Based on collaboration and autonomy, the Agile method works without a project manager. Only two roles are defined within the team: the scrum master, who verifies the implementation of the method and coordinates the various team members; and the product owner, who represents the customer and acts as a link between the end-user and the project team members. These roles do not imply a hierarchical link, as the Agile method works on the principle of a leader serving others. So how can an interim manager find his place in a project run using Agile methods?

Users of the agile method are unanimous: while its principles are childishly simple, its fields of application are complex and relatively technical. It often happens that a team, convinced that it is using the Agile method to best effect, unintentionally wastes time, resulting in a project that doesn’t correspond to initial expectations: wrong perception of priorities, poorly executed breakdown into stages, etc.

That’s why an outside consultant specializing in the Agile method can play an important role in a Scrum project within a company. This may involve software implementation and development, but also the monitoring of a different project. His or her perfect knowledge of the specifics of the method enables him or her to collaborate effectively on the project: he or she is able to contribute to the implementation of an adapted blacklog that takes into account the priority tasks to be carried out, then to the breakdown of a project into precise and flexible sprints.

As such, the interim manager delegated to manage a project in Agile mode is keen to optimize everyone’s skills and act as an interface between departments that are not accustomed to collaborating with the product owner. It is also his responsibility to ensure that the process is rigorously implemented.