Adopting Agile – The Agile Project Manager must-have skills

Project Management | 12th April 2016

There used to be a time when the mark of a good project manager was whether or not they held some sort of Project Management certification. In a world of structured methodologies and traditional waterfall project management this might well still hold true.

However, the project landscape has changed and it is changing ever more and ever rapidly. We now operate in an increasingly Agile world, where speed to market, flexibility and incremental delivery is key.

In this Agile world we need to be looking at a different skill set for our project managers. At Selesta we specialise in helping organisations adopt Agile as well as providing expert project managers for Agile projects. Here we explore the Agile project manager skill set in more detail and explain why these skills are now more important then ever.

Here are the top ten skill sets we look for in all of our project managers:

1. Communication
2. Team building
3. Problem solving
4. Stakeholder management
5. Presentation
6. Numeracy
7. Conflict resolution
8. Planning
9. Time management
10. Experience

1. Communication
The Agile project manager needs to be able to engage at all levels of the organisation. Communication is key. The project manager needs to have enthusiasm, empathy, passion and integrity and needs to be able to tailor their communication style depending on the audience and situation.

2. Team building
Agile teams will increasingly be made up of those with a diverse set of skills. These teams will often have a mixture of business and technical roles and are likely to consist of people for varying backgrounds. It is crucial that the project manager is able to build, motivate and lead such teams.

3. Problem solving
Agile projects, by their very nature, are fast paced. Problems and issues will arise and will often form blockers to progress. The project manager should pay a key role in driving through issue resolution and removing blockers, thus ensuring the continued momentum of the project. Analytical and critical thinking are key. The project manager should be able to facilitate collaboration, idea generation and also be able to evaluate the results.

4. Stakeholder management
Whilst Agile teams tend to have subject matter experts drawn from the organisation there is still a need for wider stakeholder engagement. Stakeholders will likely be from across the organisation and also at various levels within the organisation. The Agile project manager needs to be able to build relationships with a diverse set of stakeholders and also needs to be politically aware.

5. Presentation skills
Due to the dynamic nature of Agile projects and the Agile project manager needs to be articulate, able to explain complex topics easily and able to present at varying levels within an organisation. Visual, verbal and written skills are a must and the agile project manager also needs to be a good facilitator.

6. Numeracy
The Agile project manager must ‘know the numbers’. Burn rate, Burndown, Velocity, Business Value are key. Importantly the Agile project manager must be able to interpret, forecast and react to actual metrics.

7. Conflict resolution
The Agile project manager needs to be able to deal with difficult situations, manage conflict and resolve issues. This needs to be quickly and tactfully. Good negotiation skills help tremendously in these situations.

8. Planning
In an Agile project the planning emphasis should be on capability delivery, sprint and release planning, alongside wider business change, communication and implementation. The Agile project manager needs to be used to Agile working and Agile techniques and ways of working such as Time-boxing, Kanban and Scrum.

9. Time management
Agile projects are dynamic, fast-paced and fluid in nature. This puts particular demands on the Agile project managers time. An Agile project manager must be able to operate in this dynamic environment and must be able to manage their own time as well as delegate effectively to others.

10. Experience
Previous Agile project exposure is a must. Use of Agile scheduling techniques and ways of working e.g. Time-boxing, Release Management, Kanban, Scrum are essential. Experience of agile management and collaboration tools is also useful e.g. Jira, Trello, Huddle

Click here for an Infogrpahic summarising the above

Selesta provide a wide range of professional project management services to help organisations improve their delivery capability and adopt Agile ways of working. We also provide interim project managers for all types of projects.