Chapter $3,$ Project Management$,$ discusses the difference between the$$ waterfall$$ approach to controlling projects versus $$the agile$$ style of management. With the$$ first, waterfall,$$ well$-$defined projects have changes small enough to be managed without substantially revising plans. The projects progress smoothly in a$$ step$-$by$-$step manner through each phase. But many$$ projects, like software$$ development, are$$ ill$-$defined and need an agile approach with constant feedback and adjustments. Such projects are tackled$$ incrementally, and small chunks meet limited objectives.

Part $2$

John Deere had invested heavily in a traditional Enterprise Resource Planning$($ERP$)$ software upgrade in$$ Australia, with poor results. Dealers complained that the new system was too hard to use and unintuitive. For$$ example, one process that had been $5$ steps turned into $27.$ Data was inconsistent and often$$ inaccurate, and the system crashed$$ often. After numerous expensive attempts with$$ "off the$$ shelf" ERP software developed by the waterfall$$ approach, John Deere decided to take an agile approach as it upgrades its U$.$S$.$ ERP$($the topic of Chapter$14).$

Part $3$

The old$$ non$-$customized "off the$$ shelf" ERP systems were just not able to keep up with John$$ Deere's innovations. For$$ instance, Deere sales teams will be using tablets with video demos and financial data in the field to present new products to customers.$$ Similarly, management wanted current data with product availability and payment data immediately available via a tablet.

Part $4$

Management also recognized the advantages of agile project management. These include faster delivery of new$$ functionality, better alignment between users and$$ developers, and giving users more ownership of new processes. Deere found that another distinct advantage of the agile approach is that as incremental improvements were made in the$$ system, both user and customer satisfaction improved. And improved morale supports even more changes. This closer connection between users and developers is expected to bode well for enhanced responsiveness to future changes in$$ Deere's business processes.

$$Source: Industry Week$($Aug $11,2022).$

Part $5$

Critical Thinking Questions

$1.$ Which software solution implemented via the waterfall approach performed poorly for John Deere in$$ Australia?

A$.$

ERP

Your answer is correct.B$.$

MRP

C$.$

ISO

D$.$

AI

E$.$

JIT

Part $6$

$2.$ What presents the primary reason John$$ Deere's agile approach worked better than its waterfall$$ approach?

A$.$

standardization

B$.$

automation

C$.$

customization

D$.$

documentation

E$.$

expansion