Procept Associates Ltd
Taking ‘Agile’ to the Next Level

It was early 1983; the construction industry was going through a ‘building boom’ following a rise in the domestic property market. Invariably, the industry started witnessing a surge in faster and improved construction techniques. But industry project management approaches did not quite adapt with the times; project management practices remained rigid while construction companies demanded flexible services that could help them facilitate faster project completions.

This was when three professionals came together with the intent of providing innovative project management advisory and consultancy services for the industry. Their efforts culminated in the formation of a firm—Procept Associates— through which they began guiding struggling companies to revamp their project management approaches and enable quicker time to market.

Soon, they gained traction in a myriad of industries. The company witnessed its next spurt of growth when Kevin Aguanno—a well-known specialist in agile project management—joined Procept as a principal consultant and agile practice lead. Previously, he proved instrumental in the development of the renowned Agile Project Management (AgilePM) and Open Unified Process (OpenUP) agile methods and influential over the development of Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD) when he was IBM’s global agile centre of excellence lead. Bringing this expertise to Procept, Aguanno enabled the company to significantly broaden its portfolio. “We started encouraging companies to include agile methodologies into their project management practices even before the term became known in the industry,” says Aguanno, who is now the president of the company. Driven by such foresight, today Procept has secured its position as one of the best agile project management consulting firms in North America.

Implementing the Right Project Management Approach

According to Aguanno, leveraging the right project management approach is extremely crucial for the successful completion of any project. This means that organizations cannot always leverage the traditional waterfall approach for every project. While waterfall may be broadly-used because of its pre-defined framework and control points, it doesn’t adapt efficiently to customer feedback, making it flawed in today’s rising rapidly-changing market. That’s where a more flexible and iterative agile methodology might work better to ensure customer involvement and enable successful project completion. “Our goal is to help clients choose the right project management approach, which can help their projects succeed in the shortest possible time and budget,” says Aguanno.

To achieve this, Procept consultants provide a structured decision-making framework for choosing the right project management approach based on the needs and nature of an individual project, the capabilities and culture of the project team, and unwritten goals and politics of the sponsoring business unit. Procept then guides clients in implementing the chosen project management framework for their project— offering comprehensive advisory services and training to assure success.

Our goal is to help clients choose the right project management approach, which can help their projects succeed in the shortest possible time and budget

What’s more? Today, Procept offers its unique agile project management knowledge in the form of courses that are part of many U.S. and Canadian universities’ curriculum. “In addition to basic agile mentions Aguanno. Procept offers customized agile training to major corporations, government agencies, and non-profit organizations all around the world. To date, Procept and its subsidiaries have trained over 1 million people in over 17,000 organizations. training many others provide, we offer specialized training in advanced agile applications in engineering and construction, mergers and acquisitions, business process reengineering, accounting, and in many other areas completely outside of IT where most trainers focus,”

Paving the Path for Quick and Successful Project Completions

Owing to the company’s extensive agile project management know-how and expertise, many of Procept’s clients have witnessed impressive project outcomes. A notable case in point is a large organization that was managing a complex software development and systems integration project. Although they were pushing the limits of their technologies and workforce to complete the project, the rigid project methodology made it difficult for them to adapt their processes to evolving customer requirements. That was when they decided to take Procept’s help and switch to an agile methodology. The consultants at Procept, led by Aguanno himself, came in as advisors to guide the relevant personnel in the right direction and bring the project back on track. Procept’s approach to agile deployment turned out to be quite a success, as the client was able to complete the project in just nine months rather than the projected three years.

With many similar success stories and a program of original research, Procept has secured its place at the forefront of the agile movement. The company already has some of the biggest corporations in its client roster, including IBM, Toyota, Siemens, etc., and this client base is continually expanding. In addition, the company is also collaborating with leading global project management standards bodies. Such robust partnerships will enable the company to continuously innovate and expand its library of project, program, and portfolio management frameworks, processes, and tools. The future seems bright for Procept!