How can you use agile and hybrid methodologies to deliver value?

?? Personally, I find agility crucial in delivering rapid and tangible value in program management. ?? Effective Utilization: Agile ensures resourceful use of time and assets, curtailing profligacy. ?? Stakeholder Sync: It assures alignment with stakeholder needs through continuous engagement. ?? Tailored Solutions: Hybrid models afford the luxury of crafting methodologies that resonate with specific project demands. ?? Continuous Improvement: These approaches facilitate perpetual refinement through iterative cycles. ?? Agile and hybrid methodologies enable adept, value-focused program management, seamlessly aligning with stakeholder expectations and nimbly navigating through multifaceted project demands in a fluctuating environment.

Agile Methodologies keep the customer involved throughout the product development process, increasing the likelihood that at the product's completion, there will be product market fit and adoption. They also allow for pivots and adjustments to happen at several stages of the process with reduced risk of wasted resources.

As a program manager, I have experienced the benefits of utilizing agile and hybrid methodologies to deliver value. Agile principles e.g. iterative development and continuous feedback loops allows for rapid adaptation to changing project requirements. By blending in elements of traditional methodologies where necessary, we maintain stability in critical areas while fostering innovation and collaboration. This approach optimizes efficiency, mitigates risks, and ensures value is delivered incrementally, aligning project outcomes with stakeholder expectations. Leveraging both methodologies enhances responsiveness, ensures quality, and effectively navigates complexity, leading to successful project delivery and sustained value for stakeholders.

The biggest challenge I have found is where there is a lack of agile maturity in the wider organization but agile methodologies end up been used to tick a box. The program ends up having to take on the additional scope of trying to put in place agile approaches in parallel to the delivery of it's actual objectives, which can become a major distraction for the program and project teams.

In my experience, the 4 foundational principles of the Agile Manifesto are a serious challenge in large, process driven organisations who rely upon detailed documentation to communicate and control. In such cases, there is almost always a disconnect between the team set up to deliver and those actually able to make decisions. This real risk, needs careful handling. Unless you are confident that your team are empowered, you cannot use Agile effectively. Be prepared to discuss with senior leaders at an early stage. You need real commitment and a willingness to change. Otherwise, you are likely to find your team frustrated and your delivery thwarted, at the very point when you most need support and trust.

My experience is that the best method of integrating agile is to use it where it is already mature in terms of processes and tools and where iterative delivery is aligned and fits into to the programs overall objectives and timelines.