Going "Agile" before turning "SMART"

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) had organised a conference on infrastructure project management, captioned "AGILE APPROACH in PROJECT MANAGEMENT". I was invited by the conference partner CBRE as a panellist on one of the session. I don't consider myself an expert in project management; but the word "agile" did strike a chord with me; and post a quick investigation of what the topic meant - knew it would be a very interesting event to increase my learning quotient. Trust me; the prep work involved quite a few man hours in fully understanding the applicability and adaptability of such a system in the infrastructure and construction segment, as Agile Project Management (APM) has primarily evolved from software development. APM theoretically seems to be the rightest approach to managing anything in India; given the ever changing dynamics - yet the hardest to implement if one reads "The Agile manifesto", given the basic work culture DNA prevalent today in both the public and private sector that raises a whole lot of questions on competency and communication practices. 

The keynote address had to do with the creation of SMART cities in India; as that would account for the largest infrastructure creation in this nation after roads and rails.  It could not have been more apt or better timed as I got an ET alert "PM Modi's pet 100 Smart Cities project gets Cabinet approval" as soon as the gathering was called to order.  I am sharing a bit of my learning here. 

My sentiments on SMART cities got a kind of boost when  the industry representatives on the dais asked if the foot soldiers of the government's machinery could accurately define what a SMART City meant? He felt that for many it meant just four words "Free WiFi for all".  Going by ground reality, India at present lacks the infrastructure and resources including manpower for creating such cities given the time-cost delays in almost all government led projects. Some 109,000 crores and an average of 12 years on just 700 of the key works being undertaken by the public sector. 

The one attempt of building a SMART city called GIFT in Gujarat has not been a runaway success either. Conceived in 2006-7; there are 2 towers that have just been completed in 2014 now serving as a hope that something grand will emerge here - hopefully before 2019. It's not a fatalistic thought but one where all the key players be it private or public entities need to "communicate" with each other on how each of these 100 goals will be achieved in the set time and cost; and how each of them will help in increasing India's GDP and SGP ranking on a global scale.

The Govt. view came from a very intelligent IAS officer who was candid enough to publicly state that accountability in terms of time and money was not a priority within the administrative machinery for a number of reasons; prime being changing goal posts caused by frequent policy and leadership shifts at all levels. ‎He felt that the private sector was always quick to blame the authorities for all the woes; yet the practise of evolving a "juice the economics" has originated on that side of the divide. If the entire project process was conceived upon the "advance ruling" concept where the end goal was frozen the entire creation and economic use process would become more disciplined than it is now on all delivery parameters including transparency. Obviously; for him agility was not a virtue / luxury that the Govt. could afford, given its administrative size and scale. He may be right from his point of view; but in my mind that's really not the answer. In fact it's far from it as in today's world change is the only constant. There are too many conflicting policies and decision makers around which I call the real culprits. Is their existence deliberate? I think I just asked a rhetorical question. Just to state simple example; the City of Mumbai is governed by regulations enforced by its Municipal Corporation (BMC); its development authority (MMRDA) and the State Government - and many a times each one has a contradictory policy on the same subject. 

Did you know that the number of smart devices in use today exceed the human population? Or that Singapore's water management system is administered by a company in Israel? Or that, the streets in London have sensors that help motorists find parking spots? Or that a major cab aggregator in the UK pushes shaji re a cab messages to people at on bus routes where bus services are routinely delayed by 10 minutes or more? Or that the garbage cans in New Orleans send a message to the garbage trucks when they are full? Closer to home; Bangalore is experimenting with creating virtual police and civic stations inside malls so that a person can access government services from a location of "comfort". There are many such experiments being carried out around the world based on the changes brought into our daily lives through rapid changes in communication and technology. 


Obviously then; a SMART City would require SMART infrastructure to be put in place where the internet and technology are mere enablers. Adopting technology without a the larger purpose of improving the Quality of Life is a sheer waste. From a return on investment perspective; the best place to introduce SMARTness is where there is pain festering from ill planned urban planning - and India, no better place to start than the 8 major cities. Yes there is an argument in favour of decongesting the existing metros by creating new and worthy alternatives; but in reality, the incentive of a SMART tag will not be sufficient for a person to cut the urban umbilical of self and family. Our PM should visit the ghost town cities of China to get a better sense of how fast his Utopian dream could turn Dystopian. Moreover, newer cities need to be planned on a change-predictive (Agile) and modular basis to allow for population and socio-economic growth. They have to follow the DIRT (Do It Right Today) principles of urban planning. It is the existing cities that need to become more sustainable, environmentally friendly, and tech efficient to cut down on wastage of  precious time and limited resources while improving the happiness quotient of its citizens. Key areas that can improve using SMART agile methodologies include; Administrative and Security Management, Parking, Water Management, Street Lighting, Waste Management, Public Transport, Open Spaces management. All of these have a direct bearing on improving the City's own economic sustainability. (Incidentally; Mumbai's draft Development plan proposed to take it into 2034 hardly addresses any of these issues). 

Finally, "Agility" for me is a character and not a process; one that has to be self injected into our work DNA irrespective of what segment we work in. If that is not possible; I am sorry, we shall then be left "smarting" and not "SMART".  

Views in press post this blog:

http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/index.aspx?eid=31804&dt=20150828

98 cities named for `smart city' makeover, no Kolkata & B'luru

New Delhi TIMES NEWS NETWORK





The Centre on Thursday announced the names of 98 urban centres and cities nominated by the state governments for the “Smart City“ scheme. Two dozen state capitals, 24 economic and business hubs and 18 urban areas of cultural and tourism importance are on the list.Announcing the nominations, urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu said it was a good signal that 65 small and medium towns and cities have made it to the list of smart city aspirants. Several big cities including state capitals such as Kolkata, Bengaluru, Patna, Thiruvananthapuram and Shimla have failed to make the cut.
The identified 98 urban areas, which fall under municipal jurisdictions, will cover about 13 crore people accounting for over 35% of the country's total urban population.

India should consider making 100 existing cities smart, says expert Prof. Christopher Benninger. July 25, 2015

Indian planners should design the country's new cities using the knowledge of local culture and economics as well as understanding of the appropriate infrastructure requirements.

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/india-should-consider-making-100-existing-cities-smart/#sthash.RVK9xJQy.dpuf