Waterfall or Agile, that is the Question
From the Project Management in Real Life Blog
by Drake Settsu
Sharing my Project Management adventures and some tips.
I like to keep my articles brief and to the point.
Project Management is an Art, Science, and Discipline.
Just keep it simple and have fun!
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Date
The dilemma of Waterfall or Agile.
Organizations should never declare that they are leaving Waterfall to be a full Agile organization. In defense of Agile you can't remain only on Waterfall. The problem is the lack of education and false perception. Education will help to get everyone on the same page. It's all about having clarity in the perception of Waterfall and Agile.
I can't make up my mind so let's flip a coin.
Waterfall is here to stay and it needs to play nicely with Agile. Opposites attract. Agile and Waterfall make a nice hybrid. The rule of thumb is to use what will work best to deliver project results. Did a stakeholder or sponsor ever ask you what approach did you use on the project? I don't think so. The stakeholder or sponsor could care less. It's all about guiding the team efficiently through the project to make happy stakeholders and sponsors with a project delivered on-time.
The Waterfall-Agile hybrid marriage.
The ship needs to raise the anchor and leave the harbor to make it to it's port of call on time. Many projects still follow a linear path to the finish line, but they have requirements not fully designed or approved. With tight deadlines you can't wait till the requirements dust settles to start the project. Use the approved requirements that you have to create a project plan timeline. Mark the the areas in the project plan timeline that are still waiting for the requirements dust to settle with a "Under Construction - Come Back Later" notation, hint hint, that is an example of Agile in the plan. The Project Manager is the Captain of the ship that will use his/her discretion to direct the team aka the crew on what needs to be done. The project plan timeline is the map to the destination.
They love colors, stats, and no budget variance.
The Project Sponsor is not interested in a dog and pony show. Using Waterfall in the plan will help give the sponsors that warm and fuzzy simple report card. What is the color of the project via Stoplight reporting along with the current project completion percentage. Hey look Mom no budget variance to report.
Posted on: May 24, 2018 09:35 AM |
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Comments (28)
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Rami Kaibni
Community Champion
Senior Projects Manager | Field & Marten Associates
New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Very true and fully agree. Agile & Waterfalls work nicely together for Construction Projects.
Anish Abraham
Privacy Program Manager| University of Washington
Auburn, Wa, United States
Informative and thanks for sharing, Drake.
Julio Gulias
Project Manager| -
New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
I'm convinced that as long as agile does not get the way the projects are contracted, we can use techniques and tools inspired by agile, not that this is bad, but it will continue to be a waterfall.
Thanks for sharing your experience Drake!
Thanks Girish, Anish & Julio!
Actually, we want to get to a point where we don't even need to ask that question ;-)
A good combination of both Agile & Waterfalls its the ideal.
Thank you
Sergio Luis Conte
Helping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based Organizations
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Thank you very much for sharing. Please let me comment this: Agile and waterfall are not matter of comparison. Agile is a practice. Waterfall is a life cycle process based on predictive life cycle models. You can use Agile practice with waterfall life cycle process. We are doing that in my actual work place and I did that from 1995 up to date. At the end, what most of the organizations forgot is to start and impact analysis when they have intentions to "use something" to "create something" because the system nature (open and adaptable system) of organizations.
Kathy Castle
Author at https://www.projectcubicle.com/| Freelance
Tx, United States
Pick the right approach for the needs of a project - thanks for sharing, Drake!
Thanks for sharing Drake!! A hybrid would definitely be the ideal choice considering their pros and cons
Vincent Guerard
Coach - Trainer - Speaker - Advisor| Freelance
Mont-Royal, Quebec, Canada
It is just a matter of choice pick the right mix
Drew Craig
Sr. Agile & Product Coach| Vanguard
Philadelphia, Pa, United States
A carpenter carries a bag of tools. Some work alone, some work in conjunction with, and some act as a proxy or enabler of others.
Thanks Eduin, Vincent & Andrew!
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