Hybrid Agile Project Management

Learn How to Get the Best of Both Worlds

Iron Triangle and Agile Triangle

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 “Iron Triangle” versus Agile Triangle

© 2014-2020 High Impact Project Management, Inc. 2

In this lesson we’re going to discuss the “Iron Triangle” which has been a cornerstone of
traditional plan-driven project management for a long time and the Agile triangle which provides
a very different approach to managing a project.

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 Emphasis on Maximizing Value vs. Control
Traditional Project Management “Iron Triangle”

Quality

Scope

Primary emphasis is on managing scope to control costs and schedule

(change is the exception and must be controlled)
© 2014-2020 High Impact Project Management, Inc. 3

This slide shows the traditional project management “iron triangle” which is based on an
emphasis on control of the scope of a project that has represented a primary focus of the project
management profession for many years.

• The idea of it is to fix the scope of the project and put the primary emphasis on controlling
the project cost and schedule by controlling changes to scope. A project was deemed
successful if it met the original requirements within the budgeted cost and schedule.

• With those constraints, the three legs of the triangle are set and you can’t change any one leg
of the triangle without impacting the other legs. For example, you cannot increase the scope
of the project without changing the time required for the project without also changing the
cost.

• Quality is often a variable and might be cut in order to compensate for changes in the other
constraints

This model has been the predominant model in project management for a long time. The
problem with this approach is that an excessive emphasis on managing the costs and schedule of
a project can lead to a relatively rigid and inflexible style of project management that is not
adaptive to uncertain or changing user needs; and, in many cases, it is just unrealistic to be able
to completely define all the requirements for a project in detail upfront. For that reason, there
have been many instances of projects that have met their cost and schedule goals but failed to
deliver the business value required by the user.

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 Emphasis on Maximizing Value vs. Control
Agile Project Management “Iron Triangle”
Value
(Releasable Product)

Quality Constraints
(Reliable, Adaptable Product) (Cost, Schedule, Scope)

Primary emphasis is on producing value (change is the norm)

Highsmith, Jim, Agile Project Management -Creating Innovative Products, pg 21, Addison-Wesley, New York, 2010

© 2014-2020 High Impact Project Management, Inc. 4

The project management triangle in an Agile project is much more complicated because nothing
is fixed, change is the norm rather than the exception, and there are many more tradeoffs to be
made in a much more dynamic environment. So, it really is a challenge to apply some level of
project management discipline in that kind of environment. The emphasis in this model is on
maximizing the value of the project to the customer rather than controlling the scope; however,
that is not an all-or-nothing proposition. It doesn’t mean that you have to give up all control of
scope in an Agile project and it is very possible to balance these two approaches.

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 Scope Versus Value

The project scope is important - it outlines your projects goals and defines them

The overall value to be delivered should be an element of the project scope

Management of scope can provide value in itself – the business sponsor should
determine the appropriate level of emphasis

http://www.brighthubpm.com/agile/50212-the-agile-triangle-value-quality-and-constraints/

© 2014-2020 High Impact Project Management, Inc. 5

There are lots of tradeoffs to manage in a typical project. One of them is associated with
focusing on managing project scope to control the project cost and schedule versus relaxing the
control over scope to allow more focus on value. The project scope is important. It outlines your
projects and defines them. The value to be delivered should be part of the project scope but
value can be very subjective, intangible, and hard to define. The management of project scope
provides value in itself – it would be rare to find a business situation that would find value in a
free-wheeling project with absolutely no control over expectations for project cost and schedule.
The business sponsor should determine the appropriate level of emphasis to put on managing
scope versus flexibility.

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 Agile Project Management offers flexibility, but too
much flexibility can lose the value of the project or
result in a failed outcome

© 2014-2020 High Impact Project Management, Inc. 6

The key point is that this is not a binary choice between two extremes of very tight and rigid
control over scope on the one hand and no control over scope on the other hand.

Agile Project Management offers flexibility, but too much flexibility can lose the value of the
project or result in a failed outcome. The management of scope has value in itself that must be
considered in the proper proportions.

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 Cost and Schedule Versus Constraints

Defining constraints can help manage cost and schedules

However, the constraints don’t necessarily have to be rigid and fixed

http://www.brighthubpm.com/agile/50212-the-agile-triangle-value-quality-and-constraints/

© 2014-2020 High Impact Project Management, Inc. 7

Another tradeoff is associated with managing cost and schedules versus constraints. The most
significant constraint is the size of the team available to do the project. An Agile approach
typically fixes the number of people assigned to the project – an Agile team is normally of a fixed
size and dedicated to the project for the duration of the project. In a traditional plan-driven
project, the resources may be more open-ended and allowed to grow as the scope of the project
grows.

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 In an Agile project, cost is directly related to schedule
because the size of the team is typically fixed and the
team is assigned to the project for the duration of the
project

Schedule is directly related to the scope of the work to

be done

© 2014-2020 High Impact Project Management, Inc. 8

In an Agile project, cost is directly related to schedule because the size of the team is
typically fixed and assigned to the project for the duration of the project. Schedule is
directly related to the scope of the work to be done so we go back to the scope of the
project as the fundamental control over the cost and schedule over the project;
however, using an incremental development approach is an important control over
scope. If at some point in time, the deliverables produced by the project reach a point
of diminishing returns where the cost of producing those deliverables exceeds the value
provided by those deliverables, the project can be terminated at that point.

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 Agile/Plan-driven Comparison

Fixed Requirements Resources Time

Iterative
(Agile)

Plan-driven

Estimated Resources Time Features Estimates

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/39_Agile_Estimating_for_NASA_CAS_2014_Tagged.pdf

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This diagram shows a comparison of how estimates are developed in a plan-driven approach and
an iterative or Agile approach

• In a traditional plan-driven approach, the requirements are typically fixed and planned and
the plan drives the cost and schedule estimates

• In an iterative or Agile approach, the resources assigned to the project are fixed and the time
for each iteration is also typically fixed and the work to be done is estimated based on the
scope and complexity of the features to be developed

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 Agile Cost/Value Curve

Value/Cost Total Cost

Point of Diminishing Returns
Total Value
Incremental Value
Incremental Cost

Time
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A big advantage of an iterative or Agile approach is that because the project delivers value
incrementally, it is much easier to evaluate the incremental value produced against the
incremental cost and to determine when the project reaches a point of diminishing returns
where the incremental cost of delivering functionality exceeds the incremental value of that
functionality and a decision can be made to terminate the project at that point.

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 Plan-driven Cost/Value Curve

Value/Cost Total Cost

Total Value

Time
© 2014-2020 High Impact Project Management, Inc. 11

A traditional plan-driven project does not typically deliver value until the very end of the project
so there is not the same ability to make incremental decisions to commit resources and costs as
the project progresses. An evaluation as to whether the value delivered by the project will
exceed the costs is based on a much higher level of speculation.

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 The ability to monitor the incremental value
produced by the project against the
incremental cost as the project progresses can
be a huge factor in reducing the risk of a project

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A key point of this is that the ability to monitor the incremental value produced by the project
against the incremental cost as the project progresses can be a huge factor in reducing the risk
of a project

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 Cost Versus Quality

Quality should not be a variable and should not be allowed to be compromised

Quality is often compromised in projects with cost overruns to minimize the cost
impact

http://www.brighthubpm.com/agile/50212-the-agile-triangle-value-quality-and-constraints/

© 2014-2020 High Impact Project Management, Inc. 13

A final tradeoff is cost versus quality. Quality should not be a tradeoff at all, but we all know that
when a project’s cost begins to over run its budgeted estimates, that there is often pressure to
take short-cuts that might compromise quality in order to minimize the impact of further cost
overruns.

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 In an Agile project, there is a firm commitment to a
level of quality to be delivered and the level of quality is
very visible and transparent

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Quality should not be allowed to be compromised in order to meet a given cost budget. In an
Agile project, there is a commitment to a given level of quality and the Agile team takes it
seriously and owns this commitment. Quality is also related to “value”…it is possible to “gold-
plate” a project and go well beyond the level of quality that produces the desired value to the
user and that should not be a goal either.

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 NEXT LECTURE…
HOW DOES A HYBRID AGILE PROCESS
WORK?

© 2014-2020 High Impact Project Management, Inc. 15

In the next lesson we’re going to start a new section on hybrid Agile models and the first lesson
in that section is on How Does a Hybrid Agile Process Work?

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