Written by: Tana Glassford-Samuel, MBA, PMP

The Best of Both Worlds. How Waterfall and Agile can co-exist.

Presentation Overview McLemore-Tamara

Tamara McLemore, PMP, PMI-ACP, a 20-year project management veteran and sought after speaker, was this month’s presenter. The August event was held in-person at Matrix, the Agile Forum’s Sponsor. Tamara spoke to a packed room. The session was engaging and thought-provoking. Waterfall with Agile, in any combination, can be beneficial for project managers (PMs) and offer real value to the organization.

Agile is a mindset change and has standard terms and events/ceremonies. However, the Agile nomenclature can be a blocker in a strong Waterfall culture. In some minds, Agile is a bad word and PMs may need to work around it by using different terms to achieve the same results – value-driven delivery.

Takeaways

  • The Benefits of Agile
    • Faster to Market
      • We are not in the microwave era; We are in the air fryer era!
    • Flexibility
    • Instant Feedback
    • Save Millions of Dollars and time
  • The Four Values of the Agile Manifesto
    • Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
      • Emphasizes the need to deliver
    • Working software over comprehensive documentation
      • Do not show elaborate documents, demo the product
    • Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
      • Be flexible and accommodating
    • Responding to change over following a plan
      • Change is inevitable
  • Incorporate Agile components in Waterfall projects
    • Minimal Viable Product (MVP)
      • Allows for early return on investment
    • Definition of Done
      • What does success looks like
    • T-Shirt Sizing
      • Relative estimation of the work
    • Kanban Board
      • Tells the true status/state of play

Next Event

Join us at the next PMI Atlanta Chapter Agile forum on Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Keynote Presentation: "Artificial Intelligence for Agile Project Managers: Are You Ready" by Scott Ambler, Author & Agile Data Coach, Ambysoft, Inc.

Register at www.pmiatlanta.org/events/event-calendar 

Event Pictures

Agile-Forum-Screenshot-August-2023