Agile project manager for ecommerce and web projects – 9 questions for the expert

Nils Boe Eriksen has been working as an IT project manager and IT architect for more than 20 years, and has specialized in ecommerce and web projects for the past 10 years. Nils has extensive experience with agile methods, also works as an agile coach, and is currently Head SCRUM Master for a client in the financial sector.

1. Why have you chosen to work as a self-employed agile project manager in web and ecommerce?

I have always been self-employed alongside my work, as a freelance programmer or as a seller of some hardware. I took the full step to becoming self-employed in 2005, because I was frustrated that it was not possible in practice to think and execute the 360 ​​degree solutions that would be the best for the clients. Although this was what management hinted at, it was difficult in practice because of lack of transparency and involvement across the departments of the IT consultancy where I was permanently employed. Since I was also able to bill almost all of my hours, the step to becoming a self-employed consultant seemed obvious.

In 2007, I thought that ecommerce has probably come to stay, and I began to specialise.

2. What is the most interesting project you have worked on and why?

In relation to ecommerce, I was contacted in 2014 when Britney Spears was going to sell underwear throughout the world. How do you build an ecommerce platform that best supports the purpose, takes advantage of Britney Spears’ presence on social media, and, not least, ensures a stable solution when users from all over the world ‘storm’ the store? From scratch and in 3 months, mind you. It is important to mention that at that time, Britney Spears had a total of 53 million followers on her Facebook page.

The challenge was also in the decentralised organisation: in California, the design department was located, a development team was located in Belarus, an analysis of data centres and headquarters in Canada was conducted in Copenhagen.  My strength in this type of project is that I understand the complexity and the different types of roles, which is crucial for putting things together and running a successful agile process. It takes insight to make the right decisions during the project.

3. What is the most important professional trend you see in ecommerce?

Agile processes, if you look at the technical side of things. Online lags a bit behind other IT-projects regarding the use of agile processes, as the projects are typically smaller. But especially online, the agile approach is important to achieve success, because online is constantly changing. It requires you to be able to adapt to a new reality quickly. Both in relation to the company’s business strategy and the platforms which are available. There may be new markets or competitors which require handling, or new marketing initiatives, such as flat screens in stores, that need to be utilised. There is a lot going on within Omnichannel, so it can be hard to get an overview of the future; that’s why agile processes are so valuable, not least in ecommerce projects. The business’ needs for agility must be implemented in the way you absorb the technology. Because it’s not beneficial for you to have a business with a need to move fast if technological processes do not support it perfectly.

The sooner the company realises that you are constantly in beta, the sooner they’ll be successful. You don’t build a Great Belt Bridge where you suddenly find out that you have to turn right somewhere else than planned; but you do that here. If what you knew six months ago does not apply anymore, it is crucial for the company’s success to prioritise an informed foundation that provides the most value in the future.

4. What characteristics do you think distinguishes the most talented project managers of digital projects from the crowd?

It’s passion and experience, really; I may even say that passion is more important. When I was an employer myself, I learned to ask if people had a passion. If you have experience with any passion, you have also implicitly tried to do what it takes to achieve your goals. In addition, the most talented project managers of digital projects are those who have actually had their fingers in the machine. It is not enough to have an education or do a course in ecommerce, you must have worked with it in practice. I have seen people who have a good education on paper, but who do not understand the field they work with and the skills they need.

5. What is crucial for an agile project to be successful – and what increases the risk of failure?

The management’s confidence in the fact that agile projects work. When you present a sprint plan with implementation sprints, and the response you get is that the management is not confident the plan will work, it’s difficult to drive an agile project. They must accept the premise and understand that the plan will change along the way, and that they will decide what is most important during the process when prioritising and opting out and opting in. It is a consequence of the agility, but it is also a result of your business’ needs, which is precisely the strength of the agile process, and the client must understand that. The clients where I’ve gone through with this understand it and return. Take for example the man who hired me for the Britney Spears project and now has to do a project for B&O. You’ll create high expectations for what can be done, but you’ll just have to try to live up to them.

Video: how to hire an Agile project manager through Right People Group?

6. What skills do you expect to acquire within the next year – and why?

I will do some certifications that support “SAFe”, which is a framework for scaling agile methods in enterprise, “Scaling Agile Framework in Enterprise”.

I realised that a lot of people think I do very well as an agile project manager, and I’d like to have that on paper as well as get more relevant theory. I have previously done a certification for the SAFe Advanced Scrum Master (SASM), have a SAFe Agilist (SA) certification scheduled, and then I do SAFe Program Consult (SPC4) afterwards.

7. Who or what is your biggest professional source of inspiration?

Right now, there are many Meetups and user groups in relation to Atlassian. In addition, I participate in conferences with ecommerce as a subject, both at home and abroad, such as Barcelona in May. Denmark is lagging behind on the ecommerce area, so it’s good to get inspiration internationally.

8. What is your best advice for other consultants who are considering becoming self-employed?

They just have to do it. The worst thing is to get eaten up by the “what ifs”. Try it. Into gear. We are living in an agile world, and you can’t plan everything, so try it.

9. What is your best advice for companies who are considering hiring a self-employed consultant?

Practice the preach. Walk the talk. If you hire an agile project manager, you also need to be agile in your processes with sprint, retrospectives, and become smarter along the way, otherwise it won’t matter. They must be consistent in their processes.

An external agile coach can support this desire to work in an agile way. It can add some maturity, which can be difficult to get through a permanent employee, because it’s not something you can just teach people with a course.

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