PRINCE2^®: Combining Agile and Project Management

Let's consider project management methods such as PRINCE2^®When it comes to project management, there is often an extreme opinion: classic project management is out, agile methods are all the rage. Is that true? One thing is certain: agile cannot do everything. But neither can traditional project management. This means that we should be able to combine both approaches. But how? Can PRINCE2 do it? And do we get "agile project management" when we combine project management and agile approaches? Let's find out!

PRINCE2 is not dead!

First of all, "classic" project management , such as PRINCE2, is by no means outdated or unusable. In fact, using PRINCE2 classically can work very well. To do so, however, we have to make sure that the framework conditions are right. The same applies to agile approaches, of course, because without the right framework they are also doomed to failure. But let's stay with classic PRINCE2 project management for a moment. PRINCE2 is the right choice in many cases. Trained team members and leaders, such as PRINCE2 Practitioners, lead the classic method to its goal best when the project ...

• is designed to be short,
• has clearly defined goals,
• presupposes a fixed output,
• takes place under concretely detailed, predictable conditions and
• no sudden changes occur.

If these conditions are right, once the project has been initiated, you can concentrate completely on implementation. Without sudden changes, there is no reason to make far-reaching adjustments during PRINCE2 implementation. A good example of this would be building a house with PRINCE2: Here, everything is detailed in advance and the material is ordered before the implementation begins. For this example, agile implementation would be completely out of place.

When do we give preference to agile methods?

Agile approaches can particularly shine when the fixed structures mentioned above are not in place. In contrast to a classic PRINCE2 project, it often happens in the agile world that adjustments (have to) be made. The longer the agile project lasts, the more can and will change - from the market to customer requirements to the framework within the organization. The power of agile development is to react flexibly to such changes. Therefore, in contrast to classic PRINCE2 implementations, they are best suited for projects ...

• without clearly defined output,
• Have vague requirements or are characterized by frequent changes, and
• begin with a vision that may and should evolve over the course of the project.

The levels of PRINCE2

So how do we make the connection to "agile" or rather "hybrid" PRINCE2 project management? To find out, we need to take a brief look at the different levels of PRINCE2. In project management, we can identify three levels at which action is taken: steering, management, and implementation.

Steering means: Here the PRINCE2 project is anchored in the organization. At this level, there is an overall view of the big picture and how the project is integrated into the company's strategic development plans. This is done, for example, through the steering committee. This is where the topic of governance has its place, among other things. We can state that at the steering level, everything is viewed in an overarching way and made to work. In addition, the justification of the project takes place here: Did it add value to the organization? Were the resources spent on it worth it?

The situation is different at the management level of PRINCE2. This is where the overall planning of the project takes place. We plan the deployment of teams, manage dependencies and synchronize progress. In other words, this is where the strands from the implementation teams come together. We have already looked at two levels.

Combining two worlds: PRINCE2 becomes PRINCE2 Agile

PRINCE2 as a classic project management method deals largely with the two previously mentioned levels. Like many other methods, PRINCE2 does not specify how the planned project is realized. However, the how is crucial on the implementation level. This is why agile methods such as Scrum, Kanban or Lean approaches have their place here and are successfully applied by teams in practice. This lends itself to the fact that many small developments usually take place at the implementation level, which only converge at the management level.

PRINCE2 Agile turns this idea into a holistic concept across all three levels: Different teams can work with different methods in PRINCE2 Agile at the implementation level - depending on which working method leads to the best results. The big challenge that agile approaches often fail to cover is bringing together the resulting subproducts and coordinating the teams with each other. The resulting complexity in different dimensions cannot be handled by agile approaches alone. PRINCE2 Agile, on the other hand, is able to do this because it also specifically considers the steering and management level in order to be able to precisely control dependencies and to obtain a common release date at the end. Thus, the fusion of classic and agile results in hybrid project management with PRINCE2 Agile.

PRINCE2 Agile: Hybrid or Agile?

We can best describe PRINCE2 Agile with the term "hybrid project management". Because "agile project management" is actually misleading. After all, agile frameworks do not involve the above-mentioned important control levels from project management at all. They focus on implementation, which in turn classic project management methods such as PRINCE2 do not specify in detail. We therefore prefer to call the amalgamation of frameworks such as Scrum and methods such as PRINCE2 hybrid project management. In this way, we can clearly emphasize that PRINCE2 Agile combines two ways of thinking without "making project management agile" per se.

The advantage of this is that in hybrid project management with PRINCE2 Agile, the agile ways of thinking and acting ensure greater flexibility in implementation. The project management components, on the other hand, enable complexity and deal with dependencies so that the organizational context can be maintained and everything can be financed.

The combination of both worlds makes projects possible in which the framework conditions are in place, but the overall product is not known from the outset. This also means that the details of development with PRINCE2 Agile are largely left to the teams. Agile self-organization takes the place of many management activities. In addition, reporting and other reporting measures become more informal overall.

PRINCE2 Agile at its best: When do we use it?

Hybrid methods like PRINCE2 Agile combine the best of both worlds. When combined, the hybrid PRINCE2 Agile approach gives us a project that ...

• ... where the goal is complex but basically definable. Basic framework conditions are specified, but most of the details emerge over time.
• ... where the design of the details is the responsibility of the individual development teams.
• ... where each phase of the project is considered a timebox, after each of which review and adjustment takes place.
• ... where an overarching control of the content dependencies is necessary. For this purpose, a project manager coordinates the groups among themselves and represents the overall picture so that all teams can work together profitably.
• ... where the development teams work agilely - for example with Scrum or Kanban.
• ... where reporting and progress monitoring are proactive and more informal.

In focus: Hybrid project management with PRINCE2 Agile

The PRINCE2 Agile framework initially corresponds to the classic PRINCE2 approach. Project control also takes place in the hybrid project from start to finish. The broad framework of the PRINCE2 project is defined prior to development, for example with a Goal and certain minimum requirements. It is important that at the end of the development there is added value for the customer. So much for the classic part of the PRINCE2 project.

In the phases between preparation and end, it becomes more agile: In project initiation, we break the product down into individual sub-areas or sub-products. The individual teams take responsibility for this, for example by having the product owners or customer subject matter experts formulate the sub-goals and then implement them with their development teams. Review and adjustment always take place when one phase moves on to the next. This turns the phases of project management with PRINCE2 Agile into timeboxes, at the end of which agile reviews and retrospectives take place, for example. A release, for example, can also be at such a point in time. A project manager, for example a certified PRINCE2 Practitioner, is responsible for phase control.

Classic, agile or hybrid? It depends!

In conclusion, we can state: It always depends on the project and its context whether we proceed classically, agilely or hybrid. The conditions under which a PRINCE2 project takes place have a significant influence on how it should be carried out. Also, the chosen method must fit the organization itself. PRINCE2 Agile combines an overarching governance approach with the appropriate development methods. The result is a hybrid project management approach that is highly versatile.

Are you planning a project in the near future for which you are still looking for a suitable procedure? Then let us advise you!

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