Managing Agile Software Projects under Uncertainty

In chasing velocity, we often ignore or don’t understand the uncertainties and associated risks in our processes and their results. Agile is designed to handle uncertainty in requirements as new features are requested and priorities shift. But shouldn’t we also be thinking about and mitigating the uncertainties that are unique or even introduced by using agile? Phil Lew suggests that our problem is that we sometimes carry assumptions which either cause us to spend too much effort on things we can’t control or give us unfounded comfort and reassurance. If we can’t understand the uncertainties and risks, how can we have confidence in our software as systems become more complex? Phil supplements classic risk management techniques with a lifecycle approach on risk and uncertainty to identify and address the uncertainties that matter—and those that don’t. Then Phil outlines methods that you can use to address these risks while maintaining rhythm in your agile software processes. Come and learn about risks you never thought of and see how you can manage or avoid them.