Before we explain the differences between agile project management and classic project management, it would be right if we first answer the question of what project management is in general.
What is project management?
Project management can be defined as the activities of planning, organizing, securing, monitoring, and managing the resources and work required to achieve specific project goals effectively and efficiently. In short, it is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements.
The project management approach used should always be adapted to the needs of the project. Project management takes place with the necessary implementation and integration of the project management processes defined for the project. It enables organizations to carry out projects effectively and efficiently.
Effective project management helps organizations and companies to:
- Achievement of business goals
- Meet stakeholder expectations
- Agile transformation in companies
- Be more predictable
- Increasing the chances of success
- Delivering the right products at the right time
- Solving of problems
- Respond to risks promptly
- Optimizing the use of company resources
- Identify, recover, or terminate failed projects
- Dealing with constraints (e.g. scope, quality, schedule, cost, resources)
- Balancing the impact of constraints on the project
- Manage change better
Overview of agile vs classic project management
The main difference between classic project management and agile project management is the way projects are implemented. In classic project management, projects are carried out in successive steps, and the output of one step forms the input of the next step. The cessation of activities is final and there is no turning back. The product obtained at the end of the project is delivered to the customer.
Agile project management is based on an iterative understanding. The aim is to achieve the project result by repeating these processes until the final product is created by developing the next process with the feedback received as a result of the processes. This is done by applying these steps from start to finish and the product obtained at the end is then delivered to the customer.
What is classic project management?
Classic project management is the oldest and most basic model of software development. The waterfall model, identified with classic project management, is the most commonly used model in classic projects today.
Waterfall Model:
First of all, with the waterfall model, it is not possible to move to the next step without ending a step. Documentation is provided at the end of each phase. In the projects where the waterfall model is applied, the phase ends are clearly defined and the project is carried out under intensive monitoring with controls such as strict reviews, intensive documentation, and management approval at each phase change. Therefore, its implementation requires strict discipline.
The waterfall model is more appropriate for projects that are fully understood and unlikely to change without ambiguity. At the end of these steps is the testing phase, and when this phase is reached, one is usually at the end of the project. Precisely at this stage, when a request comes from the customer, it is not possible to quickly respond to the customer's requirements as it is both costly and gradual.
At the end of the project, the errors identified in the tests left to the final phase become more and more difficult to fix and the costs increase. The main purpose of this approach is to establish factors such as scope, time, and resources from the start, by disallowing changes during the project and neutralizing changes that pose a major risk factor. When the waterfall model emerged, technology development and business change were not as fast as they are today, and therefore projects did not progress as quickly as they are today.
Disadvantages of classic project management:
- The fact that the developers read the documents created during the analysis and design phases, instead of meeting the requirements face-to-face with the customers or users, makes the requirements difficult to understand and does not allow the developers any input.
- Going back to make changes, improvements or corrections is like swimming against the current, difficult, and costly. Therefore, it cannot react to changes, and requests that come in the process are usually not accepted.
- Undetected negativity at any stage affects all subsequent stages.
- Due to its structural features and strict controls, it is inflexible, slow, and cumbersome.
- It is hardly realistic to expect requirements to be complete and well defined at the start of the project, and failure by customers to fully and accurately articulate their needs can result in a missing or incorrect product being delivered at the end of the project becomes.
- Project performance cannot be measured until the entire project is complete and errors can only be discovered during the testing phase.
- Intensive and up-to-date documentation is a time- and labor-intensive activity and is generally perceived as an unnecessary burden by developers.
- Due to the fact that the next phase does not start until one phase is completed, even delays that do not affect all project members can waste time for all project members.
- High administration costs are unnecessary costs for small projects and small teams.
- It is very difficult to ensure customer satisfaction as there is no model open to development and change.
- The way the model is designed has a negative impact on creativity.
In addition to the classic models, there are other project development models:
● Spiral model
● V model
● Incremental model
What is agile project management?
The agile project method has emerged as an alternative solution to the problems that traditional project methods consider insufficient. Iterations applied in agile methodologies are designed in accordance with the experiences from previous iterations and the identified problems.
Tasks that need to be done are prioritized based on their business value. The project team determines how best to get the work done within available resources and constraints. The team has to complete certain tasks in a certain amount of time (within the iteration time).
It is the team, with its strengths and weaknesses, that is responsible for creating the product to be delivered at the end of the iteration. That is why teamwork is important. In this context, the basic principles on which agile methods are based are experimentation, prioritization, self-organization, time frames, and cooperation.
As a result of these iterations, a usable product is created and the development processes are repeated taking into account customer or user feedback and possibly changed requirements. These iterative processes continue until the exact product the customer wants is produced. The most commonly used and popular frameworks for agile project management are SAFe and Scrum.
SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework):
SAFe, also known as the "Scaled Agile Framework", was developed in 2011 by Drew Jemilo and Dean Leffingwell, world-renowned Agile experts. Thanks to SAFe, which has a total of 4 main configurations and 3 basic levels, many teams can work together at the same time. SAFe generates positive reflections on teams' productivity and workflow. SAFe, which has increased its popularity in a short period of time, integrates information from 3 different areas.
These areas can be listed as agile development, lean product development, and systems thinking. SAFe is used to scale in agile projects, easily mix different applications together and also increase business agility. Furthermore, SAFe simply promotes elements such as correct coordination, unity of work and purpose, and cohesion or motivation between teams. There are different levels of scaling in the Scaled Agile Framework to scale agility.
These are classified as Basic SAFe, Large Solution SAFe, Portfolio SAFe, and Full SAFe. The framework, which provides very detailed guidance to the team and lets the organization breathe a sigh of relief, creates value for all stakeholders that make up the organization. You can scale with SAFe Agile, especially in large projects in which teams want to implement their own agile application methods and act independently.
Other popular agile project management frameworks are:
● LeSS (Large Scale Scrum)
● SoS (Scrum of Scrums)
● DAD (Disciplined Agile Delivery)
● Scrum
● Kanban
● Extreme programming (XP)
Disadvantages of agile project management
- Since teams are usually self-organizing, individuals must be competent, and experienced and master agile processes. Otherwise, team performance will drop and the project development process will be affected.
- Customers who can't pinpoint their priorities and want to frequently change the priorities in their to-do list can adversely affect planning.
- Products cannot be reused in other projects, since agile methods are used to develop solutions that are sufficient to meet the defined needs in a problem- or function-specific manner.
Comparison of classic project management and agile project management
While in classic project management, there is long-term and detailed planning over the entire process, in agile project management there is short-term and more detailed planning in order to be able to react to changing framework conditions. The project is divided into release plans, release plans are divided into iteration plans, and iteration plans are divided into daily plans. In this way, more detailed goals can be set. Other differences between the two methods are as follows:
Flexibility
In classic project management, everyone has to stick to a schedule once the project has started. Cost, time, and all other resources must be strictly considered. Specified goals should be achieved on time and the budget should be taken into account. If unexpected changes or requirements occur, the reorganization and adaptation take a lot of time. This means there is little room for flexibility once the process has been initiated. For these reasons, changes are often discouraged.
In this respect, agile project management is much more flexible than classic project management. Team members are free to try or challenge the plan at their discretion. Changes to the process or product can be made at any stage of the project. Communication and creativity are encouraged to find the most useful alternatives and factors in new information.
Transparency
In agile project management, every decision and every plan is transparent. The Product Owner, team members, customers, and everyone involved in the decision-making and change process. It has been observed that greater responsibility for a project also increases participation and motivation.
In classic project management, the team members perceive the project within the boundaries drawn by the project manager. After receiving the customer's requirements, it cannot be said that the whole process is transparent. As a rule, feedback from customers is only possible when the product is delivered.
Project complexity
Classic project management works well for projects with few dependent variables and few waiting times for changes. If a project has a clear and defined goal and the project manager knows exactly how much resources, time, and effort are required to achieve it, classic project management offers an efficient way to complete this project.
Agile project management is a good option for more complex projects with many overlapping or interdependent components. Agile is a more appropriate work environment when many variables can change in a project, or when there is feedback or learning potential within the project that can affect the outcome.
Amount of feedback
In classic project management, the project duration and budget are usually fixed. Modification is very rarely allowed. Each task is expected to be completed within a pre-planned time and budget criterion. This means that significant changes cannot be acted upon based on feedback.
In agile project management, continuous feedback from the product owner and customer can be accepted. This helps deliver quality products within the deadline.
Communication
In classic project management, written communication is in the foreground. Project managers communicate with team members and stakeholders through more intensive forms of written communication, such as documents, reports, and emails. The reason for the intensive use of written communication is to document the process and share information about the project among team members accurately and quickly.
Agile project management actively uses verbal communication to adapt to constantly and rapidly changing conditions. This serves as faster and more effective communication between team members.
Customer Satisfaction
In classic project management, everything is planned in detail right from the start. All work is designed to comply with this strict plan. Adapting to rapid changes in the work schedule or the occurrence of an unexpected customer requirement requires a lot of effort and time.
Feedback is welcome after each iteration in agile project management. The team understands the customer's specifications and acts effectively and quickly to deliver high-quality products to the customer.
Ownership and Accountability
In classic project management, only the project manager retains responsibility for the entire project. They plan, manage and monitor the entire operation. Customers can be involved in the planning phase, but once the plan is implemented their role is minimally proactive.
In Agile project management, each team member plays an equally important role in completing the project on time. You are encouraged to collaborate, share ideas and make changes.
Process Management
An important aspect of agile project management is adaptability. The team not only looks at the product under development and makes changes to the features, but also looks at the process. At the end of each iteration, the team conducts a learning session, often referred to as a retrospective. The purpose of the meeting is to review both the product and the process. The team discusses how the project is going and what changes in the procedures will improve their performance.
In classic project management, proposed changes in the process do not affect the current project, but future projects. Even if the lessons learned are carried out at the end of each phase, the recommendations only affect future projects, since this phase is not repeated for the project.
When agile and when classic project management?
Agile project methods have emerged as alternative solutions to problems where traditional project management methods are considered insufficient. Many projects today are mainly carried out by frameworks based on the agile mindset. Since classic project management is carried out depending on the past phase, it is backward in understanding and all project elements should only do the work defined for them.
Agile project management, on the other hand, has a forward-thinking approach due to its structure that encourages change and feedback. Autonomous teams are expected to do everything on their own, benefiting from cross-functionality and experimentation. This requires an approach to creativity rather than order. Agile project management is in a structure that fits today's conditions, where requirements and goals are uncertain and unknown, changes are quite frequent and short-term value creation is desired.
Conclusion
In summary, agile project management and classic project management each have their advantages and disadvantages. While classic project management is particularly suitable when the requirements are clearly defined and a fixed schedule has to be adhered to, agile project management offers advantages when it comes to reacting flexibly to changes and finding innovative solutions.
If you want to learn more about agile project management and the different agile methods, we recommend our "Scaled Agile Framework" page. Here you will find various SAFe courses, including our "SAFe Agile Software Engineering" course, which teaches you the basics of agile software development.
If you are also interested in classic project management, we also offer a variety of training courses and certifications on this topic on our "Academy" page. Have a look and discover the possibilities that are available to you!
Credentials:
- Royce, W.W. (1970). Managing the Development of Large Software Systems. Proceedings of IEEE WESCON. http://www-scf.usc.edu/~csci201/lectures/Lecture11/royce1970.pdf
- Old Dominion University. (n.d.). Process models [website]. https://www.cs.odu.edu/~zeil/cs350/f14/Public/processModels/
- Roth Institute. (n.d.). Agile vs. classic project management [blog post]. https://www.roth-institut.de/roth-wissens-journal/wissen-f%C3%BChrung/agiles-vs-klassisches-projektmanagement/
- ProjectBase. (n.d.). Project management made easy [website]. https://project-base.org/
- Manifesto for Agile Software Development. (n.d.). Agile Manifesto. http://agilemanifesto.org/
- Scaled Agile, Inc. (n.d.). Scaled Agile Framework. https://www.scaledagileframework.com/
- Scaled Agile, Inc. (2023). Scaling Agile [website]. https://scaledagile.com/
- agile modelling. (n.d.). agile modelling. http://agilemodeling.com/
