Spotlight
Testimonial: Boston University
Boston University (BU), an internationally recognized institution of higher education and research and the fourth largest independent university in the U.S., is continuously seeking ways to improve project outcomes while optimizing resources for maximum efficiency. The Information Services & Technology (IS&T) team historically has used a traditional waterfall project management methodology. Senior leadership recently identified value in integrating Agile project management methods into the department's process for certain programs in the project portfolio. BU hired Corporate Education Group (CEG) as its trusted advisor to provide tailored and targeted training to select members of the IS&T team along with consultative support to integrate best practices into its project environment.
Thirty-five employees representing IS&T's website and .Net development teams were selected to participate in the program. This included directors, team leaders and individual contributors across a wide range of functions, including project management, business analysis, architecture, development and quality assurance. Working on a representative project, participants were introduced to Agile concepts and challenged to apply them in the context of the IS&T environment. This resulted in identification of Agile techniques that could be adopted and applied immediately to improve project outcomes.
Early feedback from Bev Guiry, director of the Project Management Office, Information Services & Technology for BU, suggests this initiative is off to a great start. "I have received excellent feedback about the training and instruction. The training is raising a lot of issues (e.g. organizational, cultural) that we need to tackle to implement Agile, and a lot of good discussion has resulted. We appreciate CEG's understanding of the world of higher education and your ability to contrast that with how Agile is applied in other environments."