Agile for Research Teams
ART is a project management methodology developed by the Clinical Informatics Research Group, which built on Agile techniques used frequently in the Software Industry. Adopting Agile principles allow effective handling of day to day problems that occur in an academic research setting and enable small research teams to engage in multiple project with increased levels of synergy.
Agile Practices
Daily SCRUM
This is a daily stand-up meeting which takes place at the beginning of the work day which lasts for about 15 minutes. The Daily SCRUM is faililcated by a ScrumMaster. During the meeting each team member will give a brief update about,
- What did they do since the last meeting?
- What will they do today?
- What problems they have in their way?
The meeting will be convened by a pre-assigned team member and this could be followed up by shorter 5 min meetings among smaller groups to coordinate resolution of any issues.
Daily Task Management
This is a key element of the agile process which will be the first task carried out by each team member at the beginning of the work day. The daily task list will give clarity to an individual team members daily responsibilities and allow project leads to ensure that prioritisation of tasks are streamlined across the team.
Weekly Planning Meeting
The weekly planning meeting will give strategic guidance to the research team about the direction of projects and assessment of overall project progress. This will also give an opportunity to discuss major project blockers.
Agile Management
Agile Scheduling
Agile Scheduling will ensure projects will coordination of projects across and resource allocation across the research team. This will assist to align critical project phases and their prioritisation.
Task management
The project leads will monitor individual tasks and guide on prioritisation. It will also involve coordination of tasks within project teams to ensure that there is no idle time between project tasks which will cause delay of project delivery.
Risk register
Risk registers will be maintain per project and will contain identified risks related to project tasks. This will ensure key risks are addressed in a timely manner, in order to avoid project delays.
Agile Infrastructure
ProjectShare
The ProjectShare will be a folder structure within a shared drive that will hold all project related documents. Team members will be responsible for updating latest versions of project documents in the ProjectShare. Project File Storage Standards
Templates
Document templates will be stored in a file share and will be used to generate key project artefacts. The project artefacts will then be stored in the appropriate location in the ProjectShare.
KnowledgeShare
This is a collection of knowledge artefacts that will encompass knowledge about routine processes carried out within the research team. These artefacts can include documents and multimedia files that allow continuation of knowledge within the research team. It is essential that all aspects of key project types are covered by these guides within KnowledgeShare.
