CHAPTER 9: MOVING FROM AGILE TO PRINCE2 AGILE
As mentioned in the previous section, there are organizations that may be interested in implementing a PRINCE2 Agile framework to provide a governance structure around their current Agile project work. This is particularly true for organizations that want to combine the effectiveness of their existing Agile delivery approaches with the adaptive governance and ongoing business-value confirmation from management that PRINCE2 Agile provides.
Although it may seem unlikely that senior management would institute a governance framework around a project delivery method, it is not unprecedented. In fact, the success of Agile methods has been known to inspire senior management to institute organization-wide changes. (This is exactly what occurred at BT.39)
As in the previous section, the important thing to remember is that PRINCE2 Agile is a supplement to – and not a substitute for – the proper implementation of PRINCE2.
As implementing the PRINCE2 Agile framework can be a substantial commitment for senior management, it is worthwhile for the organization to take a step back and consider why this decision is being made, particularly if your Agile teams are already achieving required outcomes without a formalized project management and governance framework (i.e. “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”).
Is senior management introducing governance and project management structures because they are concerned that their Agile projects are outside of management control? Are they being introduced to fulfill a compliance mandate or a customer requirement?
The AXELOS official guide recommends that existing Agile organizations consider situations where mature Agile methods are already in place to determine whether PRINCE2 Agile will provide substantial benefits over the current model. It advises that PRINCE2 Agile may be appropriate to provide governance for a more challenging project, or to align Agile work with existing PRINCE2 or PRINCE2 Agile teams. However, it equally advises that organizations may want to consider alternative methods to achieve these outcomes.40
If your organization does decide to transition your current Agile work to the PRINCE2 Agile framework, the first step is for the organization to establish a viable PRINCE2 framework for portfolio, program, and project management before endeavoring to implement PRINCE2 Agile.
Once the PRINCE2 framework is in place, it can be transitioned to PRINCE2 Agile using the approach described in Chapter 6: Merging Existing PRINCE2 and Agile Methods.
If your organization does proceed with this approach, it would be beneficial for you to publish a case study about your experience in transitioning from Agile to PRINCE2 Agile to encourage other Agile organizations to do the same thing.
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39 L. Meadows and S. Hanly, Agile Coaching in British Telecom (2006), www.agileconnection.com/article/agile-coaching-british-telecom.
40 Section 3.3, PRINCE2 Agile, Keith Richards, AXELOS (2015): www.axelos.com/store/book/prince2-agile.