Why is Hybrid Project Management Right for Your Business?

When it comes to choosing a project management methodology, most organizations find themselves being forced to choose between Agile project management and a traditional project management method, such as Waterfall. While each of these strategies have their strengths and weaknesses, many team members have a preferred approach.

Recent years have given rise to the hybrid approach to project management, which combines the best of both Agile and traditional methodologies. Businesses need to understand what hybrid project management is and how to utilize it before they decide to implement it.

What is Hybrid Project Management?

Recent years have seen Agile project management methodology become increasingly popular around the world, with traditional Waterfall project management slowly losing popularity as a result. However, hybrid project management is designed to bring back the structure and pre-planning found in Waterfall while still maintaining what has made Agile so popular.

The hybrid project management methodology is designed to combine the best of Agile’s fast, responsive style of task management and traditional project management’s approach to work breakdown structure (WBS). Like in Agile, projects are worked on and delivered in short delivery cycles commonly referred to as sprints, but these sprints are based on in-depth planning.

What are the Strengths of Hybrid Project Management?

In the hybrid project management methodology, project planning is typically done through the Waterfall approach, which helps businesses create more detailed plans and more accurate cost estimates. Once the planning stage is done, teams will move to the Agile method for actual project execution and delivery. Doing so provides teams with the ability to quickly react to changing client demands, shifts in the market, and alterations to plans. This agility helps an organization deliver what is most demanded by the market by the end of the project lifecycle.

The greatest strengths of hybrid project management are that its Agile capabilities allow resources and managers to appropriately react to requirement changes. In addition, its iterative approach to projects means that products can be delivered in stages, with products shipping as soon as they reach the minimum viable product stage and then allowing teams to continue working on future enhancements.

A strong project management team will be able to adjust to these two previously separate approaches to projects and get their team to operate in a fast-moving but predictable environment for greater success.

How Can You Implement Hybrid Project Management?

Like all strong project management methodologies, hybrid project management requires a strong solution to keep businesses on track with their detailed strategies and constantly shifting schedules.

In addition, all companies interested in implementing hybrid project management at their organization should follow these guiding principles, outlined by Binfire.

• Ensure a project manager is overseeing the hybrid project using WBS methodology and is taking ownership of the project.
• Scrum Masters must execute each Agile sprint in accordance with the project manager’s strategy and timeline.
• Organizations must be committed to continuous team collaboration for their ongoing reporting, analysis, and management review, which strengthens long-term performance.

Learning how to best execute hybrid project management will take time and practice, but the result can be stronger teams, greater utilization rates, and continuous business growth. In a world of constantly shifting markets and continuously increasing client expectations, hybrid project management can give your teams the capability they need to succeed.

Start Strengthening Your Project Management Strategy

Learn more about what Kantata can do for your company’s unique project management needs and the right steps that you can take for greater success through our insightful project management tour.