Welcome to the Atern Pocketbook from DSDM. On-time and in-budget delivery of business change programmes and projects has never been more vital. Since 1994, the DSDM Consortium has been at the forefront in developing processes which combat the common causes of project failure - thereby ensuring time, quality and cost targets are always achievable. Atern is the culmination of practitioners’ experiences drawn from a wide range of public and private sector projects over more than a decade. This unparalleled expertise has resulted in a robust, but agile framework, which can be successfully applied across a variety of organisational and project contexts. With so many potential applications in mind, the Atern Pocketbook has been designed to offer a clear introduction to project delivery for all comers. It can be either read “front-to back” or dipped into for reference purposes. In-depth information, resources and case studies about Atern are available on our website at www.dsdm.or. On behalf of everyone at DSDM Consortium, | hope that you find this Pocketbook an invaluable aid in the successful delivery of your future projects. My thanks to all who contributed. Dn Steve Messenger Chairman DSDM Consortium DSDM Atern is a mework for agile project management and delivery. Atern helps to deliver results quickly and effectively. It concentrates on strategic goals and incremental delivery of real business benefits while keeping control of cost, risk and quality. Agility is enabled through the encouragement of selfdirected, empowered teams working together in a supportive and collaborative manner. Atern can be applied to a wide range of projects from small software developments all the way up to full scale business process change. How can Atern help? Managing business change and developing solutions are never simple tasks. The problems that often occur when people from varied disciplines come together are: > Late delivery > Reduced benefits >» Wrong solution >» Poor quality > Cost overruns Atern has been specifically developed to overcome these problems. What is Atern? Atern is an agile project management and delivery framework that delivers the right solution at the right time. The right business solution is delivered because: » The Project team and other significant stakeholders remain focused on the business outcome » Delivery is on time providing an early return on investment and reduced risk >» All people involved with the project work collaboratively to deliver the optimum solution >» Work is prioritised according to business need and the ability of users to accommodate changes > Atern does not compromise on quality Importantly, Atern harnesses the knowledge, experience and creativity of end users. It uses an iterative lifecycle to evolve the most appropriate solution to satisfy project objectives. Using planned, visible timeboxes with clearly specified outcomes, control is exercised throughout by the project manager and the team members themselves. Roles are clearly defined (page 39) and work is divided into timeboxes (page 30) with immovable deadlines and agreed outcomes.