Business Major Changes in the WBS Agile in Action Project

Major Changes in the WBS — Agile in Action.

Development of the Project Plan itself has proceeded relatively smoothly until last week when there were unanticipated and major changes in top management. Erica Kelly resigned, and the Board of Directors, concerned with the downturn of business and future growth prospects — occasioned, in part, by protectionist tariffs — decided to sell the business. It was purchased immediately by a rising Egyptian entrepreneur, Mustafa (Mike) Mahmoud. With an MBA from Golden Gate University, he had made millions trading in ancient antiquities and artifacts in the Middle East. 

Chairman Mahmoud felt strongly that, with its track record of growth and sales, operating in a freer market and with his successful trading expertise, JMP would become a powerhouse in the antiquities field. Although well-familiar with modern management precepts such as Agile, he — as you might suspect about one dealing with antiquities — is also an avid proponent of traditional Egyptian cultural identity and national growth. 

Chairman Mahmoud immediately implemented a number of key changes:

1. The JMP headquarters would move to Cairo.

2. While Arabish, the chat communications dialect, could be used informally, all formal business transactions, forms, documents and records would be primarily in Egyptian Arabic. 

3. The scope of the objets d’art and collectables would be expanded to include major inventory in Middle Eastern artifacts. 

4. The firm would immediately start incorporating Agile concepts in a phased manner. Already well along in terms of planning, the actual implementation of the E-Commerce project could continue in the predictive (waterfall) mode, but as a first step in the firm’s transition to Agile, the changes here necessitated in the Project Plan [our concern in this Capstone Project] will be accomplished using Scrum. 

To comply with the Chairman’s guidance for transitioning to Agile, you need to use the Scrum framework to address and implement the new changes (deliverables). You will develop user stories, plan for the team meetings, tools, roles, and responsibilities. Your product backlog, should be formulated and prioritized by the Product Owner, and will include all the new changes. Scrum is based on Iterative cycles “Sprints” — the defined period for creating a feature. 

Every sprint begins with a sprint planning meeting in which your team meets to define the tasks for the next sprint. You need to create the sprint backlog which is a list of tasks to be completed during the that sprint. Each Sprint “Iteration” in which the team creates the increment of a working product, will be to complete the appropriate stories. You need to deliver those stories through the daily work. For every day, your team will have a daily standup to agree on the daily work and share feedback. For your Sprints, you need to include the Sprint Review (Focus on the product being developed “Deliverable.”) and the Sprint Retrospective (Focus on the process. What went right and areas for improvement?) 

Finally, for purposes of this Capstone Team Project, you need to document the above planning and collaboration efforts. (In actual Agile, documentation is more limited.)

To accommodate the above changes, Chairman Mahmoud increased the budget ceiling by $500,000; he also increased the time period by three months. Specific requirements are listed below:

Tasks: 

Task 1. Documentation of assigning Roles and creating the high-level Product Backlog.

In this task, you need to list all the roles in the scrum, provide a definition for each role and assign your team members to those roles. You also need to create the Product Backlog. Your Product Backlog should include the high-level key changes that Chairman Mahmoud implemented. The Product Backlog should also include, as a one of its items, the requirement to replace/modify the various Management Deliverables (things like the WBS, Schedule and Budget) that must be updated to accomplish the rest of the project.

In this task, we will focus on assigning roles and responsibilities for the Scrum framework, as well as creating the high-level Product Backlog that associates with the changes implemented by Chairman Mahmoud. The roles in Scrum will include the Product Owner, responsible for defining and prioritizing the Product Backlog, the Scrum Master, who will facilitate Scrum events and ensure adherence to the framework, and the Development Team, a cross-functional team responsible for delivering the working product. The Product Backlog will cover the key changes, such as the relocation of JMP headquarters to Cairo, adoption of Egyptian Arabic for formal business transactions, expansion of the scope to include Middle Eastern artifacts, and the phased implementation of Scrum for the E-Commerce project transition.

Roles in Scrum:

Product Owner – Responsible for defining and prioritizing the Product Backlog. (Assign: John)

Scrum Master – Facilitates the Scrum events and ensures the Scrum framework is followed. (Assign: Lisa)

Development Team – Cross-functional team responsible for delivering the working product. (Assign: Mark, Sarah, and David)

High-level Product Backlog:

Relocation of JMP headquarters to Cairo.

Adoption of Egyptian Arabic for formal business transactions and records.

Expansion of scope to include Middle Eastern artifacts.

Implementation of Scrum for the E-Commerce project transition.

Task 2. Documentation of your Iterations that come up with the WBS and the Sprint Backlog (for at least two Sprints)

In Agile, the team then would take the high-level key changes of the Product Backlog and break them down into multiple Sprints “Iterations.” Among the first of the key changes to be addressed would be the “Management Deliverables” (or whatever you’ve called it.) Clearly, one of the critical Management Deliverables would be revising the WBS. Plan on doing this in at least two sprints. In this task you need to create a Sprint Backlog (which is a list of tasks to be completed during that particular sprint) for each of the two sprints.

During this task, the initial focus will be on the iterative process of revising the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) into two sprints and creating the Sprint Backlog for each sprint. The first sprint will involve identifying stakeholders and gathering their requirements for the WBS revision, evaluating the current WBS, and planning the specific tasks for its revision. The second sprint will address the budget and schedule update based on Chairman Mahmoud’s changes. The team will collaborate with stakeholders to gather inputs, update the budget and schedule, and review and validate the changes.

Sprint 1: WBS Revision

Identify stakeholders and gather their requirements for WBS revision

Evaluate current WBS and identify areas affected by Chairman Mahmoud’s changes

Hold a sprint planning meeting to define the tasks for WBS revision

Break down WBS revision into smaller tasks for each team member (John, Lisa, Mark, Sarah, and David).

Sprint 2: Budget and Schedule Update

Conduct a meeting to understand the budget increase and timeline extension provided by Chairman Mahmoud.

1. Collaborate with stakeholders to update the budget and schedule appropriately.

Review and validate the updated budget and schedule.

The Agile approach allows for flexibility and adaptability in addressing Chairman Mahmoud’s changes and ensures a seamless transition to the new management and development approach.

1. Assistance Needed on the Following:

Task 3. Documentation of your Sprint User Stories. (at least two for each of the two Sprints)

During the sprint planning meeting, your team ensures that the Sprint backlog lists for the WBS are supported by user stories, and identifies the tasks necessary to complete each user story..

1. Task 4. Documentation of your Daily Standups (at least two)

This is where you actually make the WBS Changes. In this task, you will use the user stories from Task 3 and deliver those stories through the daily work. For every day of work, your team will have a daily standup to agree on the daily work and share feedback. Summarize your standups in a not-to-exceed two-page, double-spaced paper and post it here in this Task. Post the revised WBS, however, the Planning Process Group. 

Task 5. Documentation of your Sprint Review (WBS)

In this task you need to choose one Sprint and identify all the key roles that will attend the Sprint review. What is the focus of the Sprint Review? Determine the status of the work implemented in that sprint. What is done/not done? What is added/removed? Reflect on the team questions, observations, feedback, and suggestions. 

Task 6. Documentation of your Sprint Retrospective (WBS)

In this task you need to choose one Sprint and identify all the key roles that will attend the Sprint Retrospective. In a paper, consider the following: What is the focus of the Sprint Retrospective? Reflect on what went well/wrong? Areas of improvements?