There, I said it. I know it’s controversial, but it’s true: there isn’t a Project Manager role in Scrum or Agile. That is, while there is no Project Manager in Scrum, many project management activities still need to happen. They just occur at different times and in different formats.
PMs have struggled to find their place in the world since the explosion of Agile. But just because there isn’t a Project Manager title doesn’t mean there is no project management.
Scrum Roles
The premise of Scrum is a team that is self-managing according to the 2020 Scrum Guide (previously self-organizing). A Scrum Team is comprised of the fully cross-functional set of skills necessary to create a done increment each Sprint. There are only three named roles in Scrum:
- Product Owner
- Scrum Master
- Developer
So where does that leave a traditional Project Manager? Out of a job? Well… it depends.
Project versus Product
Project Managers of old commanded high respect to go along with the heavy responsibility to deliver projects within the triple constraint (aka The Iron Triangle): Scope, Cost, and Time.
In the traditional model of project management, the scope drives the cost and schedule.
Agile flips that triangle upside down and assumes a product versus a project focus. In Agile, the cost and time are generally fixed, and the scope becomes variable, which allows for rapid adjustments to happen while keeping within the other constraints.
What is a Project?
As you may recall from the Project Management Institute’s PMBOK®, a project is:
“A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result. A project is temporary in that it has a defined beginning and end in time, and therefore defined scope and resources.”
PMI®
What is a Product?
A product, on the other hand, is something that also has a lifecycle, with a beginning and end, but its life is considerably longer than a project, which is only temporary. A product begins as an idea, which turns into a vision, which is brought to life, and continues to grow, mature, and evolve as an Agile Scrum Team iteratively and incrementally improves the product. As long a product exists, it will have a Product Backlog.
Adapt or Die
So, what’s a Project Manager to do? Adapt, or die. Well, that’s a bit extreme, but PMs will need to adjust if they want to stay employed in the age of Agile.
Are you a Project Manager who is struggling to transition from traditional project management to agile? If so, please join me as I map out a path for you to adapt and find a way to adjust your skills to fit within a Scrum Team.