You are a project manager in an information technology delivery unit of an organization that adopted highly detailed predictive project management
processes several years ago. They are required for all projects, and while they are expected to be tailored for each project, their use is closely audited
by members of the organization’s project management office (PMO). A strategic technology investment committee oversees all technology projects
and approves the project management approaches used on them.
One afternoon, you are called into a conference room for a meeting with Ali, the head of the PMO and Gabriela, the new director of software
development. You notice that many of the other project managers employed in the unit are also in attendance.
Ali calls the meeting to order and begins to talk. “Thanks to all of you for coming. As you may know, Gabriela joined our group recently and she is
getting ready to kick off a new project which is intended to develop a next generation knowledge management portal for us. I’ve explained how we
prefer to use our waterfall SDLC on all of our software projects. She’s told me she would like to use Scrum for this project. I’ll let her tell you more
about it.”
Gabriela smiles and says, “That’s right, Ali! I earned my Certified Scrum Master credential three years ago and led a number of Scrum teams at my
old company. The knowledge management portal project is expected to involve a lot of innovation, so I think an agile approach would be best.”
Ali looks around the room at all of the project managers. “I’ve told Gabriela I’m willing to consider the use of Scrum,” he says, “but this is a large,
highly visible project. I’ve expressed my concerns to her but thought I should discuss this with all of you. Should we try Scrum on this project? What
should we consider when making our recommendation to the strategic technology committee?”
What answer would you give to Ali and Gabriela?
Sample Solution
