Advantages of Implementing a Hybrid Waterfall-Agile Methodology
Recently, I observed an organization undertake an initiative to replace their existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. The project team employed Agile Scrum methodology, focusing on iterative delivery. Following the planning phase and considering the requirements for a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), they selected a public cloud solution over a private cloud alternative. Although the public cloud option was less advanced in certain capabilities, it fulfilled the MVP requirements to replace the current system and remained within budget. The project was completed on time and on budget, which appeared favorable initially. However, the company became a leading contender for a government contract that required the ERP system to be hosted on a secure, compliant private cloud. Consequently, they faced a dilemma: either decline current and potential future government contracts or initiate another project to transition from the public cloud instance to a private cloud, thereby incurring double the costs. By employing Agile methodology, the team aimed to deliver immediate solutions to meet current requirements and enhance the solution as new needs arise. Their vision was lacking in foresight, and their mission was limited in scope. By concentrating solely on present needs, they neglected to engage relevant stakeholders and failed to consider the company’s strategic vision and future requirements. This resulted in a missed opportunity to develop a solution that addressed future needs and advanced the company goals.
Introduction
For project delivery, the two most widely recognized methodologies adopted across various industries are Waterfall and Agile. Project teams often believe they must choose between the traditional Waterfall methodology and the relatively newer Agile Scrum methodology. However, there is a third option where projects can incorporate elements from both methodologies effectively to achieve successful delivery and completion. Each methodology offers distinct advantages that can be leveraged for improved outcomes.
To optimize results, projects can benefit from a hybrid model that integrates comprehensive upstream planning and scoping from the Waterfall approach with the downstream rapid iterative execution method of Agile. This strategy enables project teams to engage all stakeholders, ensuring every aspect of the organization is considered, including their requirements and use cases. Furthermore, it facilitates the creation of a thorough Business Requirements Document (BRD) that addresses existing issues while also accommodating future opportunities. With an established plan and a clearly defined scope, the project team can move towards iterative incremental delivery until the project is completed. This project management approach aims to maximize value and reduce risk by balancing future planning with current deliverables.
According to a 2017 PMI survey, 37% of organizations use Waterfall approach, while 41% use either Agile or a hybrid approach of Waterfall and Agile. This article aims to help project managers understand the two methodologies and how to tailor them in a hybrid approach to achieve effective results. It provides an overview of how key processes and phases can be integrated to successfully plan, execute, monitor, and control project deliverables through project closure.
Waterfall Methodology Overview
The Waterfall methodology, once described by Dr. Winston W. Royce as “the downstream value of (upstream) documentation” is a linear sequential approach to project management where each phase must be completed before moving to the next phase. This approach allocates a significant level of effort to planning and coordinating upstream to reduce downstream project risks through detailed documentation. It establishes distinct and clearly defined goals for each phase. Once a phase is completed, the deliverables from previous phases are generally not revised.
Waterfall Methodology is more accurately described as an approach rather than a method. While the exact number of stages may vary depending on the specific project, these six stages below are frequently used in projects utilizing the Waterfall model:
Requirements Phase – Referred to as the Discovery Phase, this stage establishes the goals and objectives that the project aims to achieve.
Design Phase – This phase establishes and specifies the blueprint for developing the goods or services.
Development Phase – This stage involves creating and producing the goods or services.
Validation Phase – Also referred to as the Verification or Test Phase, this stage ensures that the goods or services conform to the specified requirements.
Implementation Phase – Also known as the Deployment Phase, this stage ensures that goods or services are made available to the customers.
Maintenance Phase – This phase involves providing ongoing support to customers and manage updates to the goods or services.
The methodology requires teams to complete the Requirements Phase before moving to the Design Phase. In the Design Phase, comprehensive design sessions are held to ensure all outlined requirements are addressed. After the design phase, the team progresses sequentially through Development, Validation, and Implementation Phases. Finally, implemented goods and services enter the Maintenance Phase.
Key characteristics of the Waterfall methodology include:
Sequential Phases and Linear Flow: The methodology advances sequentially and linearly through the phases, ensuring that requirements are identified comprehensively and documented in detail before progressing to the design and development phases, followed by validation and implementation phases. Each phase utilizes the information collected and insights gained from preceding phases to progress forward.
Extensive Documentation: The methodology requires detailed and comprehensive documentation at each phase to ensure clarity and shared understanding of the project scope and goals among the team and stakeholders, thereby minimizing the potential for misunderstandings and miscommunications. Additionally, detailed documentation facilitates effective training and knowledge sharing when transitioning to the next phase or onboarding new team members.
Manage Scope Variations: Detailed documentation facilitates clear definition and boundaries for scope and requirements, helping control changes to the project scope and objectives. The rigid and linear approach in Waterfall limits changes from previous phases, minimizing scope creep in later stages through implementation.
Limited Cost and Schedule Variations: Comprehensive planning and documentation upfront allow for accurate and precise cost and schedule estimations. The rigid and linear nature of the methodology, combined with the fixed scope that minimizes changes, helps manage and control variations in project cost and schedule. This approach facilitates project completion on schedule and within budget.
Performance Management: This methodology entails defining and documenting goals and objectives, along with outlining the corresponding deliverables and milestones from the start. This approach helps the team understand their role in achieving the goals and objectives of each phase. Planned tasks and milestones support project teams in developing performance metrics, gathering and reporting project performance, and identifying potential risks effectively.
Agile Methodology Overview
Agile methodology is a project management framework focused on iterative and incremental development. It focuses on collaboration and flexibility in response to changing requirements. It fosters adaptive planning, evolutionary progress and delivery, along with continuous improvement, allowing teams to effectively respond to changes and produce quality goods and services. Although commonly perceived as a software delivery approach, many organizations have successfully implemented Agile across various sectors, including industries providing goods and services.
Scrum is a popular framework within Agile that is characterized by short, iterative cycles known as sprints, each aimed at delivering a usable increment of goods and services. The methodology promotes close collaboration between cross-functional teams and stakeholders to ensure the delivery meets or exceeds requirements. The collection and analysis of regular feedback are essential components of Agile Scrum methodology. This process allows teams to refine and adjust their work based on insights and experiences gathered during retrospectives and reviews. It underscores the importance of continuous improvement through regular evaluations and adaptations.
The Agile Scrum cycle consists of Sprint Planning: A collaborative planning event to outline tasks for the upcoming iteration or sprint; Sprint Execution: The delivery team works on the tasks identified and assigned during sprint planning to achieve the sprint goals; Sprint Reviews and Retrospectives: The delivery team reviews the completed work with stakeholders, seeks their feedback, examines what went well, identifies areas for improvement, and determines corrective or preventive actions for the next sprint; and Sprint Backlog Grooming: A collaborative event intended to discuss, clarify, prioritize, and estimate work to prepare for future sprints.
Key characteristics of Agile include:
Based on Structured Cyclical Iterative Approach: Rather than viewing projects as singular occurrences, Agile adopts a structured approach involving short events that incrementally build upon and enhance previous iterations. This cyclical and iterative approach ensures continuous progress and refinement.
Focus on Continuous Improvement: The Agile sprint reviews and retrospectives underscore the importance of continuous improvement through data driven insight and objective actionable feedback. They aim to proactively identify opportunities for improvements and reactively address root causes, taking necessary actions to enhance the quality of goods and services.
Goal-Oriented Approach: Agile sprint planning emphasizes the importance of establishing clear, measurable goals and objectives for each iteration. This approach directs the work efforts and ensures consistent progress towards overarching goals.
Focus on Collaboration and Inclusion: Agile backlog refinement underscores the importance of involving the delivery team and stakeholders in the planning stages of each iteration. This engagement ensures that all parties contribute to clarifying, articulating, and documenting the requirements and tasks effectively.
Disadvantages of Waterfall and Agile Methodologies
The extensive planning and documentation requirements of the Waterfall methodology can significantly extend delivery times and increase costs due to the higher level of effort involved. Additionally, the rigid and linear nature of the Waterfall methodology has other disadvantages such as limited opportunity for customers and stakeholder engagement; limited adaptability and flexibility to accommodate evolving project requirements and changes from stakeholders; expensive modifications and adjustments to goods and services after delivery; and potential harm to customer perception and stakeholder reception.
Agile methodology prioritizes the rapid delivery of products and services by focusing on incremental development. However, this can lead to limited predictability and foresight, potentially overlooking opportunities for future growth and innovation. The emphasis on rapid iterative cycles may result in limited documentation, thereby hindering effective knowledge transfer and shared understanding, particularly during transitions and onboarding of new team members. Furthermore, the flexibility inherent in Agile methodology to continuously evolve and modify requirements poses challenges in scope management, which may lead to schedule delays and cost overruns, as well as difficulties in measuring overall progress.
Adapting a Hybrid Model for Project Management
Project managers do not need to exclusively select between Waterfall and Agile methodologies. It is recommended to adopt a customized approach that aligns with the unique requirements of each project. When employing a hybrid strategy, it is crucial to integrate and modify Waterfall and Agile practices to align with the project lifecycle and essential project management processes.
Start with Waterfall Requirements and Design Phases: Projects can benefit from the initial planning and documentation efforts of Waterfall methodology.
Transition to Agile: After defining the requirements, projects can gain advantages from iterative incremental delivery through adoption of the Agile methodology.
Waterfall Maintenance Phase: After each iteration, progressively integrate goods and services into the maintenance platform for ongoing support.
Follow the steps below to integrate the two methodologies for effective project execution.
Step 1: Apply Waterfall During Requirements and Design Phases
When initiating a project using Agile methodology, the focus is on short, iterative, and incremental processes that address immediate challenges. However, this narrowed focus can lead to overlooking essential areas that are necessary for delivering a comprehensive solution or, more importantly, missing opportunities to align with future strategic objectives. As a result, deficiencies and issues might be discovered too late, leading to costly rework.
An effective approach to initiating the project is to start with the Waterfall methodology, which begins with the Requirements Phase. Some key benefits to starting with Waterfall include:
Stakeholder Engagement: This phase engages key essential and relevant stakeholders from the outset and facilitates the collection of a comprehensive set of requirements.
Long-Term Vision: The documented requirements aim to address both present and future challenges, align with strategic objectives and goals, and define the project scope in terms of needs, wants, and nice-to-have capabilities.
Predictable Requirements and Scope: This approach involves extensive stakeholder engagement, alignment with strategic goals and objectives, and comprehensive collection of requirements to address current challenges and future growth opportunities. The requirements and design documents serve as a blueprint for the overall project, minimizing the risk of scope creep and ensuring adherence to time and schedule constraints.
Tailored Documentation that Provides Clear Scope and Requirements: There are numerous types of requirements documents (e.g. Business, Functional, Technical, Marketing, Compliance, etc.), each serving distinct purposes and objectives. Depending on the project scope and size, the team may choose to document specific or consolidated requirements documents. For guidance and information on requirements documents, visit www.ganttpost.com.
Innovative and Holistic Solutions: Following the requirements phase, proceed with the Waterfall methodology into the Design Phase. This approach allows the technical team to plan and consider solutions that incorporate the complete set of requirements, thereby avoiding pitfalls associated with a narrow focus. Additionally, it enables the selection of technology solutions that address present challenges and prepare the organization for future advancements and innovations.
Comprehensive Blueprint: At the end of these two Waterfall phases, the project team will have requirements documents and technical documents, including architecture diagrams that encompass the overall project. These documents will act as the blueprint for the remainder of the project.
Step 2: Apply Agile for Iterative Incremental Development, Validation, and Delivery
After completing the Requirements and Design Phases of the Waterfall methodology, replace the Develop, Validate, and Implementation Phases of Waterfall with the Agile methodology. Key benefits include:
Iterative Delivery: This approach allows the team to focus on incremental tangible deliverables that can be demonstrated and deployed in short iterations, resulting in a swift realization of project benefits and satisfied stakeholders.
Flexibility and Adaptability: This approach facilitates frequent review and validation of project scope and requirements, provides regular insights and feedback from stakeholders, and updates previously documented requirements to reflect current understanding as the project evolves.
Continuous Feedback and Improvement: This approach allows frequent stakeholder engagement to validate project deliverables and incorporate feedback for continuous improvement, preventing delays in identifying discrepancies and deficiencies. Frequent reviews and retrospectives inherent to Agile Methodology facilitate proactive identification of risks and opportunities, enabling teams to effectively mitigate or capitalize on these factors to improve project outcomes.
Step 3: Apply Waterfall for Overall Product or Service Maintenance
At the conclusion of the Requirements and Design phase within the Waterfall methodology, it is critical that the team establishes and implements a process and allocates the required resources for overall product or service maintenance. The Maintenance Phase is vital in ensuring the accessibility, availability, reliability, and consistency of products and services.
Following each Agile iteration, the deployed products and services are progressively integrated into the maintenance platform for ongoing oversight and upkeep. Consequently, during the Maintenance Phase, the team is responsible for addressing bugs and issues, responding to customer inquiries and concerns, and incorporating necessary changes into the Agile cycle.
Conclusion
When deciding between the traditional Waterfall methodology and the newer Agile Scrum methodology for project management, project teams have more than these two choices. A third approach involves integrating elements from both methodologies to ensure successful project delivery and completion. This hybrid model offers predictability in planning while maintaining flexibility in execution, thereby combining the advantages of both approaches.
To achieve optimal results, projects can use a hybrid model that integrates detailed upfront planning and scoping from the Waterfall approach with the rapid iterative execution method of Agile. This project management approach aims to balance future planning with current deliverables to maximize value and reduce risk. In addition, the frequent collection and assessment of feedback inherent to Agile Methodology allows teams to consistently enhance and continuously improve their processes while maintaining alignment with project objectives and evolving project needs.
This article provides guidance to new and emerging project managers on navigating these methodologies and applying a hybrid approach to their projects to achieve desired results. Follow the steps outlined above to successfully implement a hybrid approach.
For additional information and templates on implementing the hybrid model, visit www.ganttpost.com
