queue
Description
Community concept is
submitted to VCP for
evaluation
VCP approves the concept
and charters a project to
launch the community
Upon chartering of the launch
project, PMI:




4
Steering Team Identified
5
Steering Team
Approved


VERSION 1.0
Status
Completed
18 Oct 2008
Completed
18 Oct 2008
Completed
Jan 1 2009
Completed
Jan 7 2009
Completed
Places community in
formation queue
Assigns an account
manager and VCAG
liaison
Arranges
teleconference
between community
champions, PMI and
VCAG member
Recognizes
community as
“Forming Community”
Community champions select
a Steering Team to guide the
formation project
Steering Team members must
complete, sign, and return to
PMI the following documents:

Date
22 Oct 2007
Use of Member Data
Agreement
Confidentiality
Agreement
Conflict of Interest
Questionnaire
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PMI Community Development
5
Milestone
Communication and
Business Planning
6
Develop Year 1
Business Plan
7
Documentation
Submitted
8
Community Approved
9
Resources Provided
10
Soft Launch
11
Formal Launch
Description
PMI and community
communicate formation status
to membership.
PMI provides templates and
instruction for business
planning.
Business plan template must
be completed (for Year 1
ONLY) by Steering Team, with
assistance from PMI market
research and VCAG liaison.
Community must complete,
sign, and return to PMI the
Year 1 Business Plan
PMI Executive team approves
the community for official
launch
PMI provides the community
with access to administrative,
financial, and technology
resources
Community launches
preliminary services to select
focus group
At PMI Global Congress
EMEA, PMI formally
announces community to full
membership
Date
Jan 7 2009
Status
In Progress
1 Mar 2009
In Progress
1 Apr 2009
Pending
15 Apr 2009
Pending
17 Apr 2009
Pending
15 May 2009
Pending
30 Jun 2009
Pending
Community begins executing
against Year 1 Business Plan
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PMI Community Development
9. Risks
9.1.
Approach
Risk planning (and risk management) will be on on-going part of steering committee formation.
The three steps of risk planning will be executed as the business plan is developed and executed:
 Risk Identification. The steering committee will be polled (via email) to submit candidate risks
for the risk list. A risk manager will compile the list and consolidate risks. Steering
Committee members can submit risks at any time.
 Risk Analysis. A smaller set of Subject Matter Experts will be used to define the probability
and impact of risks. The overall risk database will be provided to the steering committee for
feedback.
 Risk Response. A formal response will be developed for risks with a score of 4 or higher.
Where a risk requires mitigating activities and or set aside of a contingency, the resource and
or schedule impact will be folded into the backlog.
The following scale is used to determine the probability of occurrence:
 75% will be in the project plan as an assumption
 50-75% will be ranked 3
 25-50% will be ranked 2
 < 25% will be ranked 1
The following scale is used to determine the impact of risk item
 Critically or seriously impact formation will be ranked 3
 Cause significant delays (> 8 weeks) in formation and or serious degradation of the quality of
services will be ranked 2
 Noticeable delay ( < 8 weeks) and or noticeable degradation in quality of service will be
ranked 1
Categories
 Agile Com - risks that primarily relate to the Agile Community
 Agile Forum - risks that are primarily internal to the Agile Forum
 Industry – risk that are primarily within the project management community
 PMI - risks that primarily relate to PMI organization
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PMI Community Development
9.2.
Risk Database
#
R4
Category
Agile
Forum
R10
PMI
R17
PMI
VERSION 1.0
Risk
If there is not
sufficient commitment
to the Agile Forum
then there will not be
enough volunteers to
deliver all products
and services,
resulting in scaling
back or dropping key
parts of the business
plan.
If there is opposition
(formal or informal) to
the Agile Forum by
existing SIGs and
colleges, then
member attraction
and or retention will
be impacted, resulting
reduced viability.
NOTE, Other event
may signal or trigger
this risk
1) Agile Forum is
stepping into the
shoes of some SIGs
that are 15-20 years
old and have 5-10K
members. Even
though it is a new
type of org, there will
be an expectation
among members this could be good or
bad.
2) If the transition
window for SIG
moving to the Virtual
Community Model
extends beyond then
the Agile Forum will
be placed this group
in competition with
existing entities
resulting in reduced
membership.
If PMI doesn't
effectively
participate/support
the marketing of the
Agile Forum, then
PMI members won't
Prob
2
Impact
3
Score
6
Response
Mitigate: Steering
Committee will
work to recruit a
large core of
volunteers to
support the forum.
3
2
6
Mitigate: Steering
Committee will
work with VCP to
communicate to
other components
the win-win
opportunities and
work through the
conflicts.
2
3
6
Mitigate: The
Steering
Committee will
work with VCP to
raise awareness
during the
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PMI Community Development
R16
PMI
R2
Industry
R9
Agile
Forum
R18
PMI
R19
Agile
Forum
VERSION 1.0
understand our
purpose/value and
won't join resulting in
decreased
membership and or
retention.
If there is confusion
within the Agile
Forum how to operate
with VCP
environment, then
Agile Forum operate
less effectively
resulting in reduced
ability to execute
business plan.
If Project Managers
perceive Agile as
risky set of project
management
principles and
practices then there
will be reduced
interest in Agile,
resulting in reduced
interest and
membership for the
Agile Forum.
community launch
phase
2
3
6
2
2
4
If VCP environment is
difficult or confusing
for members, then
membership will be
reduced, resulting in
reduced viability of
the Agile Forum.
2
2
4
If PMI doesn't
maintain clear
definitions of the
virtual communities,
they may allow other
virtual communities to
form that offer similar
focus, confusing
potential members
and diluting our value
resulting in reduced
membership or
retention.
If there is not
sufficient commitment
to the Agile Forum
steering committee
then the business
2
2
4
3
1
3
Mitigate: The
Steering
Committee has
pulled the VCP
liaison into
biweekly concalls,
where issues and
questions can be
raised in a timely
fashion
Accept: In the
short-term the Agile
Forum has little
ability to affect the
success or failure
of a significant
number of Agile
projects, although
the intent of the
group is to long
term influence
Agile project
success.
Monitor: The
Steering
Committee will
work with VCP to
measure
membership and
develop a response
plan as needed.
Mitigate: The
Steering
Committee will
work with VCP to
discuss the
Forum's potential
for serving Lean /
Six Sigma
practitioners.
Prevented:
Steering
Committee is
formed and
operating.
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PMI Community Development
R3
Agile Com
R15
PMI
NewR20
Agile
Forum
R7
Agile
Comm
plan will not be
completed resulting in
delay or canceling
formation of the Agile
Forum.
If other Agile
organization refuse
collaborate to Agile
Forum then Agile
Forum will have
limited access to
materials and
speakers, resulting in
an impact to deliver
products and
services. This could
also be triggered by
PMI actions perceived
as threatening such
as asserting that it is
the final authority on
Agile and or issuing
an Agile credential.
If the PMI Technical
Infrastructure is not
able to support launch
of the Agile Forum,
then membership will
be reduced, resulting
in reduced viability of
the Agile Forum.
If there is not
adequate content
developed for the
Agile Forum, then
member interest will
be reduced, resulting
in reduced
membership and
retention.
If member value
cannot be sustained
as membership
grows, then member
retention will be
reduced resulting in
reduced viability of
the Agile Forum.
1
3
3
Mitigate: Agile
Forum will work
with both PMI and
leaders in the
various Agile
organizations to
maintain clear
communications
between the
various
stakeholders.
1
3
3
1
2
2
Mitigate: The
Steering
Committee will
work with PMI
to prioritize system
requirements in a
progressive
fashion.
Mitigate: The
steering committee
is developing a
content strategy as
part of the business
plan.
1
2
2
Mitigate: Agile
Forum will
establish a process
for frequent
member feedback
allowing early
identification of
issues and member
input on how to
best address the
problems.
1) Regular member
surveys
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PMI Community Development
R13
PMI
If PMPs assume and
assert they are “Agile
certified”, by virtue of
Agile Forum’s
existence, then there
will be conflict with
the larger Agile
community and or a
negative perception of
the Agile Forum,
resulting in reduced
membership growth
and retention from
within the Agile
Community.
1
2
2
2
R19
Agile
Forum
R1
Industry
If Agile Forum does
not operate in an
Agile manner then its
credibility will be
reduced resulting in
reduced viability of
the Agile Forum.
1
If project managers
perceive Agile as
“product development
methodology”, not
project management
then there will be
reduced interest in
applying it within
project management
resulting in reduced
interest in the Agile
Forum within Project
Management
Community.
2
1
1
1
2) Collect feedback
from local chapters
Mitigate: The
Steering
Committee will
actively
communicate to
members and other
Agile associations
what the Forum's
existence does and
does not mean that
all PMI members
are practicing Agile
techniques.
Mitigate: The
Steering
Committee will
articulate and post
its operational Agile
criteria, and then
submit itself to
public
accountability by
the membership
and respected
Agile organizations.
Accepted: The
Forum's charter by
and launch within
PMI will serve as
sufficient
affirmation of Agile
as a relevant
Project
Management area.
10.
11.
APPENDIX : Reference and Supporting Documents
11.1. Early Membership Survey
During the month of January, the Steering Committee conducted a survey of the
formation-era community members. There were 125 solicitations, and 46 responses.
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PMI Community Development
11.1.1. How long have you been a project manager
More than 10 years
5 - 10 years
2 - 5 years
Less than 2 years
52%
26%
13%
9%
0%
20%
40%
60%
11.1.2. How familiar are you with Agile project management?
Expert
Using agile regularly on project
Have used in past but not currently using
Started to use agile to some degree
Familiar with term agile, not practicing it
Never heard of it
35%
33%
17%
11%
4%
0%
0%
5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
11.1.3. How long have you been using Agile?
5 or more years
2 - 5 years
Less than 2 years
Not at all
30%
39%
26%
4%
0%
10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
11.1.4. What project management certifications do you hold?
PMP
78%
CSM
63%
CSP
18%
Other
8%
CSC/CST
8%
PRINCE2
5%
PgMP
0%
CAPM
0%
0%
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20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
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11.1.5. What type of projects are you involved with (check all that apply)?
Software development
93%
Business process management
50%
IT hardware/software blend
46%
Academia
20%
Training
20%
Other
9%
Manufacturing
2%
Construction
2%
0%
20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
11.1.6. What project management associations are you a member of?
PMI
Scrum Alliance
Agile Alliance
APLN
IPMA
76%
65%
48%
46%
2%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
11.1.7. Why do you think PMI needs to address Agile project management
(check all the apply)
I want to extend my agile skills and knowledge
48%
Other
39%
I would like to better understand how to apply …
39%
My company is considering implementing or has …
28%
I am having challenges applying agile principles to my…
26%
My company is affected by the economy and is…
0%
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22%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
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11.1.8. Rate the following potential topics based on your personal interest
Agile topics in software development
Agile topics not related to software …
Scrum specific topics
XP specific topics
Topics on leadership in agile projects
People management/HR in agile …
Cultural fit of agile
Lean project management
11.1.9. Please rate the following delivery methods based on how likely you
would be to participate/use.
Recorded webinars (downloadable)
Website with content
Live webinars with Q & A time
On line forum/discussion boards
Electronic Newsletter
Face to face conference
Virtual conference
Face to face event at PMI Global Congress
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12.
Use of Agile on the Steering Committee
The Agile Forum Steering Committee is using Agile project management practices (primarily
Scrum) to develop the business plan. This section describes how the Steering Committee is
using these practices, some of the benefits of these practices and plans to continue applying
Agile practices to the other work of the Agile Forum.
12.1. Agile Definition
Agile methodologies are adoptive rather than prescriptive. That is the methodologies encourage
evolution – modifying and or incorporating new practices and discarding practices that no longer
work. “Agile methodologies generally promote a project management process that encourages
frequent inspection and adaptation, a leadership philosophy that encourages teamwork, selforganization and accountability,…” - Wikipedia
http:/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agile_software_development
The Agile community formally came into existence at a meeting in Snowbird Utah where leading
practitioners defined the values and principles of the Agile – see http://agilemanifesto.org .
Generally methods and practices consistent with these values and principles are considered
Agile. This emphasis on values and principles over specific methods and processes has had
several interesting consequences. An illustrative benefit has been the ability to adopt new
methods and practices into the community, most recently and noticeably, some members of the
community are incorporating Lean and Kanban practices.
Despite the broad definition of Agile, there are a number of specific methods – e.g., Scrum,
Extreme Programming, DSDM, Crystal – that are clearly Agile in nature and usually serve as a
framework and starting point for evolving Agile methods to meet a specific situation.
12.2. Process
The Agile Forum Steering Committe is following the Scrum methodology or framework, adopted
to meet the needs of this particular project and team.
There are four roles
 Customer. The customer is the end acceptor for various deliverables of the project. PMI
is the customer for the business plan.
 Product Manager. Jessie Fewell serves as the Product Manager, defining and prioritizing
the work to be done to complete the business plan and other deliverables for the project
 Scrum Master. George Schlitz, serves as the Scrum Master, focusing on resolving issues
and improving the overall process of delivering value by completing work
 Team Members. The remainder of the Steering Committee members and other
volunteers serve as the team, completing the work on the project.
The work required to complete the deliverables – in this case the business plan – is decomposed
into Stories. In breaking the work into Stories, the emphasis is on making each story a unit of
work that has value and can be demonstrated to and accepted by the Customer. Also, the
Stories are decomposed in a fashion to minimize the dependencies. Finally Stories are
decomposed into work that can be completed within an iteration. For example, writing a draft of
or improving a specific section of the business plan. The work is then prioritized and organized
into list called a Backlog.
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Work is conducted in two week intervals – call Iterations. The stories to be completed in the two
week iteration are the Iteration Plan. Normally, the stories are further decomposed into the tasks
necessary to complete the story. However, the Steering Committee has modified Scrum to forgo
‘tasking’ out stories.
Issues – called Impediments – are identified by any member of the team. The Scrum Master
ensures that each issue has an owner and is resolved in a timely manner.
The team improves the process through a Retrospective – a meeting to determine improvements
to the process held at the end of the two week iteration. In the retrospective three basic questions
are asked 1) What aspects of the process are working, 2) What aspects of the process could be
improved and 3) What actions will the team take in the next iteration to keep or change aspects of
the process.
The General Process is that
1. Product Manager identifies Stories to be done from a variety of sources PMI including
requirements, feedback from PMI representatives and suggestions from the team. The
Product Manager lists and prioritizes these Stories as items in the Backlog.
2. The Product Manager, Scrum Master and team review the backlog and plan the stories to
be completed in the next two week period.
3. Team Members review the Backlog and sign-up for one or more Stories that are
relatively high priority and a good fit for their interests and skills. The team member may
work with product manager or PMI representatives to further define and clarify the
requirements for completing the Story.
4. Every two weeks, the business plan is demonstrated to – review by – the PMI
representative. Based on this review and feedback, work is accepted and new Stories
are identified and prioritized.
5. After the demonstration, the team conducts a Retrospective.
Note, the Agile Steering Committee has not used some of the following standard practices of
Scrum, including tghe following. This omission was not a deliberate decision, but rather that the
team has not found a particular need for the practice – either to address a problem or exploit an
opportunity.
 Establishing a Product Vision. The product vision is a high level description of the desire
outcome of the project and why the project is being undertaken.
 Conducting Release Planning. Release Planning is allocating the stories int he backlog
to iterations planed prior to the completion – release – of a version of the product.
 Holding a Daily Stand-up. A Daily Stand-up is a meeting where each team member
reports on what they completed yesterday, what the plan to work on today and an
impediments that are slowing or blocking their progress.
12.3. Agile Benefits
The steering committee did not decide up front to apply Scrum practices. The adoption of the
Scrum practices came about as the group began to address issues with developing the business
plan and or to obtain benefit they felt would come from adopting specific practices. Some of the
benfits the steering committee obtained were:
 Transparency. Every two weeks, the PMI representative can review improvements to
the business plan and know both the status and progress towards completing the
business plan.
 Fast Feedback. In the bi-weekly reviews, the PMI representative was able to provide
feedback to the Product Manager, which allowed him to re-prioritize and add stories.
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

For example, making the content strategy a higher priority and or add stories to
incorporate changes based on feedback from the PMI representative.
Evolving requirements. Agile Forum is the first Virtual Forum to be formed by PMI and
most of the team members are new to many of the PMI processes. The Agile process
allowed the team to easily incorporate newly discovered work into the plan.
Support an ad-hoc volunteer team. Having the backlog allowed volunteers to
expand/contract their work for the Agile Forum – taking on more or less work
depending on their other commitments. Note, this is not normally a benefit of Agile
methods, which generally recommend a dedicated and co-located team.
12.4. Further Application of Agile Techniques
The steering committee and the Agile Forum will continue to apply Agile practices to the
operation of the community. The application of these techniques will allow volunteers to:
 Participate in Agile projects,
 Receive coaching in applying Agile techniques
 Observe experienced practitioners working on Agile projects
 Experience some of the common issues on Agile projects and see more experienced
practitioners resolve these issues.
Some of the areas where the Agile Forum Steering Committee expects to use Agile practices to
 Focus on highest priority services and products. The product manager will create a
backlog of community services to be developed and delivered. The list of services will be
prioritized and further decomposed into stories, to allow demonstrable progress in
delivering the products and services.
 Support evolving requirements. The product manager will create opportunities – focus
groups, surveys, on-line forum to solicit feedback both from members of the Agile Forum
and the PMI Membership at large. This feedback will be fed into the prioritized list of
community services.
 Rapidly deliver high value projects. The various support leads will use Agile techniques
on projects and sub-projects of the Agile Forum.
 Encourage process improvement. All volunteers will use retrospectives within and across
the various support teams to improve the various processes and practices of the Agile
Forum.
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13.
APPENDIX : Screenshots of External Links
13.1. Links in Section - 2.1.2 Agile in the Media
13.1.1. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2007_August_1/ai_n27
329144/pg_2?tag=artBody;col1]
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13.1.2. http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/biz2/0706/gallery.50whomatter.
biz2/33.html
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13.2. Links in Section - 2.2.3 Universities/Colleges
13.2.1. http://www3.uwm.edu/sce/course.cfm?id=10545
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13.2.2. http://www.scps.nyu.edu/course-detail/X52.8642/20091/Agile-projectmanagement
13.3. In Section 2.2.7 - Government Agencies
13.3.1. http://www.ambysoft.com/surveys/agileFebruary2008.html
For describing companies, this survey asked “Which sector is your organization primarily
in? Company names were not included. The article includes access to the survey raw
data file for further reference.
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13.4. In Section 6.2.4 – Capture and Communicate Knowledge
13.4.1. 6.2.4.2.a http://www.ehow.com/how_4549166_be-administratoronline- forum.html?ref=fuel&utm_
source=yahoo&utm_medium=ssp&utm_campaign=yssp_art
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13.4.2. 6.2.4.2.b http://www.emoderators.com/moderators.shtml
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13.4.3. 6.2.4.2.c http://www.fullcirc.com/community/communitymanual.htm
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