EXECUTING LARGE EPC/EPCM PROJECTS USING SCRUM VALUES AND PRINCIPLES

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ABOUT ME

▸ CSM in 2004; CEC since 2010

▸ PMP since 2003; P.Eng. since 1987

▸ Agile Leadership Network National Board Member 2011-12

▸ I’ve been coaching individuals, teams and organizations in the use of Scrum since 2004

▸ Software Domains: oil and gas, financial services, insurance, medicine, transportation, workflow, digital voting

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SESSION OUTLINE

▸ Background on Gas Plants, EPC/M projects, and WHY Scrum?

▸ Applying Scrum to a Large ($1B) EPC Project

▸ Scrum Values, Roles, Artefacts, Events

▸ Results

▸ Applying Scrum to a Large ($3B) EPCM Program

▸ Approach to Multiple Organizational Cultures and Concurrent Projects

▸ Results

▸ Taking it another step

NATURAL GAS PROCESSING PLANTS AND LARGE EPC/EPCM PROJECTS

BACKGROUND

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WHAT’S A GAS PLANT?

▸ Processing of Natural Gas

▸ Takes feed stock from surrounding wells and removes water, sand, sulphur and other hydrocarbons

▸ 400 million cubic feet per day

… times ~5 … every HOUR

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ENGINEERING, PROCUREMENT, & CONSTRUCTION PROJECT

Engineering: Deliverables are detailed design and resultant drawings for equipment procurement and construction

Procurement: Deliverables are POs resulting in materials on site when they are needed

Construction: Deliverable is an operating gas processing plant built safely

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COST OF DELAY

▸ Delays in Reviews/Approvals

▸ things don’t get engineered or purchased fast enough

▸ therefore they don’t arrive on time

▸ therefore less time for construction

▸ higher risk of delayed ROI

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WHAT PROBLEMS NEED SOLVING?

▸ Unclear priorities, roles, silos

▸ Lack of visible progress on what’s important and why

▸ Lack of accountability to each other

▸ Lack of understanding of true state of project

3 PILLARS OF SCRUM

SOUNDS LIKE THE …

BUILDING A $B GAS PLANT

APPLYING SCRUM TO AN EPC PROJECT

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APPLYING SCRUM VALUES

STACK RANK PRIORITIZATION OF ISSUES AND MINIMIZING WIPFOCUS

REGULAR FEEDBACK LOOPS ON HOW WE WORK TOGETHER

COURAGE

OPENNESS

TRANSPARENT ITERATIVE PLANNING AND INSPECTION

WORKING AGREEMENTS

RESPECT

COMMITMENT TO GOALS / OUTCOMES NOT PARTICULAR SOLUTIONS

COMMITMENT

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APPLYING SCRUM ROLES

AN EXISTING ROLE CALLED THE PROJECT MANAGER RESPONSIBLE FOR REGULARLY ESTABLISHING THE PRIORITIES AND CONTEXT FOR THE TEAM

PRODUCT OWNER

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A NEW ROLE WE CALLED A TEAM FACILITATOR INITIALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR HELPING THE TEAM KEEP AN AGILE MINDSET AND COORDINATING THE TRANSPARENCY OF GOALS, PROGRESS AND IMPEDIMENTS.

SCRUM MASTER

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A GROUP OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY SPECIALISTS JOINTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR PRODUCING VALUABLE DELIVERABLES TO BE CONSUMED BY THE CONSTRUCTORS

DELIVERY TEAM

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APPLYING SCRUM ARTEFACTS

▸ Product Backlog

▸ Sprint Backlog

▸ Product Increment

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Monthly update to integrated Project schedule

12-week Look Ahead

3-week Look Ahead

Iteration plan Task Execution Daily review of Iteration plan

Weekly review of 3-week Look Ahead

Monthly review of 12-week Look Ahead

Tangible progress informs

informs

informs

informs

❖ Daily standup ❖ Task burndown ❖ Roadblocks

❖ ID priorities/goals/KPI’s/owners ❖ ID/Plan and estimate tasks

Team Retrospective

Team Infrastructure

Traditional Management

informs

informs

THE PRODUCT BACKLOG

SPRINT BACKLOG

‘PRODUCT’ INCREMENT

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APPLYING SCRUM EVENTS

▸ Sprint

▸ Sprint Planning

▸ Daily Scrum

▸ Sprint Review

▸ Sprint Retrospective

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SPRINT

Monthly update to integrated Project

schedule

12-week Look Ahead

3-week Look Ahead

Iteration plan Task Execution Daily review of Iteration plan

Weekly review of 3-week Look Ahead

Monthly review of 12-week Look Ahead

Tangible progress informs

informs

informs

informs

❖ Daily standup ❖ Task burndown ❖ Roadblocks

❖ ID priorities/goals/KPI’s/owners ❖ ID/Plan and estimate tasks

Team Retrospective

Team Infrastructure

Traditional Management

informs

informs

SPRINT PLANNING

DAILY STAND-UP

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SPRINT REVIEW

▸ What we accomplished, what has been actualized in the schedule

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SPRINT RETROSPECTIVE

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RESULTS

▸ We were able to gauge progress based on empirical evidence … rather than “it’s on track until it’s not”

▸ We were able to ensure that the team regularly understood what the project priorities were that superseded their respective discipline priorities

▸ Transferred techniques to site for Turnover

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RESULTS

▸ Priority issue cycle time was reduced by a factor of 3.

▸ Reduced the overall Project Cycle time by 5-10%

▸ The project management team was able to maintain the original project schedule and complete construction on time.

BUILDING A PROGRAM OF EPCM GAS PLANTS

APPLYING SCRUM TO EPCM

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APPROACH TO CULTURE

▸ Started as Traditional-based Execution and Scrum-based Oversight … NOPE

▸ Attempt to shift to a new culture … Mission, Vision, Values … Patrick Lencioni

▸ Transition ownership of Scrum approach to EPC

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APPROACH TO COMMUNICATION

▸ Scrum of Scrums approach to Program priorities / roadblocks

▸ Applying lessons to successive projects in program sprint to sprint

▸ 24 hr rule

▸ Excel, screen sharing, telephone … still not as good as situation room

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APPROACH TO WORK PRODUCT

▸ Iterative ‘just enough’ model reviews

▸ Breakdown/breakthrough model

▸ Seeing the gap between what is predictable and what is desired

▸ Challenging the status quo

▸ Committing to exceed

“THE RESULT OF APPLYING AGILE AND BREAKDOWNS IS THE REALIZATION THAT CHALLENGING THE STATUS QUO AND USING NON-LINEAR THINKING IS REQUIRED FOR SUCCESS. THIS DOESN’T SHOW UP IN A GANTT CHART.”

Team Survey commentary

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RESULTS

▸ Priority issue cycle time are being reduced by a factor of 3.

▸ Reducing the overall Project Cycle time by 10-15%

▸ Currently on pace to deliver ahead of schedule and under budget.

THE FUTURE OF AGILITY IN EPC/M PROJECTS

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THE FUTURE IS MINDSET OVER MECHANICS

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AN AGILE MINDSET MIGHT ALLOW US TO …

▸ Automate the schedule progress update process to minimize the time it takes to understand progress [this is akin to continuous integration/testing]

▸ Iteratively review and update the schedule logic to ensure it is current and reflects today’s reality [this is akin to release planning]

▸ Use a floating and fluctuating end date (as scope is usually fixed) to allow the impacts of changes to be seen immediately [this is akin to release planning]

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DECLARATION OF INTERDEPENDENCE

Agile and adaptive approaches for linking people, projects and value

–We increase return on investment by making continuous flow of value our focus.

–We deliver reliable results by engaging customers in frequent interactions and shared ownership.

–We expect uncertainty and manage for it through iterations, anticipation, and adaptation.

–We unleash creativity and innovation by recognizing that individuals are the ultimate source of value, and creating an environment where they can make a difference.

–We boost performance through group accountability for results and shared responsibility for team effectiveness.

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CONTACT ME

▸ Simon Orrell, P.Eng. PMP CEC

▸ (403) 630-6442

▸ simon@snowdolphin.com

▸ www.snowdolphin.com

▸ @snowdolphin

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AGILE MANIFESTO

We are uncovering better ways of delivering projects by doing it and help others do it. Through this work we have come to value:

–Individuals and interactions over processes and tools –Completed deliverables over comprehensive reporting –Customer collaboration over contract negotiation –Responding to change over following a plan

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left

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12 PRINCIPLES

• Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of value.

• Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer's competitive advantage

• Deliver value frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.

• Business people and technical teams must work together daily throughout the project.

• Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.

• The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a project team is face-to-face conversation.

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12 PRINCIPLES

• Completed deliverables are the primary measure of progress. • Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors,

Technical teams, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.

• Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.

• Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount of work not done--is essential.

• The best solutions, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.

• At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behaviour accordingly.