This assignment is focused on project selection and the underlying factors used to make this determination. You will need to use the readings/videos, the previous learning modules, along with some additional research.

Your organization has recently added the agile "approach" as an alternative to the traditional project management methods currently in use.

As one of several project managers working within the Information Technology department, you have been assigned to a new project to implement a department-based software application that was just approved during the organization's annual budget approval process. This new software application will replace an existing program that has been in use for the past several years.

You meet with the department director/sponsor of the proposed project and find out the plan to replace the old system has been under consideration for over a year. The department director has been working through a process of selecting a software package and vendor to assist with installation and ongoing maintenance and support. The purchase and annual maintenance costs were provided by the vendor's sales staff ($495K for the software and $2500 per month maintenance) and submitted to the organization's capital equipment budget for review and approval.

As soon as the budget was approved the Project Management team was contacted to complete the implementation of the entire system. The assigned project manager gladly accepted the new project and began work. During the initial meeting it was determined by the project manager that, since the department director/sponsor had been deeply involved in the budget cycle, she also had a number of expectations as a result of her/his work. It appeared that the vendor's sales staff indicated the entirely new application would be ready within about 3 months! (The selection of the vendor may have been partially based on this expectation and therefore the sponsor/department director was determined this timeframe needed to be adhered to.)

Required Actions: Answer these two questions:

2. Given that the department director was heavily involved for the past year in software and vendor selection and that the agile approach was now available to you, would you proceed with the traditional project management approach or decide to use the agile method to complete the project successfully?
4. Based on your experience, and your recent research on the agile approach (agile manifesto, etc.) would you decide to stay with the traditional structured method or use the more flexible "agile" approach? Discuss the pros and cons and other factors in making your decision.