Too many project leaders think rigidly about Waterfall and Agile project management methodologies and believe that they need to choose between the two. But many projects — especially those with diverse stakeholder needs and complex structures — benefit from a hybrid approach that combines aspects of Waterfall and Agile. The rise of hybrid methods isn’t tied to a particular time or event; instead, they have evolved organically as a response to the needs of modern, complex projects. A review of the key components of Waterfall and Agile allows project leaders to select among them to build a hybrid approach based on the unique demands of each project.
When you are leading a high-stakes project, choosing between the rigor of Waterfall and the flexibility of Agile can make or break your initiative. For the last two decades, too many academics, leaders, project managers, and organizations have thought they have to choose one or the other. Worse, the emergence of Agile methods led to tribalism in the project community, stifling innovation and limiting the potential for truly effective solutions.