MIS608 Assessment 1 (Assignment 1 - Research Report on Agile)

MIS608 Agile Project Management

MIS608_Assessment_1_Brief_Research Report

Task Summary

You are required to write an individual research report of 1500 words to demonstrate your understanding of the origins and foundations of Agile by addressing the following areas:

1. The origins of Agile – why did Agile emerge, what was it in response to, and how did this lead to the values and principles as outlined in the agile manifesto?

2. The origins of Lean and how it has influenced Agile practice

3. The similarities and differences between Scrum and Kanban as work methods

4. Why adopting Agile benefits an organisation

Please refer to the Task Instructions for details on how to complete this task.

Context

Organisations are increasingly using Agile as a project management approach to achieve their goals and objectives efficiently. While agile is predominantly used in software development, there are elements of agile that can be applied to achieving goals and objectives in many areas of an organisation. Understanding these concepts will be vital for you to progress in this subject. This knowledge will not only support your completion of the final group assignment, but also will assist you in managing your progress in the group project by using Agile techniques to communicate capacity and offer full transparency of work across the team.

Task Instructions

1. Write a 1500 words research report to demonstrate your understanding of the origins and foundations of Agile by addressing the following areas:

• The origins of Agile – why did Agile emerge, what was it in response to, and how did this lead to the values and principles as outlined in the agile manifesto?

• The origins of Lean and how it has influenced Agile practice.

• The similarities and differences between Scrum and Kanban as work methods.

• Why adopting Agile benefits an organisation.

2. Review your subject notes to establish the relevant area of investigation that applies to the case. Perform additional research in the area of investigation and select FIVE (5) additional sources which will add value to your report in the relevant area of investigation.

3. Plan how you will structure your ideas for the report. Write a report plan before you start writing. The report should be 1500 words. Therefore, it does not require an executive summary nor an abstract.

4. The report should consist of the following structure:

A title page with subject code and n ame, assignment title, student’s n ame, student, and lecturer’s n ame.

The introduction (100 – 150 words) that will also serve as your statement of purpose for the report—this means that you will tell the reader what you are going to cover in your report.

You will need to inform the reader of:

a. Your area of research and its context

b. The key concepts you will be addressing

c. What the reader can expect to find in the body of the report

The body of the report (1200-1300 words) will need to cover four specific areas:

a) Why did Agile originate? When did it emerge and what was it in response to? How did this lead to the four values and 12 principles that are outline by the agile manifesto?

b) Where did Lean originate? Briefly define what Lean is and two Lean philosophies have been adopted in the evolution of Agile practice?

c) Scrum and Kanban have many similarities, but also key differences. Compare and contrast Scrum and Kanban with each other, illustrating these similarities and differences with examples.

d) Explain what value adopting Agile can offer to an organisation.

The conclusion (100-150 words) will summarise any findings or recommendations that the report puts forward regarding the concepts covered in the report.

5. Format of the report

The report should use font Arial or Calibri 11 point, be line spaced at 1.5 for ease of reading, and have page n umbers on the bottom of each page. If diagrams or tables are used, due attention should be given to pagination to avoid loss of meaning and continuity by unnecessarily splitting information over two pages. Diagrams must carry the appropriate captioning.

6. Referencing

There are requirements for referencing this report using APA referencing style. It is expected that you reference any lecture notes used and five additional sources in the relevant subject area based on readings and further research.

It is essential that you use the appropriate APA style for citing and referencing research. Please see more information on referencing here:

7. You are strongly advised to read the rubric, which is an evaluation guide with criteria for grading the assignment—this will give you a clear picture of what a successful report looks like.

Submission Instructions

Submit Assessment 1 via the Assessment l ink in the main navigation menu in MIS608 Agile Project Management. The Learning Facilitator will provide feedback via the Grade Centre in the L M S portal. Feedback can be viewed in My Grades.