Bach Seat

There is a battle waging for the hearts and minds of project managers. The battle is between Agile advocates and Waterfall supporters according to Eric Morgan, in a recent FierceCIO article. The CEO of AtTask explains that Agile loyalists see the benefit of empowering people and teams in a bottom-up approach that produces a faster, more responsive way of working.  Meanwhile, traditionalists prefer a top-down Waterfall approach that neatly outlines all the steps in the project and defines the scope, budget, and schedule upfront–minimizing risk and uncertainty.

So who is right? The article says neither. Rather the article says that organizations with successful development cycles seem to use a mixed approach, using both methodologies for different projects. They cite Amazon (AMZN), an Agile powerhouse, could not have built s core web services product without some top-down dictation of standards. According to the AtTask CEO, the real difficulty for organizations, therefore, lies not in choosing one methodology over the other, but in successfully mixing the two methodologies.

Whether your organization is already juggling multiple methodologies or is considering adding Agile into the project management mix, here are four tips from the AtTask CEO on how to hybridize without sacrificing the visibility and productivity you need:

1. Transition to agile slowly

The biggest issue organizations face in adopting or expanding Agile is the cultural transition. Change is never easy, and moving from a top-down culture of command and control to a bottom-up approach where workers self-organize and self-prioritize will certainly test your leadership team. the article stresses it’s a cultural transition that many people in an organization feel is disruptive and too much of a challenge to the established culture. To make the transition smoother and improve adoption, you should try to slow down your process transition. Understand that onboarding a system like Agile is a long-term commitment and because only certain teams will benefit from its methodology, make sure that your organization takes the time to strategically consider where it would be most effective.

Define up front what you are trying to accomplish with Agile so everyone can understand the benefits. In addition, developing a culture of respect and appreciation for both methodologies within the organization is important. Acknowledge what works well with Waterfall and when it is most appropriate to use. This extra effort will build trust; make people more open and resilient to trying new methods; increase buy-in from management and team members; and ensure that everyone is on the same page and trying to accomplish the same goals.

2. Provide professional agile training

With dozens of different aspects and processes, Agile is complex. The AtTask CEO warns that one of the biggest strategic mistakes organizations make is not getting professional training at the start. In particular, it is crucial that middle management participates in training. “Middle management really holds the keys to the success of Agile adoption. They create all the procedures and policies. If the middle is not on board, the transformation will be shunned,” says Dean Leffingwell, author of “Agile Software Requirements: Lean Requirements Practices for Teams, Programs, and the Enterprise.” When middle management is properly trained, not only do they understand the value of Agile for themselves, but they can be influential in mentoring the team and in demonstrating the value of Agile to the leadership.

3. Allow teams to communicate

In many organizations, Agile teams often become insulated from the rest of the organization. According to Mr. Morgan, they work in a kind of bubble, rarely interfacing with other teams or departments. However, communication and collaboration are two of the most critical elements of an effective mixed-methodology enterprise. Finding a way to enable visibility and communication across distributed teams, such as developing standard processes for organizing requirements and cross-team development, ensuring comprehensive release visibility for both upstream and downstream stakeholders, and managing the entire work life-cycle within one tool, will make hybrid organizations much more productive.

4. Speak a language everyone understands

The nuanced terminology associated with Agile is often an area ripe for miscommunication according to the author. In addition to making sure everyone understands the terminology and is speaking the same language, it’s important to identify key data points, such as what the team is working on, where the team is along their work process, and when the team will complete the task. Then, translate the data points into either methodology. No matter what methodology your teams choose, the work being done ultimately must be visible to the organization’s management and executive teams. Because manager reports and dashboards tend to focus on Waterfall-centric metrics, Agile teams need to ensure they are able to translate their results and progress accordingly. Moving to a mixed management style will always present challenges.

The article concludes that adoption may happen in baby steps, and not leaps and bounds. Following these four tips, however, can make implementation much more successful and enable you to structure projects in a more productive way to meet your business goals.

rb-

I have talked to several grey-hair PM’s and they have basically told me that Agile/Scrum is the best tool when you don’t know what you want and use PMBOK when you know what you want?

Related articles

• What’s wrong with agile development: Culture, people top the list (infoworld.com)

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.