Agile Project Management for Utility System

There are quite number of articles or argument on Agile Project Management. One thing that interest me is the discussion whether this Agile Project Management is only applicable on software development project or any other projects?

This summary from ccpace.com could answer our mind bugling:

The best project managers aren’t just organizers – they combine business vision, communication skills, soft management skills and technical savvy with the ability to plan, coordinate, and execute. In essence, they are not just managers – they are leaders. While this has always been the case, agile project management
places a higher premium on the leadership skills than ever before.

For example, XP teams create and monitor their own iteration plans in collaboration with the customers. The customer creates stories (features) and prioritizes them based on business value. The developers divide up the tasks themselves as they work and measures progress for each iteration (time-boxed development cycle), adjusting plans with the customer as necessary. So, if the project no longer needs a detailed master project plan, why does it need a project manager?

Because every project needs a leader. Agile methodologies free the project manager from the drudgery of being a taskmaster thereby enabling the project manager to focus on being a leader – someone who keeps the spotlight on the vision, who inspires the team, who promotes teamwork and collaboration, who champions the project and removes obstacles to progress. Rather than being an operational controller, the project
manager can become an adaptive leader – if she can relinquish her reliance on old style management.

The basic phases of an agile development project are really no different from those of any other project. You still must define and initiate the project, plan for the project, execute the plan, and monitor and control the results. But, the manner in which these steps are accomplished are different and require the project manager to retrofit what they know about traditional management to a new way of thinking – the thinking of complex adaptive systems.