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Agile PM is increasingly important in modern project environments because:

1. Things change quickly

Whether you’re building software or LEGO islands, requirements shift and ideas evolve. Agile allows teams to adapt fast without throwing away all previous work.

2. It breaks big tasks into achievable chunks

Instead of feeling overwhelmed, the team focuses on completing small pieces of work in short cycles. This helped us concentrate on one element at a time during the build.

3. Teams work better when communication is constant

Agile encourages collaboration and transparency. In the workshop, everyone could see what tasks were planned, in progress, or done, which avoided confusion and overlap.

4. It makes progress visible

With tools like the Kanban board and burn-down chart, we could instantly see how much we had left to complete. This kept everyone focused and motivated.

Agile isn’t just a project method — it’s a mindset that values teamwork, flexibility, and learning by doing. Today’s workshop proved exactly why it works.

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Agile Tools Used in the Workshop (and How They Helped)

⭐ 1. Kanban Board

The Kanban board was divided into columns:

Product Backlog → To Do → In Progress → Done

We wrote each required island feature on sticky notes and moved them across the board as we worked.

It helped us:

• Visualise the whole project at a glance

• Keep track of what was done and what still needed attention

• Avoid people working on the same task by accident

This tool made our teamwork much more structured despite the pressure.

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⭐ 2. Product Backlog

This was the list of everything our island needed, written on sticky notes with numbers representing priority or difficulty (e.g., Stadium 9, Fire Station 12, Healthy Citizens 26).

The Product Backlog helped us:

• Break the big assignment into smaller tasks

• Prioritise what to build first in the limited time

• Understand the scope of the project before we started building

Without it, we would have spent half the time figuring out what we were supposed to make.

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⭐ 3. Burn-down Chart

The burn-down chart tracked how many tasks were remaining across the sprint (our 10-minute “mini sprint”). The red line dropped as we completed tasks, showing our progress over time.

It helped us:

• See whether we were on track to finish

• Notice when progress slowed

• Stay motivated by seeing the workload decrease

Even though this was a physical chart drawn on a flip chart, it worked exactly like a real Agile workspace.

Schedules of projects in many organisations look perfect on paper until you actually try to match them with the actual people, equipment, or budget available. Resource-constrained projects occur when a schedule requires more resources than an organisation can provide at any one time. Although this is quite common, one of the major tools used to fix it is resource leveling, especially through the Parallel method.

How Resource Leveling-Parallel Method Resolves the Issue

Resource leveling adjusts the schedule so that resource demand never exceeds the limits set by the organization. The Parallel method does not try to force all tasks into the earliest possible dates; rather, it looks at activities day by day, checks the overloads, and delays certain tasks—usually those with the most float or of lowest priority—until the resource usage becomes reasonable.

In other words, it spreads the workload so the team isn't expected to do more than they realistically can.

This makes the schedule achievable, even if it means pushing some tasks later.

Impact on the Schedule

Resource leveling almost always results in:

Prolonged project timeline

Tasks that were originally planned to occur simultaneously might be staggered.

Reduced peaks in workload

Instead of overwhelming resource demand, leveling creates a smoother, more balanced schedule.

While this can make the project take longer, it becomes far more realistic and deliverable.

Relationship Between the Leveled Schedule and the Baseline Budget

When the schedule changes, so does the timing of the costs. Even when the overall budget remains the same, cash flow shifts. This is because activities—and therefore expenses—occur later than they did previously.

This "rolled-up" or baseline budget needs to be updated to reflect this new timing so that funding matches up with the leveled schedule. In other words:

Uncertainty accompanies every project, and the risk management process is how project managers stay one step ahead of it. The process allows teams to identify risks early, plan on how to manage those risks, and maintain a trouble-free running of the project rather than waiting for them to appear.

It begins with the identification of potential risks, which means anything that could affect time, cost, scope, or quality. This often involves discussion with the team, scrutiny of the project plan, and experience from past projects. When the risks are in the open, the next step is to analyze them so the team knows which ones count. Not every risk is created equal, and grasping their probability and impact helps draw resources where they will be needed.

Next, the project manager determines an action plan for each significant risk. Some risks can be mitigated, some can be avoided, some can be transferred to another party, and others must simply be accepted and monitored. What is important is having a plan ready well before the risk actually strikes.

Finally, risk management is not a one-time activity. During the project, risks will be reviewed, new ones will be added, and plans will be adjusted. This ongoing attention will keep the project steady, even when unexpected challenges come up.

Unrealistic Timelines Trigger Delays

When schedules are built on overly optimistic assumptions, teams end up rushing to meet impossible deadlines. This leads to mistakes, rework, and ultimately a timeline that stretches far beyond the original plan.

Budget Overruns Become Unavoidable

If costs are underestimated from the start, the project quickly burns through its funding. Once finances slip out of control, stakeholder confidence often drops, jeopardising continued support.

Scope Creep Accelerates

When estimates don’t reflect the true amount of effort required, even small additions feel overwhelming. This creates pressure, confusion, and a project that grows faster than the team can manage.

Team Stress and Burnout Increase

Inaccurate estimates force teams into overtime and constant pressure to “catch up.” This strains morale, reduces productivity, and increases the likelihood of errors.

Stakeholder Trust Erodes

Consistent missed deadlines and surprise expenses damage credibility. Even if the project’s goals are worthwhile, stakeholders may lose faith in its success.

Quality Deteriorates

When time and money are in short supply, quality is often sacrificed. Corners get cut, testing is rushed, and the final deliverable may fall short of expectations.

Final Thoughts

How and Why a WBS Is Constructed — And How It Helps Identify Risk

One of the most important tools in project management is the WBS, or Work Breakdown Structure. The WBS takes a large project and drills down into much smaller pieces, making planning clearer and making any risks much easier to spot. Here's a look at how it's built-and why it matters.

How a WBS is Constructed

A WBS is created by breaking a project down into deliverables-not tasks-so the team can clearly see everything that must be produced.

Start with the final deliverable:

Determine the overall project result.

Break it into major components

These might be phases like Planning, Design, Development, etc.

Decompose into smaller deliverables

Continue breaking down until you reach "work packages," which are small, manageable units that can be assigned and estimated.

Stop when the job is clear and controllable

Each work package must be understandable, easy to schedule, and track.

Why a WBS is used

An effective WBS enables teams to:

Define project scope

Create more accurate estimates of time and cost

Assign responsibilities clearly.

Improve communication and tracking

Establish sound foundations in schedules and budgets.

In other words, it keeps the entire project organized and transparent.

How a WBS Helps Identify Risk

A WBS is also a powerful risk-identification tool because it:

Highlights unclear or incomplete areas, exposing scope or requirement risks

This week’s focus was on how organisations with limited resources decide which projects to take on. I found this particularly interesting because it showed how companies can’t just pick every “good idea” they need a structured way to decide which projects will bring the most value.

We looked at different project screening methods, including checklists and financial measures, but the tool that stood out most to me was the multi-weight scoring model. Unlike a simple yes/no checklist, this model lets companies compare projects across multiple criteria, each with different levels of importance. I realised that this approach helps organisations avoid tunnel vision on just profit and instead think about things like strategic fit, feasibility, and risk.

To make this more concrete, I thought about how it would work in Ryanair, one of Ireland’s biggest airlines. Ryanair constantly faces choices about where to put its limited resources — for example, deciding whether to open a new flight route, invest in new aircraft, or upgrade its digital booking system.

When Ryanair is thinking about new projects, the ideas usually come from all over the company. The operations team might put forward suggestions for new routes, the IT team could be looking at system upgrades, and marketing often comes up with ways to improve the passenger experience. Once the ideas are in, the finance team runs the numbers, looking at costs, risks, and potential revenue. In the end, it’s the executives and the board who make the call, picking the projects that fit best with Ryanair’s long-term mission of staying Europe’s top low-cost airline.

Here’s where the multi-weight scoring model comes in. Ryanair could rank each project against key criteria, such as:

Profitability and revenue potential (30%)

Strategic fit with their low-cost model (25%)

Market demand and customer benefit (20%)

Risk (15%)

Resource requirements (10%)

Each project gets a score for each category, multiplied by the weight, and the totals show which projects are strongest overall. For example, adding a new high-demand route might rank higher than an IT upgrade if it brings in more profit and fits Ryanair’s strategy.

For me, the key takeaway is that project selection is as much about strategy as it is about numbers. Using a model like this keeps the process fair, transparent, and aligned with company goals.

This phase is all about clarity and alignment. The core activities usually include:

Identifying Stakeholders Who are the people or groups affected by this project? Who has a say in the outcome? Getting this list right early ensures no one important is left out.

Defining Objectives and Scope What exactly is the project trying to achieve? And just as importantly what is not part of the plan? This keeps the project focused and manageable.

Gathering Requirements What needs to be done to meet the project goals? This could include business needs, technical specs, or user expectations.

Assessing Feasibility Is this project realistic? Can it be done with the time, budget, and resources available?

Conducting Initial Risk Assessment What could go wrong and how can we prepare for it?

Outlining Deliverables and Success Criteria What will the project actually deliver? And how will we know if it’s successful?

Outputs from This Phase

After completing this phase, the project team should have:

A Project Charter a document that summarizes the project’s purpose, scope, goals, stakeholders, and constraints.

A clear Scope Statement defining what’s included and what’s not.

A Preliminary Project Plan with rough timelines and milestones.

An Initial Risk Log listing potential issues and mitigation strategies.

Roles and Responsibilities so everyone knows who’s doing what.

Risks This Phase Helps Minimize

By taking time to define the project upfront, several common risks can be avoided:

Scope Creep when the project keeps growing because there was no clear boundary from the start.

Unclear Goals leading to confusion, wasted effort, or unmet expectations.

Stakeholder Conflict when people aren’t on the same page or weren’t included early.

Budget and Time Overruns because of poor planning or unrealistic expectations.

Total Project Failure often caused by lack of direction or misaligned priorities.

Why It All Matters