With some Agile methods for project management, particularly in the Scrum approach, the project manager should be more of a facilitator in working towards a series (iterations) of successful software releases.

With this facilitative style in mind, I have listed, what I think, are important areas/tasks for an ‘Agile’ project manager to focus on when managing a project, be it a web application, website or any software solution.

1. Ensuring a clear understanding on the business drivers for the website project by compiling and circulating a statement of work.
   

   Statement of work

   The statement of work contains details on;

   • The business requirements that are driving the project. These drivers can range from legal/regulatory requirements, market/customer requirements and internal business process improvement initiatives.
   • An overview of the specific requirements that are to be delivered by the project. This detail can be expanded in greater detail later in the project, as each iteration is planned and completed.
   • An explanation on how this project supports the strategic goals of the organisation which is very important in demonstrating the project’s importance to the organisation.

The statement of work is the overall scope from which the detail of each iteration is drawn.

2. Ensuring that the website project team has the appropriate sponsorship and support at senior management level, in particular from the different areas of the organisation that will be impacted by the redesign project.
   

   Sponsorship and support

   This doesn’t mean that the website will be designed for senior management! Rather that the project will be delivering practical business benefits to the business and senior management support is available to progress the project as and when required.

3. Ensuring that an appropriate budget is set aside for maintenance and ongoing development after the website or application is rolled out
   As we all know, if a well designed website or application is not maintained appropriately and consistently after its launch, it can lose its usefulness. Appropriate maintenance includes the recognition;
   • The need for an ongoing feedback process with users and sponsors so that new or changing requirements can be designed and developed for the website or application.
   • In the case of websites, style guides and templates need to evolve with changing business needs and to ensure that the look & feel doesn’t become outdated.
   • The importance of content management to provide a means to have content prepared for the web first, rather than assuming that content from other media can be copied or reformatted from other sources to be displayed on the website.
4. Ensuring that a proper user centered design methodology and approach is used for the detailed design and development work.
   The project manager needs to ensure that not only is the methodology being used, but that it is being used effectively.
   Rather than just deciding on a specific set of design iterations in advance, it may be preferable to also incorporate a set of metrics such as the time required to complete a set of sample user tasks using the new application, to help decide if an iteration has achieved its desired results and/or whether further iterations are required. Additional metrics such as the number and categories of errors discovered before the iteration is completed assist in reviewing if changes are required to the development process and workflow.

In summary, I think part of the Agile approach involves a project manager focusing on facilitating the project team to perform well, rather than managing them. Together with the other agile development principles and a user centered design approach, this combination can enhance the probability of a successful outcome to the website or application project.