Journal of Computer Information Systems

ISSN: 0887-4417 (Print) 2380-2057 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ucis20

Agile Project Management —Agilism versus

Traditional Approaches

Daniel J. Fernandez & John D. Fernandez

To cite this article: Daniel J. Fernandez & John D. Fernandez (2008) Agile Project Management
—Agilism versus Traditional Approaches, Journal of Computer Information Systems, 49:2,
10-17

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08874417.2009.11646044

Published online: 04 Jan 2016.

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 AGILE PROJECT MANAGEMENT -
AGILISM VERSUS TRADITIONAL APPROACHES
DANIEL J. FERNANDEZ JOHN D. FERNANDEZ
Alcon Laboratories, Inc. Texas A&M University
Ft. Worth, Texas Corpus Christi, Texas

ABSTRACT NEW PROJECT MANAGEMENT THEORIES

For decades now, corporations have been changing from In recent years there has been particular interest in defining,
a hierarchical approach to project management to being more or redefining, a theory of project management that can be used in
collaborative as knowledge work has grown in importance. In the the new economy which is characterized by more complex and
center of increased globalization is the need for project managers uncertain project situations. Koskela and Howell [25] argue in a
to have flexibility in a project system in order to be able to adjust 2002 paper that the underlying theory of project management is
constantly to emerging challenges and opportunities. obsolete. The theory underlying the PMBOK(Project Management
The need to distribute responsibility and initiative in support Body of Knowledge) guide by the Project Management Institute
of adaptation to change is familiar territory to "agile" approaches (PMI)[30] is determined to be based upon the transformation view
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to projects. In this paper, Agile Project Management will be of production and three theories of management: management-as-
examined from its historical practices and applicability of this planning, the dispatching model for execution, and the thermostat
style of project management to more traditional approaches to model for control. Koskela and Howell [25] question this theory's
project management. Agile Project Management has proven to sufficiency in practice, especially in managing uncertainty and
be a useful tool for today's knowledge worker and the project change. A new theory is not proposed but new ingredients are
managers in the new economy which is characterized by more suggested: (1) a focus on Flow and Value generation in addition
complex and uncertain project situations. This paper presents to transformation; and (2) inclusion of management-as-organizing
fundamental information about the agile methodology to for planning, the language/action perspective for execution, and
encourage its implementation by professionals. the scientific experimentation model for control. In a subsequent
Keywords: Project Management, Agile Strategies, Patterns paper Koskela and Howell [26] demonstrate that Serum, an
of Organization, Software Project Management, Traditional agile project management approach, is a comprehensive project
Management Approaches management method with an underlying theoretical foundation
that includes flow and value generation emphases (but not
OVERVIEW transformation), management-as-organizing, the language/action
perspective, and the scientific experimentation model. They
In the February 2007 issue of Harvard Business Review conclude by arguing for a "paradigmatic transformation of the
the myth of the flawless executive is dethroned in favor of the discipline of project management".
"incomplete leader" who no longer is oriented toward "command Williams [33] presents research that shows that conventional
and control" but is instead focused on distributing responsibility methods of project management (including PMBOK) can be
and initiative throughout the organization [4]. For decades now, inappropriate and potentially disadvantageous for projects that
corporations have been changing from a hierarchical approach are structurally complex, uncertain, and heavily time-limited.
to being more collaborative as knowledge work has grown in Instead, newer project management methods, such as "agile" or
importance. A September 2005 article in the Project Management "lean" show promise for projects with these characteristics.
Journal expresses similar sentiments for the management of Other research has demonstrated the value of management
projects as the authors question the "veracity of tight centralized models (such as administering, organizing, sense giving, team
management", "rationalist" discourse, and a "command and building, and engineering), even if these models don't represent
control" approach to project management [23]. Instead, the best practices [17]. Models provide a common language and
authors recommend allowing for flexibility of local response in framework creating a shared reality which enables communication
order to be able to constantly adjust to emerging problems in the both within and between projects. Agile Project Management
project system. finds its common language originating in the Agile Manifesto
This need to distribute responsibility and initiative in support [8] and Declaration of Interdependence [6]. The manifesto and
of adaptation to change is familiar territory to "agile" approaches declaration will be examined in a subsequent paper by the authors
to projects. In this paper, Agile Project Management will be as the roots and sources of "agile" ideas and principles.
examined from its historical practices, and the applicability of
this style of project management. Agile Project Management AGILE PROJECT MANAGEMENT APPROACHES
is proving to be a useful tool to today's knowledge worker and
the project managers in the new economy. As Zwicker [35] Agile Project Management Practices
asserts, Lockheed Martin was looking for a way to improve
its development of software products and found the agile One way to examine approaches to agile project management
methodology in the process. A comparison of Agile Project is to investigate practices of agile project management. One set of
Management to traditional approaches will be presented. practices [22] includes the following:

10 Journal of Computer Information Systems Winter 2008-2009

 • Assume Simplicity management domain that are based on different theoretical
• Embrace Change foundations: Theory of Constraints [5], Critical Chain [27], Lean
• Enable and Focus on the Next Effort Production [29], Complex Adaptive Systems [7, 21], Chaos
• Incrementally Change Theory [15] and Cooperative Game Theory [11]. Even though the
• Maximize Value theories appear to be diverse, at their core, they all are in harmony
• Manage with a Purpose, Question Actions with the agile principles found in the Agile Manifesto [8] and
• Project Manager must manage the project and Declaration of Interdependence [6). Wysocki [34) summarizes
process boundaries some of these approaches in his book on effective software
• Rapid Feedback to All Stakeholders project management. Even though this book is oriented towards
• Quality Deliverables software, the principles extend beyond software, and the models
• Create Documentation Based on Value used are effective ways to understand agile project management.
Glen Alleman [3] describes agile as a "thought process" with
Agile Project Management Strategies
the following practices:
1. Think small incremental deliverables From an agile project management classification perspective,
2. Get the customer to have some skin in the game the Iterative, Adaptive, and Extreme strategies defined by
3. Never have breakage - have continuous QA at every Wysocki [34) fall under the agile project management umbrella.
point through assurance process The Linear and Incremental strategies are traditional project
4. State up front requirements are fluid - build the management approaches. These approaches will be briefly
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processes around fluid requirements. reviewed to help differentiate them from the agile approaches. In
addition, Wysocki [34) has identified an approach which identifies
Patterns for Organization and Project Management project characteristics in a quadrant and then matches those to
Patterns are another approach to understand the use of agile different project management strategies. Project characteristics
based practices in project management. The origins of patterns are classified based on a certainty to uncertainty continuum
are typically attributed to the architect Christopher Alexander for the project goal (ends) and project solutions (means). After
who used patterns for the construction of towns, neighborhoods, identifying the quadrant (see Figure 1 below) that a project is in,
and buildings. Patterns provide solutions to problems in context specific, situational project strategies can be selected to match
or more precisely patterns are "a recurring structural configuration project management strategy with problem type. If there is doubt
that solves a problem in context, contributing to the wholeness about the quadrant a project belongs to, the less risky strategy is to
of some whole, or system that reflects some aesthetic or cultural err on the side of choosing a higher numbered quadrant. However,
value." [13] depending on how the project evolves, it may be advisable to
Coplien and Harrison [13] demonstrate that values drive adjust the management of the project to the strategies of a lower
structure from which process emerges. They believe that an quadrant if the project characteristics change. The authors will
organization's structure is a much better indicator of effectiveness examine these quadrant characteristics in a subsequent paper.
than process and structure is most effective when oriented on
"product" instead of "process". Good communication, as a foun-
dation to structure, requires an emphasis and value on both the Not Clear
human element and an understanding of roles and communication. 4
Coplien and Harrison [13] believe that effective organizations Goal
will demonstrate patterns that can be used by other organizations
to be effective. A series of approximately 93 patterns are given Clear
related to: (I) project management, (2) piecemeal growth, (3) 2
organizational style, and (4) people and code. The particular
relevance of patterns to agile project management are: (1) their Clear Not Clear
roots in agile principles and, perhaps even more importantly, (2)
Solution
as a description of an approach which is in harmony with the agile
idea of not supplying hard and fast rules which claim to work FIGURE 1: Project Characteristics Quadrants
in all situations. Instead, patterns are a special kind of rule that by Goal and Solution Uncertainty - Adapted
"works together with other patterns to create emergent structure from [34]
and behavior" [13] which makes for effective organizations.
Khazanchi and Zigurs [24] see patterns "as a way of Linear Strategy
understanding and dealing with complexity", with particular
application toward the management of virtual projects. In a 2005 A Linear strategy is a traditional strategy that consists of
PMI publication, Khazanchi and Zigurs [24] argue for three dependent, sequential phases that are executed with no feedback
theoretical elements to define patterns: (1) communication, (2) loops. The project solution is not released until the final phase.
coordination, and (3) control. They believe that patterns can This strategy fits Quadrant 1 projects because of the following
be created for these three elements that include processes, best characteristics of this strategy: (1) Clearly defined goal, solution,
practices, factors, tools and techniques. and requirements; (2) Few scope change requests; (3) Routine
and repetitive projects; (4) Use of established templates.
Theoretical Approaches The strengths of the Linear strategy include: (1) The entire
project is scheduled; (2) Resource requirements are known; (3)
A variety of books have been written in the agile project The most skilled resources are not required; (4) Team members

Winter 2008·2009 Journal of Computer Information Systems 11

 can be distributed. The weaknesses of the Linear strategy are: Example agile project management methods are Adaptive Project
(I) Plan and schedule do not accommodate change very well; Framework [34] and Adaptive Software Development [21].
(2) Costs can be higher; (3) Time to complete can be longer,
especially if change occurs; (4) Requires detailed plans; (5) Must Extreme Strategy
follow a defined set of processes; (6) Is not focused on customer
value as much as delivering against the plan. An Extreme strategy is similar to an Adaptive strategy except
that instead of adjusting with each iteration to converge upon
Incremental Strategy a solution, the goal of the project must also be discovered and
converged upon. The lack of goal clarity is the main difference
An Incremental strategy is identical to a Linear strategy between the Adaptive and Extreme strategies. The Adaptive
except that each phase of the project releases a partial solution. strategy requires a clear goal and the Extreme strategy does not.
The characteristics of this strategy are identical to the Linear Research and development, or similar projects would fall in this
strategy except that business value must be delivered prior to the Quadrant 3 oriented strategy. This type of project goal uncertainty
final phase. Therefore, this strategy is also well suited to Quadrant is also referred to as "chaos" as "often the project ends up with
I projects. final results that are completely different from the project's
The strengths of the Incremental strategy include: (I) original intent" [16]. Figure 2 graphically represents a search for
Business Value is produced earlier in the project life cycle; (2) a goal through an extreme, quadrant 3 project.
Change requests can be accommodated between increments and
discovered through incremental solutions; (3) Stronger focus Range of acceptable solutions
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on customer value than the Linear approach. Some weaknesses

of the Incremental strategy include: (1) Heavy documentation;
(2) Difficulty defining function/feature dependencies; (3) More
customer involvement is required compared to the Linear
approach.
Path #1 !-;j;.-'T--':---------------====_ Desired Goal
Iteratiye Strategy

An Iterative strategy consists of a number of repeated phases ..

......
\ ../
.._Attained Goal

that include a feedback loop after a group of phases is completed.

The last phase of a group may include a partial solution if the
customer desires. The Iterative strategy is a learn-by-doing Project
Start
strategy that uses intermediate solutions as a pathway to discover
the details of the complete solution. FIGURE 2: Goal Searching in Extreme Projects [34]
The strengths of the Iterative strategy include: (1) Customer
can review current solution for suggested improvements; (2) The strengths of the Extreme strategy include: (1) Allows
Scope change can be accommodated between iterations; (3) for keeping options open as late as possible; (2) Offers an early
Adapts to changing business conditions. Weaknesses of this look at a number of partial solutions. The weaknesses of this
strategy include: (I) Requirement for a more active customer than strategy include: (I) May be looking for solutions in all the wrong
Quadrant I projects; (2) The final solution cannot be specified to places; (2) No guarantee that any business value will result from
the customer at the outset of the project. An example agile project the project. Example agile project management methods are
management method is Serum [32]. INSPIRE [34] and Flexible (DeCarlo's [IS] eXterme Project
Management).
Adaptiye Strategy
Summary of Strategies
An Adaptive strategy is similar to an Iterative strategy except
that with an Adaptive strategy each iteration's feedback adjusts Wysocki [34] provides a somewhat simplified, high level
the next iteration so that a solution will be converged upon. An view of these strategies in terms of both construction and project
iteration can release a partial solution at the discretion of the management to highlight the iterative cycle differences and also
customer. The Adaptive strategy is a quadrant 2 and quadrant the way the project management phases interrelate with these
3 strategy because it is best suited to projects whose solution is cycles.
only partially known. To remove the uncertainty, the solution In Figure 3, Wysocki's [34] five strategies are compared from
is arrived at via a continuous change process from iteration to a scope, design, build, test, and deploy perspective. Although the
iteration. The success of the Adaptive strategy is therefore highly differences are simplified in the figure, the main differences are
dependent on the ability to accommodate frequent change and based upon which phases are reiterated per cycle. In an extreme
adjust accordingly. Therefore, planning is done primarily in a strategy, even the project scope is readjusted based upon feedback
just-in-time manner. from the project iterations.
The strengths of the Adaptive strategy include: (I) Does not Another way to examine the differences in the strategies is
waste time on non-value-added work; and (2) Provides maximum by comparing project management phases to the development
business value within the given time and cost constraints. The or construction phases. The iteration differences between the
weaknesses of this strategy include: (1) Must have meaningful strategies can be seen, in particular, in the way that planning,
customer involvement throughout the project; (2) Cannot monitoring and control operate differently (Figure 4). By
identify exactly what will be delivered at the end of the project. comparing the traditional Linear and Incremental strategies to

12 Journal of Computer Information Systems Winter 2008-2009

 Unear

~--------~
Incremental

Iterative

Adaptive

Extreme
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FIGURE 3: Project Management Strategies Based on Complexity and Uncertainty [34J

the Iterative, Adaptive, and Extreme strategies, the differences characteristics change. There ought to be a continued emphasis on
between agile project management approaches and the traditional matching the level of processes, procedures, and documentation
approach can be more easily seen. Of particular note, the planning to the needs of the project.
efforts with the agile approaches are done more often and in an
iterative manner. Applicability beyond Software

Summary of Agile Project Management Approaches Even though the majority of the literature related to "Agile"
ideas and "Agile Project Management" is still within the software
General comments development domain there are attempts to widen the scope
of agile project management and make it applicable in other
The principles of Agile Project Management begin with the areas. One area that is receiving particular attention recently is
underlying principles and values of the Agile Manifesto [8] and construction. Conclusions in this area include: "There seems to
Declaration of Interdependence [6]. Of particular importance be considerable potential for gains to be made from the adoption
are the emphases on people and the desire to remain flexible of APM in the pre-design and design phases of construction;
and adaptable in the face of uncertainty and complexity. Agile iterative and incremental development can facilitate creative
project management approaches also emphasize a generative solutions, particularly to complex and uncertain requirements.
approach, where only what is needed (processes, tools, procedures, However, the fractured and temporary nature of the actual
documentation, etc) is required to be used in the project. Plus, construction organization is likely to impede the desirable
there is awareness with agile that different situations require continuation of these practices through to construction and
different solutions or different methodologies or approaches. support". [28]
Cockburn [9] outlines four additional principles that could be
considered when selecting an approach or methodology for project AGILE AND TRADITIONAL
management: (I) A larger group needs a larger methodology; (2) PROJECT MANAGEMENT
A more critical system - one whose undetected defects will
produce more damage - needs more publicly visible correctness Harmony with PMBOK
(greater density) in its construction; (3) A relatively small
increase in methodology size or density adds a relatively large At the 2004 PMI Global Conference, Griffiths [19] described
amount to the project cost; and (4) The most effective form of a way for agile methods to be used alongside traditional
communication (for transmitting ideas) is interactive and face- methods. His suggestion was to take as-is the PMBOK processes
to-face. Plus, project priorities and delivery date, level of quality, for Initiation and Closure, and then build on the Progressive
and desired visibility into the process could also impact the Elaboration concepts for the Planning process. The Execution and
approach chosen. Controlling processes, however, were handled quite differently
Finally, there must be a match between the project, culture, and an agile approach is suggested. Sliger [31] finds a high
project team, customers, and the project strategy that is selected. level of compatibility between the PMBOK and agile practices.
This decision is not fixed, however, but the team and/or project Highsmith's [21] Agile Project Management framework is used
manager should be willing to change the strategy as the project by Sliger as the basis of comparison with the PMBOK.

Winter 2008·2009 Journal of Computer Information Systems 13

 Linear Software
Development
Phases

Project
Management
Phases

Incremental
Software
Development '--.,...---q
Phases

Project
Management
Phases '-----'
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Iterative
Software
Development '---r---'
Phases

Project
Management
Phases L-._......J

Adaptive
Software
Development '---r---'
Process

Project
Management
Phases L-._......J

Extreme
Software
Development
Process
Phases

Project
Management
Phases

FIGURE 4: Project Management Strategies Based on Complexity and Uncertainty

Adapted/rom [34J

14 Journal of Computer Information Systems Winter 2008-2009

 Comparison of Traditional and Agile POST-AGILISM

When comparing different project strategies or approaches, In recent years there has been a growing dissatisfaction with
Wysocki [34] also details differences between traditional and the term "agile" and corresponding "agile" practices. New terms
agile projects. are being introduced such as "pliant" and "non-linear" to replace
"agile". At the core of this dissatisfaction is the concern that the
Traditional Versus Agile Projects term "agile" is being used primarily as a marketing device and
that many prescribed "agile practices and processes" are being
Traditional projects are clearly defined with well documented followed with blind adherence at the expense of being flexible
and understood features, functions, and requirements. In contrast, and adaptable to the need for different practices and processes.
agile projects discover the complete project requirements Coplien [l3] expresses fear that "we are lemmings" simply
by doing the project in iterations and therefore reducing and following the latest fad rather than being adaptable to finding the
eliminating uncertainty. Because of this, agile tends to be best practices for the projects. He also advocates a return to the
higher risk compared to traditional projects, but agile has the Agile Manifesto and its roots as a means of bringing focus back
flexibility to more easily adjust to changes in project require- on people and on being effective not simply being "agile" as an
ments. end in itself.
In addition to the concerns that "agile" has lost touch with its
Traditional Versus Agile Project Managers original meaning, there are other concerns and criticisms about
agile and agile project management. Boehm sees risk of design
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Traditional project managers manage their projects against the mistakes that "cannot be easily detected by external reviewers due
budget, schedule, and scope. Metrics and variance can be tracked to the lack of documentation." [12] During the first eWorkshop
against the planned baselines. The traditional project manager on Agile Methods, there was concern that the reason agile worked
wants to reduce risk and preserve the constraints of time and was simply that agile approaches require more experienced people
money. In contrast, the agile project manager is focused instead and therefore the capabilities of the team members are what project
on deliverables and business value and budget and timeline success should be attributed to rather than agile practices and
are secondary. The agile project manager is trained to deliver principles [18]. Alleman [1] believes that managing projects with
a product instead of adherence to a process like the traditional agility is no more than simply using process areas appropriately
project manager. and with intelligence. Elsewhere Alleman [2] argues that Agile is
"a delivery mechanism", a "style of performing processes", but
not a discipline. Previously a stronger advocate of agile project
Traditional Versus Agile Teams
management, Alleman [2] now has "had second thoughts about
how much hype there is around Agile Project Management having
Traditional projects can more easily support distributed work
observed failed projects that adopted agile project management
teams of specialists and junior members because of the well-
techniques without first understanding the core principles of
defined requirements and other documentation. Agile project
project management." Alleman [2] believes that a better starting
teams require co-location of team members and staff in order
point is to "pick your favorite project management processes
to embrace change and rapidly produce increments. Projects
- PMI, CH2M Hill, Prince2, DoD PMBOK, NASA Systems
being worked in multiple locations can have teams using agile
Engineering, Solomon's Performance Based Earned Value, or a
methods in each location. The commitment level from agile
variety of others" and then "apply agile principles to those process
project members must be greater than from traditional team
areas - that's agile project management."
members as they are called upon to take a greater role in their
projects.
CONCLUSION

Case in Point Summary

There is much evidence in the literature of successful Agile practices, including project management, grew out
implementations of the agile methodology. One example is that of a need to manage projects characterized by complexity and
of Lockheed Martin [35] which involved an effort to improve uncertainty with responsiveness and adaptability. When goals
the delivery of systems to the client and finding the agile and solutions are unclear and there is high volatility, there is
approach in the process of its investigation. Lockheed Martin particular need for alternative approaches to managing projects.
managers chose agile practices in order to improve four areas Becoming equipped with different approaches to project
that were consistently part of management's focus: managing management will allow project managers to better match the
changing requirements, increasing productivity, ensuring qual- characteristics of the project at hand. The effort to accommodate
ity standards were met, and developing and delivering a prod- agile project management approaches and learn how to be flexible
uct increment more often. In one departmental implementation and adaptable may well be worth the investment for many project
of the agilism, a majority of those polled within the business managers. This flexibility could be highly advantageous when
area saw a greater than ten percent improvement in productivity, faced with certain types of projects and project scenarios.
product quality, customer satisfaction and overall reduction of
cost of development [35]. Given the large scale of Lockheed Importance of Matching Project
Martin and many industry systems, even the smallest improvement to Project Management Approach
in any of these areas has a major positive impact to the bottom
line. The need to properly match the project management approach

Winter 2008-2009 Journal of Computer Information Systems 15

 to the project is crucial to project success. However, simply [6] Anderson, D. "The Declaration of Interdependence", 2005,
making a one-time decision to be "agile" may be insufficient http://www .pmdoi.org/
for the organization, or perhaps even for the life of a particular [7] Augustine, S. Managing Agile Projects, Prentice Hall, 2005,
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Hybrid Approach Software, July/August 2000, pp. 64-71.
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