Hybrid project management: Using classic and agile methods for greater effectiveness and efficiency

Hybrid project management combines at least two classic and/or agile project management methods for the realization of a project. This involves mixing entire management systems, such as PMI and Scrum, PRINCE2 and Kanban, or individual elements of different approaches. Hybrid project management is therefore not itself an independent and firmly defined method – just as agile project management or classic or traditional project management are not. Rather, it is a flexible approach that makes use of different methods and can thus be individually adapted to the requirements of the respective project.

The term "integrated project management" appears more frequently, erroneously, as a synonym for the term "hybrid project management". However, integrated project management is about the organizational integration of project work in the company. In this case, team members are seconded to a project with only part of their work, while their focus remains on line activities. The project is thus integrated into the activity in this form of organization. This has nothing to do with the use of different project management methods in the sense of hybrid project management.

Is a classic or an agile approach to project management the right choice in your case? To be able to answer this question for your project planning and management, you should take into account that for different tasks within your company or even within one of your projects, it may be advantageous to use methods from one or the other spectrum. The transitions between methods of the two approaches can be fluid.

The three most important dimensions in a project are:

• time,
• cost and
• scope.

While in classic project management the scope (service content) tends to be fixed in advance and time and costs remain flexible within a certain framework, this relationship tends to be the opposite in agile project management: time and costs are more often fixed, while the scope of services remains variable. Even though it clearly exaggerates the relationships in comparison to any real project, the magic triangle in project management is nevertheless excellently suited to visualize the differences between the two approaches with regard to the three target dimensions. Hybrid project management forms a hybrid and thus enables the three dimensions to be designed with the greatest possible flexibility.

Both project management approaches have strengths and weaknesses. Traditional and agile methods are both effective and lead to success. Agile project management offers team members ideal opportunities to develop their capabilities. Traditional project management, on the other hand, focuses primarily on the needs of management by allowing project goals to be clearly defined.

Hybrid project management attempts to combine the advantages of both approaches and reduce the weaknesses.

By combining both worlds to meet the company's or project's specific needs, the respective strengths of both models become more apparent. Plannable project goals and costs with flexible adaptability to changing conditions at short notice - that is the ideal. At the operational level, it is usually advisable to adapt agile procedures, and at the strategic and decision-making level, to use classic methods. When borrowing methods from different project management systems, a new, hybrid project management system is created.

Practice shows that this can lead to better results more quickly at lower cost - effectiveness and efficiency increase in equal measure. This experience was recently confirmed by Projektron GmbH's user consulting department during a customer project. It was about the introduction of the BCS module time and activity recording. Together, we created a hybrid project management system that consisted of the traditional PRINCE2 method and the agile Scrum method. While the software implementation project on the customer side was carried out according to PRINCE2, we worked off tickets according to agile principles.

In terms of hybrid project management, one could, for example, combine the methods Scrum, PRINCE2 and Kanban to meet the individual requirements of projects. It allows flexibility, agility and structured approach in one approach. Scrum offers iterative development, regular meetings and quick adaptation to changes. PRINCE2 prioritizes clear roles, processes and planning. Kanban enables visualization of workflow and optimization of throughput.

The combination of these methods allows the team to ideally leverage its strengths for the success of the project. The flexibility of Scrum makes it possible to react quickly to changes and to continuously increase customer value. PRINCE2 provides a structured basis with clear responsibilities and planning phases. Kanban enables efficient visualization and optimization of the work flow.

Hybrid project management promotes effective collaboration, improved communication and the quality of project results. It provides a tailored solution for complex projects and enables teams to respond flexibly to changing requirements. By combining Scrum, PRINCE2 and Kanban, the strengths of each approach are leveraged to ensure efficient project management.

In general, there are various possible applications for hybrid project management:

1. Depending on the business unit: often software development operates agilely, all other business units classically.
2. Depending on the project: While it makes sense to manage a construction project classically, a software introduction is better mastered agilely.
3. Within a project: While an implementation project is managed classically overall, the implementation sub-project follows agile principles.
4. The rough planning of a project takes place classically, while the detailed planning uses agile methods.

The starting point for selecting suitable methods for hybrid project management is always the project itself. The questions to be answered in advance are:

• What are the goals of the project?
• What are the general conditions?
• Which subprojects and tasks are required to achieve the project goal?
• How can the individual tasks be completed not only effectively, but also efficiently?

Despite a plethora of methods from different approaches, you should limit yourself to a limited repertoire to draw from when putting together your hybrid project management systems. After all, if you switch too frequently between classic and agile approaches from project to project, process stability may suffer. During a project, it also doesn't make sense to switch between methods. Plan in advance which approach you consider useful for which stage. In general, the following approach is recommended:

1. First plan the framework, the framework for rough planning classically.
2. Only then add iterative elements of agile working methods in the detailed planning.

A project breaks down into different tasks. Depending on the task, methods are more or less suitable. You have already seen an example of a successful Projektron BCS implementation project. The situation is very similar for the majority of our implementation projects: The projects are managed classically, often using the process-based project management method PRINCE2.

Agility is applied in detailed planning, in the concrete implementation of the customer's various adaptation requirements, and in the iterative introduction of functions in the customer's company. This creates planning security for the customer company thanks to a defined project structure. At the same time, we obtain the necessary flexibility to tailor our solutions to individual customer needs.

The following example project planned in Projektron BCS illustrates the V-Scum model. The rough planning takes place in classic project phases, but the implementation phase in iterative processes.

Advantages of hybrid project management

Hybrid project management...

✔ combines advantages of classical as well as agile process models,

✔ can be flexibly applied to all project types, regardless of specifications, size, complexity, and industry,

✔ enables individual and custom-fit solutions for every project,

✔ achieves partial results that can be validated quickly, and

✔ puts the focus on customer needs.

Challenges of hybrid project management

Of course, hybrid project management systems are advantageous for individual adaptation to the requirements of a project. However, if you want to act according to hybrid approaches, you must also be aware that new challenges arise from this. To ensure that these do not turn out to be a disadvantage for your project management, you should be aware of the challenges of hybrid project management and address them in advance.

Hybrid project management...

• places high demands on the project manager's skills,
• requires analytical effort to decide which methods to apply to a project,
• causes a greater number of roles in the project, and 
• demands a high level of communication skills and other soft skills from each team member.

Hybrid project management has proven itself as a mixture of agile and classic approaches that can be flexibly adapted per project. Nevertheless, there are situations and project requirements that call for purely classic or purely agile methods. Detailed project preparation is the key: Here you define which project phases, sub-areas and tasks are to be handled with which methods. In doing so, move from rough planning in more classic project management methods to detailed planning with agile approaches.