Consultant| Canarys Automation LtdBangalore, Karnataka, India
This discussion thread invites project management professionals to explore the integration of agile principles into traditional project management methodologies. As organizations increasingly adopt agile approaches to enhance flexibility and responsiveness, many project managers are tasked with incorporating agile practices within existing frameworks. This discussion provides a platform to share experiences, insights, and lessons learned in blending agile and traditional project management methods. From adapting workflows to fostering collaboration, we'll delve into the opportunities and challenges of embracing agile principles within traditional project management contexts. Join the conversation to exchange strategies, tips, and practical advice for navigating this dynamic landscape and driving project success.
One of the challenges I faced: - Extreme lack of participation by the Team because they detested cross-collaboration - as it would take away their autonomy on the subject matter. Saving Changes...
Gaurav DhooperAssistant Vice President| GenpactNoida, U.P., India
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to project management. It largely depends upon the culture, level of collaboration and organizational mindset. There have been real-life examples where Agile practices have not worked well with the traditional project management. The problem is the mindset and the culture. If organizations and teams are not ready to change nothing can improve. But at the same time there have been successful cases where both agile and traditional practices have worked well as the world is moving towards hybrid ways of working and managing the projects. In the recent Pulse of the Profession 2024, hybrid approaches have been adopted at a faster rate in comparison to agile practices alone. The flexibility and adaptability must be there in the ways of working across the organization and not only specific delivery or development teams; since the interdependencies can be resolved and cross-functional collaboration can only be successful if all the related functions adopt agile and adaptive ways of working. Saving Changes...
MICHAEL JULIANSr. Program Manager| AVER LLCWaldorf, Md, United States
I think the most significant enhancements Agile brings to traditional Project Management are the emphasis on individuals over processes, and collaboration. I think that many of us PMs have evolved over time - be it the influence of professional experience or simply wisdom with age - to appreciate the individual team member perspectives and approaches and seek true collaboration wherever possible.
The cliches of 'change is not easy' or no one like change' may be true at the most basic level, but good leaders and managers will seek out novel approaches and new perspectives and build a more effective and efficient team through embracing and encouraging collaboration. Saving Changes...
Senior Projects Manager | Field & Marten AssociatesNew Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Ashwin, I do agree with my fellow colleagues. Majority of the organisations these days do adopt a Hybrid approach which is a blend of both Adaptive and Predictive. It’s not about incorporating agile principles into traditional project management than it is about finding the right balance between both to define Ways of Working that best fits your project because like Gaurav mentioned, it’s not a one-size-fits-all. Saving Changes...
Gaurav DhooperAssistant Vice President| GenpactNoida, U.P., India
Bang on Rami! Finding the right balance between both the adaptive and predictive practices is important to make it fit-for-purpose approach.
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1 reply by Rami Kaibni
Apr 08, 2024 10:48 AM
Rami Kaibni
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Exactly and this is where Disciplined Agile comes in very handy to help you find this balance and establish a fit-for-purpose way of working.
Omar JabbarProject Management and Digital Transformation Consultant| OGreen IT Service Inc.Ontario, Canada
I have been using the Hybrid Methodology successfully for some time now. This approach has proven to be reliable for specific projects only. A unique blend of agile and traditional project management methods that offers a wide range of advantages, such as better efficiency, enhanced communication, and improved collaboration.
Also, it is important for stakeholders and users to be able to preview and test parts of the product before it is launched. This helps to reduce the risk of any issues or concerns being raised by sponsors after the product/service has been accepted.
One common issue in many organizations is that the PMO governance team attempts to force projects to fit their methodology when, in reality, the methodology should be adapted to fit the project's needs. Saving Changes...
One of the biggest challenges I encounter is getting over the resistance from people who have had very negative past experiences. A typical case is a prior project where some well meaning leader declared, "We're all going to do Agile!" after they took a 2-day seminar or read a book and now thinks they must implement a rigid all encompassing methodology. Suddenly nobody has assigned desks and administrivia grows rather than decreases.
When I implement process improvements adapted from agile methods, I focus on why it is a good fit for specific cases rather than buzzwords and trying to use agile like a hammer where all problems must be nails. Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
The problem is the big misunderstanding about Agile outside there and unfortunately the PMI has contributed on that. When organizations starts the creation of a solution they must select the approach (Lean, Agile, etc), the life cycle (waterfall, iterative, incremental, iterative-incremental, etc), the method. You can mix all this without any problem. Returning to the PMI, you will find a task in this sense inside the business analysis related guides. Agile was born in 1991 in manufacturing trying to find an alternative to Lean taking into account the new future world. So, first of all, Agile and Lean are totally different things. And you can apply Agile with any type of life cycle. Agile is a matter of architecture, not a matter of methods. In parallel people that was working in object orientation applied to software took the word agile from 2001 when creating the Manifesto. For a chance of the destiny I was in both groups. Returning to your point, my recommendation is taking a look to Ric Dove´s "Response Abilitty" papers and books,Tom Gilb´s EVO (Tom is considered the father of Agile in software), or Alistair Cockburn Crystal Clear, or Scott Ambler´s DA but before he works with the PMI. So, what organizations must do when try to implement Agile is clear understand that it is a top down matter, that they have to analyze the system (components and relations) and here is where the Lean component takes place when analyze the relations. Agile can help in things like you stated at the end: because is component oriented you can consider those teams that detest cross-collaboration as components and create a service oriented architecture. Obviously, the key is do not loss integration by defintion of system. Architecture must have high degree of integration and low degree of coupling. Saving Changes...
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