Category: time management

10 Principles of Agile Project Time Management

June 23, 2008 by JurgenAppelo

Project Time Management is one of the nine knowledge areas of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). It deals with the definition of activities (what are we going to do), the sequencing of the activities (in what order are we going to do them), and the development and control of the schedule (when are we going to perform those activities).

Agile Time Management
Over the past couple of weeks I have been trying to find out what the main principles of time management are in the case of agile software development. I was able to distinguish 10 principles so far, and I will present them here for your convenience. With each principle I also include a reference to an online article that (as far as I can tell) nicely describes the ideas behind it. If you don't agree with my list, or if you know some better reference material, feel free to add your thoughts!

1. Use a Definition of "Done"
How? Define what "Done" means and only count the activities that are Done.
Why? Prevent the build-up of hidden tasks ("technical debt") that cost a lot of time to fix down the road.
See: The Definition of "Done"

2. Use Timeboxes to Manage Work
How? Set a start- and end date for a collection of activities, and don't allow changes to those dates.
Why? Timeboxes keep people focused on what's most important. Don't lose time to perfectionism.
See: Time Boxing is an Effective Getting Things Done Strategy