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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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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Moloy Chakraborty
Principal Project Manager| WSP UK LTD
High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom
Thanks, Drake for sharing
Michael Schijns
Senior IT Project Manager| WhatUp INC
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Interesting article, I somewhat disagree with the statement "The stakeholder or sponsor could care less" because in my experience they have cared and were interested in the approach. I like where you are going with the fact that we have to find a way for waterfall and agile to play nicely together.
Frederick Oware
Senior Systems Analyst| Social Security and National Trust, Ghana.
Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana
Nice blog there, Drake.
Like Andrew and Vincent indicated, the question of Agile or Waterfall boils down to getting the tool at the right time.
Probably knowing how best to apply what tool at what time might be the headache.
Farouq Zaabab
Researcher, Coach, Trainer, Consultant| Freelancer
Sohar, Oman
Very useful information. Thanks Drake
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