ATERN
Principles
Focus
on the business need
Every decision taken during a project should be viewed in the light
of the overriding project goal, which is to deliver what the business
needs it to deliver, when it needs to be delivered.
Always remember that a project is a means to an end, not an end in
itself.
In order to fulfil this
principle, Atern teams will:
Establish
an understanding of what the business really needs
Understand
the true business priorities
Apply
the 80:20 rule (80% of consequences stem from 20% of causes)
Seek
continuous business sponsorship and commitment
Specific business roles
in Atern, in conjunction with the business products created in the
Foundations phase and key techniques such as Timeboxing and MoSCoW
Prioritisation, enable Atern teams to fulfil this principle.
Deliver
on time
Delivering products on time is a very desirable outcome for a project
and is quite often the single most important success factor. Late
delivery can undermine the very rationale for a project, especially
where market opportunities or legal deadlines are involved. In order
to fulfil this principle, Atern teams will:
Timebox
the work
Focus
on business priorities
Always
hit deadlines
Timeboxing and MoSCoW
Prioritisation enable Atern teams to implement this principle and
build a reputation for timely and predictable deliveries.
Collaborate
Teams that work in a spirit of active cooperation and commitment will
always outperform groups of individuals working only in loose association.
Collaboration encourages increased understanding, greater speed and
shared ownership which enables teams to perform at a level that exceeds
the sum of their parts. In order to fulfil this principle, Atern teams
will:
Involve
the right stakeholders, at the right time, throughout the project
Ensure
that the members of the team are empowered to take decisions on behalf
of those they represent
Actively
involve the business representatives
Build
a one-team culture
Atern Business Visionary,
Business Ambassador and Business Advisor roles bring the appropriate
subject matter experts into the project so they can contribute to
the solution. The Business Analyst is responsible for facilitating
a high level of collaboration between team members. Facilitated Workshops
enable stakeholders to share their knowledge effectively with other
members of the project team.
Never
compromise quality
In Atern, the level of quality to be delivered should be agreed at
the start. All work should be aimed at achieving that level of quality.
No more and no less. A solution has to be ‘good enough’.
If the business agrees that the functionality in the minimum usable
subset has been provided adequately, then it should be acceptable.
In order to fulfil this principle, Atern teams will:
Set
the level of quality at the outset
Ensure
that quality does not become a variable
Design,
document and test appropriately
Build
in quality by constant review
Test
early and continuously
The Business and Technical
Testing products together with regular reviews throughout the project
lifecycle will help the Atern team to build a quality solution.
Using Atern, everything is tested as early as possible. Test-driven
techniques result in a test being written before the deliverable is
actually produced. MoSCoW Prioritisation and Timeboxing are used to
ensure that testing is appropriate and undertaken without introducing
unnecessary risks.
Develop
Iteratively
In order to converge on an accurate business solution Atern uses iterative
development. The concept of iteration is embedded throughout Atern’s
lifecycle down to the lowest level of Timeboxing. It is very rare
that anything is built perfectly first time and projects operate within
a changing world. Atern advocates a pragmatic approach to change that
relies on iteration in order to embrace change and produce a better
solution. In order to fulfil this principle, Atern teams will:
Be
creative, experiment, learn, evolve
Embrace
change – the solution will evolve as the team learns more about
it
Take
an iterative approach to building all products
Continually
confirm the correct solution is being built
Converge
on an accurate solution
Change is inevitable,
so Atern allows for change and harnesses its benefits.
Within the constraints
of time and cost, change is actively encouraged in order to evolve
the most appropriate solution. Atern uses iteration and constant review
to make sure that what is being developed is what the business really
needs.
Build
incrementally from firm foundations
In order to deliver real business benefit early, Atern advocates incremental
development. This encourages stakeholder confidence and is a source
of feedback for use in subsequent increments. Increments which are
deployed into operational use may lead to early business benefit.
Atern advocates first understanding the scope of the business problem
to be solved and the proposed solution, but not so detailed that the
project becomes paralysed. In order to fulfil this principle, Atern
teams will:
Do
enough design up front to create strong foundations
Strive
for early delivery of business benefit where possible
Accept
that most detail emerges later rather than sooner
Evolve
more precise estimates as the project progresses
Atern teams implement
this principle using the Atern Lifecycle, which delivers a solid base
of knowledge during Feasibility and Foundations phases before developing
incrementally during the Exploration and Engineering phases.
Communicate
continuously and clearly
Poor communication is often cited as the biggest single cause of project
failure. Atern techniques are specifically designed to improve communication
effectiveness for both teams and individuals. In order to fulfil this
principle, Atern teams will:
Use
facilitated workshops
Use
rich communication techniques such as modelling and prototyping
Present
iterations of the evolving solution early and often
Keep
documentation lean and timely
Manage
stakeholder expectations throughout the project
Encourage
informal, face to face communication at all levels
Atern emphasises the
value of human interaction through Facilitated Workshops, clearly
defined roles and user involvement. Modelling and prototyping make
available early instances of the solution for scrutiny.
These techniques are
far more effective than the use of large textual documents, which
are sometimes written for reasons other than achieving the business
objectives.
Demonstrate
control
It is essential to be in control of a project at all times. An Atern
team needs to be proactive when monitoring and controlling progress
in line with the Foundations Phase products, especially the Business
Case. You need to be able to prove you are in control. In order to
fulfil this principle, Atern teams, especially the Project Manager
and Team Leader, will:
Use
an appropriate level of formality
Be
able to demonstrate control at all times
Make
plans visible to appropriate stakeholders
Measure
progress through focus on delivery of products rather than completed
activities
Manage
proactively
Evaluate
continuing project viability based on the business objectives
The use of well defined
Timeboxes, with constant review points, and the preparation of the
Management Plan and Timebox Plans are designed to assist the Project
Manager and the Atern team to follow this principle.
