The Force: Can Project Management and Agility Align?

Let’s face it. Traditional Project Management concepts were the reason why organizations sought better ways of delivery. Siloed skillsets, communication breakdown, long delivery cycles, lack of feedback loops and constant overrun defined the average results. Everyone and their cousin was a “Project Manager” who could “drive successful delivery” and varying results followed; sometimes disastrous.

Agile methods were designed to counteract those exact scenarios. It was intended as a more principled way of working; 12 to be specific.

Still, Agile frameworks became erratic and weaponized. Everyone and their cousin became certified in a framework role or a “coach/consultant” who could “facilitate successful delivery” and varying results followed; sometimes disastrous.

Curiously, pieces of traditional project management were hard to get away from. After tearing down their PMO in favor of an “Agile Center of Excellence”, organizations would find someone in one of these new roles to take on traditional PM concepts they still found valuable. That’s where we began seeing Project Managers as Scrum Masters and Business Analysts as Product Owners; we still needed certain work to get done.

Are we now, after almost 30 years of Agile, leaning back towards traditional project delivery and away from Agile Product Lifecycles?

Well, not so fast.

Recently, the Agile Alliance aligned itself with the de facto Project Management expertise organization in the Project Management Institute. Is this a sign that Agile is dying out and traditional methods are recycling? Do we no longer need shorter delivery cycles, transparency and face-to-face communication?

To be clear, the PMI has never been anti-agility. Additionally, traditional methods never went away. The PMI saw the value in agile methods and worked to align itself accordingly years ago. Agile purists pushed back with ferocity! NEVER shall the two concepts align! But to no avail.

What organizations seek today is considered a place somewhere between rapid adaptability and process consistency. They want to have a predictable, measurable cadence while structuring themselves in a way that allows for change and evolution. Two words I hear most frequently from leaders today are resilience and effectiveness.

We’ve learned the two extremes are coming together to create a hybrid approach that includes greater (yet not miraged in perfection) detail in upfront planning and project intake, transitioning into a strategy and roadmap that includes micro-funded projects (complete with start and end dates) that eventually turn into product lifecycles based on value delivered.

It’s almost ironic that some would expect Agile to remain static and not accept change. There are change and adaptation experts decrying the alignment of PMI and Agile Alliance as sacrilege; akin to Luke Skywalker hi-fiving Daddy Vader and saying, “let’s goooo”.

To me…its more like Luke finally sensing good in Vadar and Vadar saving Luke’s life.

While the approaches were different, they fought at times and seemed like opposites, in the end they aligned to combat the real problem, Emperor Sidious, bringing balance to the Force.

The techniques that stemmed from traditional project management still hold (and always held) value in ‘Agile-Aware’ organizations.

Agility is one tool in the toolbox of a company wanting the ability to be both predictable and adaptable. What we’ve learned in 30 years is we value…well…value, and the resilience to make strategic changes at the new speed of Artificial Intelligence with structure.

So, what do you call that delivery method? What do we call ourselves now?

Waterfall is history. Agile has one foot out the door and Lean is forever it seems.

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