Don’t Get Stuck in the “Hybrid Agile” Trap
I was recently asked to explain hybrid agile at a dinner meeting for the local Project Management Institute (PMI) chapter. Chapter members had expressed a desire to learn more about how to succeed with hybrid agile.
Specifically, they wanted to know how to use agile and traditional development methods together. Most of their organizations are stuck in the messy middle ground between traditional ways of working and agile.
This article explores the reasons people are pursuing agile and how the current hybrid development approaches will fail to help them achieve their goals. I’ve also provided some recommendations for what they should do instead.
How did we get here with “Hybrid Agile”?
We are here because agile frameworks have proven over the last 20 years to be a more effective way of developing software. They are a huge improvement over the traditional, stage-gated or waterfall approaches.
The waterfall approach requires that you gather requirements and plan everything up front. That works great unless something changes along the way. Which. Is. Certain.
