The Hybrid PM Guide 2.0 has arrived – the IAPM guide for hybrid project management

The Hybrid PM Guide 2.0 has arrived – the IAPM guide for hybrid project management 12.05.2017 - Worldwide pressure to innovate makes flexible project management a necessity

The pressure to produce and innovate continues to rise across the world, a circumstance which affects the information and telecommunications technology sector among others. In order to remain competitive, companies have to be able to employ flexible project management methods which are oriented towards the most transparent project times possible,
Of course, shying away from a particular project management method either out of habit or due to lack of knowledge also carries its own risks, especially on projects where requirements can change unexpectedly. Hybrid project management gives project teams far more flexibility in such cases because it draws on approaches from classic project management, agile project management and lean management.
Classical project management can be too rigid in new product developments, and agile project management on the other hand, cannot be implemented in all areas of the company, even if it is subject to strict regulations, legal rules and standards, or if the company organisation itself is not agile enough.
 
Hybrid project management combines various project management methods

Hybrid project management offers a practicable approach to solving this problem, since anyone who is familiar with common management methods is able to use and combine the most appropriate tools and procedures from all the methods and adapt them individually to the respective situation within the company.
For instance, agile project management could be used in subprojects while the process organisation is kept classic. Roles from the SCRUM environment are incorporated into the classic approach towards organisation. In this way, the IT and developer team are able to work agilely; the marketing classically; and the production in an agile and lean manner. In joint meetings and discussions, the individual teams are familiarised with each other’s approach and incorporated into the issues. This allows sprint reviews, stand-up meetings and classic project discussions to be held with all parties involved.
Yet production related projects – which were traditionally first and foremost organised in a classical or lean way – are being increasingly supplemented by agile concepts and methods; where purely agile project management may reach its limits, agile approaches in the classical or lean project environment can bring about increases in efficiency and effectiveness too.
 
Hybrid PM Guide 2.0 as an introduction and a guide for hybrid project management

The Hybrid PM Guide 2.0 is an addition to our range of IAPM PM guides. However, if the PM Guide 2.0, the Agile PM Guide 2.0 and the International PM Guide 2.0 are the basis for IAPM certifications, the Hybrid PM Guide 2.0 is an independent guide that does not specifically prepare for IAPM certification.
The guide examines the three most important PM approaches – classic (waterfall model), agile and lean – as well as their advantages and disadvantages. Lean methods such as Kanban, minimum viable product and lean startup are also explained and evaluated.
Scrum, IT-Kanban and extreme programming, design thinking and feature driven development are considered as the most important representatives of agile project management approaches and are outlined as well. You can find detailed information on the individual methods and frameworks in the Agile PM Guide 2.0.
The three basic forms of hybrid work are also described: complementing the classic project management culture with agile concepts, combining agile concepts and lean management supplemented by agile elements.
 
Various parameters affect the choice of management strategy

Whether a project is simple, complicated or complex has a direct impact on which PM methods and approaches are useful. The guide also provides a brief summary on this topic, which can simplify the decision-making process. Parameters such as project type and industry, project scope and team size, or communication culture and stakeholder connection should also be integrated here and are reviewed in the guide.
However, the motivation for the implementation of hybrid project management, i.e. the reason for introducing it at all, must also be questioned, since this decisively shapes the transformation processes to be achieved and the achievable goals.
As there is unfortunately no one-size-fits-all solution, no fail-safe version, every organisation and every employee has to be considered on an individual basis in order to subsequently develop a tailor-made hybrid solution. The Hybrid Guide 2.0 is designed to introduce you to the topic of hybrid project management and to show you ways to implement it.
"Hybrid project management reflects the lives and corporate reality of many of our managers, it is becoming increasingly difficult to draw a distinct line. That is why we want our certifiers and all those interested in PM to be able to benefit from the possibilities of hybrid project management as well", explains Dr. Roland Ottmann, Deputy Chairman of the Advisory Board and Deputy Chairman of the Board of the IAPM International Association of Project Managers.
 
We look forward to hearing your feedback on our brand new Hybrid PM Guide 2.0!
You can download the guide for free here.
 

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