In recent years, the trend of Agile methodology has swept the software industry all over the world, making it seem like any company that does not understand Agile will fall behind. My company now also uses Agile methods for many projects. I am also a believer in Agile methodology.
Someone recently asked me why large-scale software package projects cannot be done using Scrum (Scrum is an important core concept of Agile). A simple answer is that according to the Stacy matrix module, most of the packaged software projects are simple, at most, they are complicated level projects. Therefore, it is not suitable to use Scrum. It is more suitable for the water fall approach based on the traditional PMP method.
Let me give you an example of team climbing. If there's a mountain no team has ever climbed. When climbing a mountain, you don’t know where there are cliffs or dangerous animals. I suggest you use Agile (scrum) to try in many ways. But even if no matter how high the mountain is (such as Mt. Tamayama Fuji), other people have already climbed it and wrote their impressions on FB. Then I suggest using the traditional water fall method and following the route of the predecessors (lessoned learn) to climb the mountain.
Only understanding PMP without the spirit of Agile is a backward concept. But using Agile for any project will be a disaster.
In order to catch up with the Agile trend and import SAP faster, the previous SAP introduction proposed an Activate method that is a mixture of water fall and scrum. The result was quite a failure. One of the reasons was the confusion of the project scope. Today's business environment is unlikely to allow a project to be out of control because the scope is unclear.
Our company has also used Agile success stories, such as many AI cases. Because we didn’t know which algorithm (Algorism) to use at the beginning, we used Scrum sprint after sprint to find the right method to implement it. Such cases require no outside counsel; there are no hardware expenses. Therefore, the cost is relatively low, and it will not cost too much even if the budget is uncontrollable.
The reason why Agile methodology emphasizes that the number of people on a project must be controlled within a team of 5-20 people is because Agile can do the kind of AI applications; small automated development projects. But it is not suitable for large projects at the ERP and MES levels.
It would be a good tool to use Agile for interior decoration; but if even the steel bars of the civil structure have to be adjusted through sprint after sprint, there is no way to do it.
Let me take building a house as an example. It would be a good tool to use Agile for interior decoration; but if even the steel bars of the civil structure have to be adjusted through sprint after sprint, there is no way to do it. Taking war as an example, agile is like a pair of five SEALs who can perform various difficult tasks. But you can't put this kind of troops on a plain battlefield like Ukraine to fight with other people's tanks and aircraft.
Today, as technology changes rapidly and demands become more diverse, Agile is definitely a new project approach that is different from traditional water fall. However, projects such as packaged software such as ERP and MES, where the scope of the project is clear before the project starts, cannot be executed with Agile.