Testing Agile PM in Data Science

Line graph that shows that data exploration is less of a fit to agile project management

For a number of years, I have been managing a small team of data analysts and engineers with a mandate to inform on innovation economy activity in Canada. Data that we work with involves surveys, data vendors and publicly available data sources, all within a ‘data partnership’ model. While our team was generally doing good work and providing critical analysis, a few years ago we ran into some issues. Challenges that would come up regularly: Missed deadlines due to difficulty estimating how long tasks would take. After publication, occasionally going…