Agile vs.
Waterfall
Is this all we have in
Project Management?
Dear friends,
In this slide deck, I
discuss a core
aspect of
Situational Project
Management.
2
Links to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd slide deck on SitPM are at the end.
Here, I refute
the assertion
that project
management is
black & white.
I address this in
my seminars
too.
3
You also find it in my book:
ISBN 9781498722612
4
This slide deck deals with
approaches to project
managent.
5
And with the core tenet of
Situational Project
Management:
6
The same practice that was
successful in one project
situation may fail in
another.
7
In project
management,
you often
find a claimed
dichotomy:
“Agile vs.
Waterfall”.
8
It is black-and-white
thinking adopted with not
much consideration.
9
But let’s dig deeper.
10
“Waterfall” stands for
long-term planning.
11
It is
implemented
to bring
predictability
and order
into a project.
12
This comes at a price:
Implementing changes gets
difficult.
13
Often in project
management, long-term
planning is not possible.
14
The situation may be
driven by discovery,
creativity, and rapid
change.
15
Then, Agile methods may
be beneficial.
16
However, they do not
produce predictability and
order.
17
They are not made for
that.
18
Waterfall
and agile –
is this all we
have?
19
In 2012 and again in 2019, I
asked project managers:
20
Are requirements in their
projects static?
Or must they be discovered
during the project?
21
Here are the responses:
22
Static requirements are the
domain of Waterfall.
23
Exploratory work is the
domain of Agile methods.
24
However, the majority of
responses belonged to a
third group.
25
They need another
approach.
It is called Rolling Wave.
26
Waterfall projects are plandriven; planning horizons
are at the end.
Project or
phase end
Today
Waterfall
Actual
Plan
Planning Horizon
Jan.
27
Feb.
Mar.
Apr.
May
Jun.
Jul.
Agile projects have shortterm planning horizons.
2-week sprints are normal.
Project or
phase end
Today
Waterfall
Actual
Plan
Planning Horizon
Agile
Actual
Plan
Open
Planning Horizon
Jan.
28
Feb.
Mar.
Apr.
May
Jun.
Jul.
Rolling wave projects have
a planning horizon at a
reasonable moment in the
future.
Project or
phase end
Today
Waterfall
Actual
Plan
Planning Horizon
Rolling wave
Actual
Plan
Open
Planning Horizon
Agile
Actual
Plan
Open
Planning Horizon
Jan.
29
Feb.
Mar.
Apr.
May
Jun.
Jul.
It considers lead times for
actions (e.g. early resource
booking).
30
It also considers expected
frequency of changes.
31
The planning horizon
moves forward while the
project progresses...
Project or
phase end
Data per
January
February
March
April
June
Planned
Open
In progress
Finished
Planned
In progress
Finished
Open
Planned
In progress
Finished
Open
Planned
In progress
Open
Planned
Open
Data date
July
Planning horizon
32
Jan
Finished
Feb
Mar
In progress
Apr
May
Jun
Planned
Jul
Aug
Open
Sep
Oct
t
…like the bow wave travels
in front of this tugboat.
33
Rolling wave is also
referred to as Progressive
Elaboration.
34
It is Iterative-incremental
by nature.
35
We see: There is more than
Black & White thinking in
project management.
36
If your only tool to make a
living is a hammer, you
must make the world
believe it is kept together
with nails.
37
If all you have is a
screwdriver, you must
convince the world it’s
screwed.
38
Project managers need a
well-filled toolbox of
methods to respond to
different situations.
39
Thank you for
your attention.
Note: Tell me
if you enjoyed
reading and
find it helpful.
40
Find here the first slide deck,
discussing skill types in
Situational Project
Management.
41
Here is the second slide deck,
discussing the meaning of the
word Stakeholder.
42
This link leads to the third
slide deck, discussing
operational disruptions from
projects.
43
Contact me for corporate
classes:
oliver@oliverlehmann.com
Or send a direct message:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliverlehmann
44
Learn more on my website:
https://www.oliverlehmann.com
45
Copyright text & images:
- Oliver F. Lehmann
- Other images:
·
Unsplash
Gambling: Kaysha
▪ Title: John Adeoye
▪ Chess player: JESHOOTS.COM
▪ Toolbox: Alexander Schimmeck
-
Shutterstock
▪
▪
▪
▪
46
Chess: mkfilm
Empty pockets: PeopleImages.com - Yuri A
Kanban board: Elnur
Tug boat: Gary Blakeley