David WilliamsBusiness Analyst/Project Manager| Government of the Northwest Territories Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
One of the problems with Agile based delivery methodologies is that they lack a governance component. This is the one of the strong features of a PM model such as PRINCE2. Have you come across any models that are hybrids of Agile, PRINCE2 and PMBOK? In other words a plan based approach that’s swap-able for Agile, whenever appropriate, but run as part of an overarching governed method? Saving Changes...
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Jeanne WoolcottProject Manager | Principle PM| MS Project Management, PMP, PMI-RMP| Lilystream Management ServicesMaple Grove, Mn, United States
Hi David,
There are hybrid methodologies that combine the use of traditional linear processes with the flexibility of an agile methodology where warranted. This involves injecting the agile methodology into the traditional linear methodology. This type of hybrid allows for the control and predictablity that comes with the traditional linear methodology, and the flexible, collaboratvie features of agile when there is less known about the requirements and when change is likely to occur.
On a side note, I've found there is governance applied to the agile methodology such as scrum that governs activities and deliverables that are produced through the agile process.
Kind regards,
Jeanne Saving Changes...
David WilliamsBusiness Analyst/Project Manager| Government of the Northwest Territories Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
Thanks Jeanne,
What non proprietary ones would you cite, or what academic/nonacademic papers have you come across? I’m looking for something in the public domain that has the breadth of Macroscope without the demand management domain, for example.
For Agile, I think RUP, in the form of OpenUP, is a good start and tools exist to organize a model and create a single reusable structured asset.
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Bernard GorePortfolio, Programme & Project Professional| NZ PoliceWellington, New Zealand
It's a commonly misunderstanding that Agile is somehow incompatible with formal project methodologies - in fact it isn't, doesn't even need a "hybrid" - Agile can just run inside a project that is managed under any of the standard methodologies.
For example within a Prince2 project Agile is effectively a way of delivering a work-package - the WP definition will just state the product to be delivered as a minimum viable product and state the allowed consumption of resource and the "time box" for the appropriate set of sprints, rather than the more usual specification of the product.
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Jeanne WoolcottProject Manager | Principle PM| MS Project Management, PMP, PMI-RMP| Lilystream Management ServicesMaple Grove, Mn, United States
There are a number of articles that outline the benefits of a hybrid agile methodology that combines aspects of a traditional linear methodology.
Sommer et al (2015) present a study of a handful of the companies that implemented a hybrid agile approach to address problems that had developed as the result of using one type of approach alone. Here is a snippet from Sommer et al (2015) article that summaries a hybrid approach they propose based on their study.
“The Product Development Solution Framework
Based on these findings, we propose an Industrial Scrum framework that captures the elements found to create consistent business value across the hybrid cases (Figure 3). The Industrial Scrum model is divided into three hierarchical planning levels:
* Strategic project management is the planning level for the product portfolio management and steering committee. At this level, the linear Stage-Gate model with company - specific phases and gates is maintained.
* Value-chain/project portfolio coordination is the tactical planning level between product development teams and the operational organization. This level is managed using a visual method, in which stakeholders from across the organization periodically meet at a physical board to coordinate resources.
* Project execution is the planning level of the development team, which is managed using Scrum methods and supported by a project manager.”
Sommer, A. F., Hedegaard, C., Dukovska-Popovska, I., & Steger-Jensen, K. (2015). Improved product development performance through Agile/Stage-gate hybrids: The next-generation stage-gate process? Research Technology Management, 58(1), 34-44.
Additional resources found through google scholar:
Lindvall, M.; Muthig, Dirk; Dagnino, A.; Wallin, C.; Stupperich, M.; Kiefer, D.; May, J.; Kahkonen, T., "Agile software development in large organizations," Computer , vol.37, no.12, pp.26,34, Dec. 2004
doi: 10.1109/MC.2004.231
Rahimian, V.; Ramsin, R., "Designing an agile methodology for mobile software development: A hybrid method engineering approach," Research Challenges in Information Science, 2008. RCIS 2008. Second International Conference on , vol., no., pp.337,342, 3-6 June 2008
doi: 10.1109/RCIS.2008.4632123
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Cynthia ClarkProgram Manager| Dish NetworkCentennial, Co, United States
From a more simplistic response, I have managed a Hybrid project with a co-project manager. It involved a waterfall approach at the beginning, involving new hardware to be ordered, configured, installed, firewall changes, middleware changes all to be planned out in a succession of steps for Dev/TEST/PROD. However, the development side of the project had broken down the steps of what it was going to take to create the applications into stories that were then broken down into sprints. All of this was updated into MS Project. Weekly meetings were held for the infrastructure side, daily scrums and other necessary meetings for the Agile side. The development PM kept track of burn down charts. I updated the MS project. Emergent infrastructure requirements came up during the course of this year long project, so I continued to work with it until it was fully in production and the old application decommissioned. So they can work together. One PM could have done all of it, but in this case we worked together as each of us had a specialty, and we learned from one another. The project was a success by the way :) Saving Changes...
