Project Myopia: Why Projects Damage Software #NoProjects

A compelling argument for moving your organization away from projects and towards agile
Allan Kelly has been a valuable contributor to the agile community for a very long time. In this book he is dissecting the use of projects as a carrier for software development. It is written as a critique, and Kelly presents compelling and indisputable arguments for why delivering software through projects spawn a range of dysfunctions and unintended side effects.As I am currently part of an ongoing agile transformation, reading this book was good timing. It has helped me articulate why we should move away from projects and towards stable, long-lived teams in a clear and believable way.

This book identify many invisible problems with visible consequences…
I work for 20 years now in the software+banking industry.There, we are used to get satisfaction when “we deliver project success within deadlines”and in consequence we deserve some amazing “project celebration party”/rewards!Satisfaction, in case of success……otherwise shame, dishonor and sometimes good reason to change company because you felt that project failure was not your fault.Well, if you read this book, be ready to put a step back and consider the overall situation with different eyes.In fact you will be convinced that (software) industry is moving faster than the (often agile) work organization culture around you.What is excellent with this book is that you will have clear answers to some questions like : – Projects have deadline, not your products : where is the problem? – Diseconomies of scale : are you kidding? – Capture value : of course, but how?and a lot more…This book will help you to identify the invisible barriers around you, so be ready to start a cultural change to tackle them.Few months ago, I also had the chance to see how enthusiast Allan is to discuss specific company organizations to enrich his own catalog of problems / situations.For me, value of this book comes from Allan “patterns recognition” capacities, he is definitely a master in that field.I warmly recommend this book, it provides the excellent feeling to be less nearsighted about projects.

Great book to introduce you to challenges of projects
This is a great book for understanding the limitations of projects and how those limitations most often manifest in a digital age.Cutting through the oft-cited #NoProjects hashtag, Allan Kelly provides an honest appraisal of the project model and the challenges that it poses to today’s projects. Understanding these challenges, and how they can be addressed, begins to paint a picture of what solutions might already be at our fingertips, even when those solutions may be surprising.If you’re interested in better understanding the limitations of a project model and what alternatives might exist, then this is a great place to start.

Si eres PRoject Manager trabajando en entornos agiles lo tienes que leer. Tiene algunas partes aburridas. Se preocupa más por aclarar porque no funciona la gestión tradicional qué a comentar la transición entre cambio de mentalidad de proyecto a producto.

The project model does not fit the reality of managing software development. In this bracingly short book Allan provides an eloquent critique, landing his points well without waffle.Read this then the companion volume, Continuous Digital, which provides practical solutions to the problems uncovered here.

If you are managing programmers, working with them directly or indirectly, or recently joined the profession, it is a must read. It explains how the maximise the value of the programmers work in the enterprise large or small, and how to avoid the trap of long-term planning in a world where the only constant is change.