For a long time, project management systems were dominated by a standardised, sequential approach. But with the growing dynamism of the IT industry, everything has changed. The PMI Institute has popularised agile management methodologies and proven their effectiveness.
Agile methodologies themselves are an attempt to manage chaos. But they are very heterogeneous and process-oriented rather than clearly structured.
The point is that absolutely every aspect of a project can change as it is being implemented: initial conditions, terms of reference, objectives, targets, list of investors, etc. Even the market can change. Even the market can change, and the project will have to be adapted or significantly modified.
How can you plan consistently under such conditions? It is almost unrealistic.
But the sequential approach can still be applied to any project, because it always has a beginning and an end, and a specific goal to achieve.
In addition, many companies that have been using standard management methods for a long time cannot switch to an agile methodology when they take on a project. It is not a snap. It requires maturity (see our material on maturity levels).
How do you combine incompatible things? There are hybrid management systems for this. We will talk about them below.
What is a hybrid control system?
A hybrid management system is a management system created by mixing two or more methodologies. For example, Waterfall + SCRUM, a consistent and flexible methodology in one.
But you should be aware that many methodologies forbid you to keep the name if you change something in the original principles. Therefore, it will no longer be possible to say that we are working on SCRUM in combination with another methodology. As soon as you combine SCRUM with something else, it is no longer SCRUM.
But this is not a big deal, because the most important thing in any project is the result.
It is the combination of different methods that allows you to increase efficiency and achieve results faster and more optimally.
In addition, a hybrid management system allows you to smooth out some of the rough edges and bumps that can occur when project staff switch to a new management methodology.
Which methodologies can be combined as part of a hybrid methodology?
There are no frameworks or strict prescriptions. There is no universal recipe. You can take the best of what you find in different approaches and put it together in one.
The main criterion is that all this should work for your project.
The main problem of your unique project management methodologies is that they may produce unexpected results.
A simple example: there is Kanban methodology, and if you follow all the principles laid down by its creators, you can achieve sufficient efficiency. That is, the result will be expected.
But if you change something, who can guarantee that the result will be the same?
That is why the combination and implementation should be done by an experienced manager who knows all the features of each methodology, not in theory, but in practice. It is desirable for such a manager to have an idea about the implementation of different methodologies and, based on real experience and professional knowledge, to have developed their own unique methodology, combining different, but in the aggregate no less effective principles.
Since there are no restrictions on the combination of methods, you can use any of the popular ones:
- Waterfall,
- Scrum,
- PRINCE2,
- Kanban,
- 6 Sigma,
- Lean (lean development),
- Spiral development,
- iterative development,
- rapid development (RAD),
- Shape Up
- and others.
Just in case — Top 10 management methodologies.
As an aside, it should be noted that the Shape Up methodology mentioned above was developed as a counterbalance to the more rigid Scrum. For this purpose, the backlog was removed from Scrum and a separate work cycle was created; only project managers are responsible for shaping tasks without the direct involvement of the team. As you can see, it is the same methodology, but adapted to your needs. As a result, we have a new management system that has been tested in large projects. Then a book was written and the management method was brought to the masses.
You can do exactly the same thing, but without writing your own book (although in the case of successful experience, why not).
Which combinations worked best?
The most effective hybrid, according to many project managers, is a mix of Waterfall (waterfall or cascade model) and Scrum (iterative model from the agile family, i.e. agile methodology).
What does this mix look like?
The full life cycle of a product is best represented by the cascade model. It is therefore logical to plan the work within this methodology. It gives you a better idea of the big picture, allows you to prioritise correctly and launch the MVP (minimum viable product) with a better understanding of the basic functionality.
It is logical to move further work to an iterative model with predefined development cycles. During the sprints, you will be able to systematically fix identified product defects and implement new features. The smarter you choose the iteration periods, the faster you will be able to respond to new stakeholder input.
Benefits of hybrid control systems
- Ability to bring together the best of the best of popular management techniques.
- Manual optimisation of the management approach. You can create the management model that is effective for your business (production, company, team, office, etc.).
- Optimise as needed. You are not constrained by standard methods and can change the approach or parts of it if something is not working as intended.
- Your methodology may be so successful that it becomes a stand-alone methodology that is applied to many other projects.
- You can lower the entry threshold by combining a new, more effective methodology with one already in use in your company or team. In this way, the transition from the old to the new will be made with the least difficulty and resistance.
Disadvantages of hybrid management systems
- If not properly configured, a new approach can do more harm than good.
- You need experience in implementing different methods to understand how it will work in a new environment.
- It is very difficult to find ready-made ‘hybrids’ for which there would be actual feedback on the effectiveness of their application.
- A hybrid method is always a unique product, designed for one team or organisation, and will not work in other environments.
- Developing a hybrid management system can itself become a long project with unclear timelines, effectiveness and constant redesign. And that means lost time and human resources. Documentation alone will take several man-days.
To implement or not to implement a hybrid model?
Each team decides for itself independently. Usually, the need to change a standard methodology or combine it with some other methodology is an urgent need.
In other words, if everything was working as it was, there would be no need to change anything.
But if something is going wrong, and you feel that your team or project is hampered by something, and the available time and tools are not enough, you need to make adjustments.
The main difficulty is working out the optimal combination of rules and linking them adequately with the tools used within the team.
How to develop your hybrid management system
- Explore different techniques and model how they can be applied to your project (or projects, if there are many).
- Identify the methods and rules that might be useful for you.
- Describe the principles of the new hybrid model.
- Based on the principles, develop the final rules of the management system.
- Describe the subject matter: tools, how to set tasks and control assignments, timelines, iterations, responsibilities, what documents and plans should accompany the project, how to track overall progress, how to evaluate results and effectiveness, and other nuances.
- Implement this management system in your projects: communicate the principles to your people, make sure they understand them, monitor compliance, etc.
- Do not stop at what you have achieved. Monitor the effectiveness of the implementation, identify weaknesses and strengths of the system, continue to optimise processes and rules, analyse mistakes and feedback from participants.
Instead of totals
A hybrid project management model can be a chance to fix a situation that’s getting out of control, and perhaps a big leap forward for your team that will significantly improve their effectiveness in the current working environment.
But you should always remember that you shouldn’t innovate where you don’t need to. Otherwise, you may end up making things worse rather than better.
Since there are no proven hybrid techniques, you are taking a big risk by using a new and untested management tool.
