Hybrid Project Management: Using Agile with Traditional PM Methodologies to Succeed on Modern Projects

Compared to a few decades ago, companies today are faced with a much more challenging environment providing successful products and solutions for their customers. They are dealing with global competition, very rapid change in technologies, and tremendous volatility in economic conditions. As project managers, we are helping our companies survive in this difficult landscape. We are “agents of change” and “drivers of change.”

The most important project management methodology today that will help us deal with this change and this volatility is Agile. However, no one process or project management methodology fits all situations! Agile is not a panacea for all projects. Many times, our projects are large enough and complex enough that some parts of the project are best suited to using a predictive planning approach, and other parts are more suited to using Agile. Therefore, a hybrid approach that mixes the traditional, waterfall approach with Agile is really required in many situations today.

The agile community oftentimes has quite a negative view of hybrid approaches. Key writers on Agile often say that attempting to use hybrid will corrupt all attempts to use Agile, and will result in failure. In this book, the argument is made that integrating these methodologies can be done if approached the right way, and in fact, this is necessary today.

Mark Tolbert, PMP, PMI-ACP, has over 30 years of experience in IT, including 27 years at Hewlett-Packard. He successfully managed support programs and projects within HP Services from 1994 through 2007. The programs and projects included a large E-Selling program, a multi-vendor support program for a large telecommunications company, data center relocation projects, and MDM (Mobile Device Management) programs.

Susan Parente is a project engineer, consultant, speaker, author, professor, and mentor who leads large, complex IT software implementation projects and the establishment of Enterprise PMOs. She has 24+ years of experience leading software and business development projects in the private and public sectors, including a decade of experience implementing IT projects for the DoD and other federal government agencies.