Hybrids – The future of project management

Your manager has probably told you that the company you are working for will need to become agile, and therefore, has asked you to start working more agile with your projects. So where does that leave the traditional project management practices that you already utilize in your work?

We believe that one approach does not necessarily exclude the other. Moreover, we argue that the greatest value lies in combining both agile and traditional project management in a hybrid methodology.

For many years project management has proven its value through numerous waterfall and stage gate models.
This is what we typically refer to as the ‘traditional approach’ in project management. Until the beginning of this millennium this was the only known best practice approach to successfully develop and execute projects safely and effectively. With the emerging agile paradigm, the traditional approach has been challenged in many industries and maybe even unfairly got a reputation of being outdated.

Today many organizations focus on becoming more agile and project managers are encouraged to apply agile tools and methods in their work. However, the surprising fact is that only 15% of projects are conducted using only the agile approach.

The reason could be that agile has only truly proven its effect in software development and broader IT projects, but has not really demonstrated the same level of success in other kinds of projects. What really makes sense though, is that research shows that more than half of all projects are in fact executed in a hybrid between project methods.

So, what does hybrid project management even mean in this context?
Take hybrid cars as an example. Hybrid cars are powered from at least two different engines – most commonly electric power and fossil fuel. Hybrid cars do not depend their entire operation on just one engine. They can shift between the two – depending on the driving style, and the driver’s need.

This makes it more robust, viable and reliable. Hybrids in general combines the best elements from different worlds, and through this becomes stronger. This is the same for projects and that is the reason why so many project managers use this approach.

When the Half Double methodology was developed, it evolved to be positioned in the sweet spot in-between the traditional and the agile approach.

Half Double is a therefore a hybrid project management approach that brings together the best elements from both approaches in a simple, and practice orientated way.

When your manager asks you to work agile you do not need to throw the traditional project management tools out the window. By adapting and applying the Half Double tools and methods, you are combining the traditional and the agile approach and thus creating even more impact with your project.

The future of project management is hybrid.