Metrics Matter
By Dr. Harold Kerzner
Abstract
It is very clear organizations in almost all industry sectors believe that agile, and in particular the Scrum framework, offers great promise in executing their toughest projects.
Yet, as Jeff Sutherland and Ken Schwaber write in their Scrum Guide, “Scrum is simple to understand yet difficult to master.” And, VersionOne’s 10th Annual State of Agile™ report gives us an indication of how difficult it can be.
During the past decade, there has been a rapid growth in Agile Project Management practices, not just in IT, but in other types of projects as well. Most of the principles of Agile Project Management practices have provided beneficial results when applied to non-IT projects. While all of this sounds good, there are also some challenges that accompany the growth.
There is an old adage used in project management, namely “You cannot manage what you cannot measure.” Therefore, to manage projects using agile techniques, you must establish metrics to confirm that the benefits are being realized and agile practices are being executed correctly. Fortunately, accompanying the growth in agile practices has been a companion growth in metric measurement techniques whereby today we believe we can measure just about anything. There are good metrics for reporting performance.
About the Author:
Harold Kerzner, Ph.D
Dr. Harold Kerzner is a globally recognized expert in project, program, and portfolio management, innovation, and strategic planning, and Senior Executive Director at International Institute for Learning (IIL). For over 50 years, Dr. Kerzner has shared vital guidance for making project management a strategic tool for competitive advantage and helping companies around the world build a powerful foundation for company improvement and excellence.
He has authored or co-authored more than 60 textbooks/workbooks on project management, including multiple editions of his seminal works. His books include Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling; Project Management Metrics, KPIs and Dashboards; Project Management Case Studies; Project Management Best Practices: Achieving Global Excellence; The Future of Project Management; Using the Project Management Maturity Model; and Innovation Project Management.
Dr. Kerzner holds an MS and Ph.D. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from the University of Illinois and an MBA from Utah State University. He taught engineering at the University of Illinois and business administration at Utah State University, and for 38 years taught project management at Baldwin-Wallace University. A testament to Dr. Kerzner’s profound influence on the field is the establishment of the Kerzner International Project Manager of the Year Award. This prestigious award, presented annually by the Project Management Institute (PMI) which recognizes outstanding project managers who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, innovation, and contributions to the project management profession.
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