Status Reporting for Agile Projects?
I think 'Plan Driven' as Waterfall projects are referred to have traditionally been measured based on how they are doing compared to the "Plan".
One thing to remember is that at the core, Agile Projects are not really Plan driven, because a detailed plan is never laid out and there is inherent belief that the plan is only something to get started in the right direction and highly likely to change. So measuring if we are "following" the plan or the variance thereof isn't a very good idea.
I've heard coaches say "We have a plan but we can tell you right now that it is inaccurate".
Agile is a collaborative effort to get to the best product in a reasonable time and cost. It is not contractual and shouldn't be. It is what makes it so appealing! So the real questions for status are according to me
"Are we still on track to get/deliver the best product for a reasonable time and cost?" Is there a metric answer to this? I don't know. Can a Team and Customer, based on their subjective understanding and the burndown charts, answer this using manual polling buttons? Maybe!
Remember this page is all about thinking out loud!
